Anthropic's Claude AI can control macOS in preview
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- Anthropic announced an update that enables Claude’s Code and Cowork agents to autonomously operate a user’s macOS computer, opening files and running apps without prior setup.
- Claude can now control a macOS device directly—mouse, keyboard, display and browser—if no service connector is available, after obtaining explicit user permission for each action.
- Claude Pro subscribers get the feature as a research preview limited to macOS devices, requiring the desktop app to be paired with the mobile app.
- Slack is prioritized as a service connector for the new autonomous actions, though the system can fall back to direct UI control.
- Dispatch is highlighted as a cross‑device workflow that lets users assign tasks from a phone to the Claude desktop app, though complex tasks may need retries and are slower than direct integrations.
- macOS is currently the only supported OS for this autonomous capability, with Anthropic stating the preview is “for now” and that they are gathering early feedback on performance.
Why it matters: Pro and Max users gain hands‑free automation of routine macOS tasks, potentially boosting programmer productivity, while Anthropic gathers real‑world data to refine its autonomous AI. The limitation to macOS and reliance on explicit permission curb misuse but restrict broader adoption.
