Computer Use
Also: Claude Computer Use, desktop control
Computer Use is the underlying capability that lets Claude see and interact with a computer screen — clicking buttons, typing text, navigating applications, reading what is displayed. It is the technology behind Cowork and Dispatch. For developers building with the API, Computer Use means you can give Claude a virtual desktop and have it operate software the same way a human would — useful for automating workflows in applications that don't have APIs.
In practice
You tell Claude "go to our analytics dashboard, pull last month's conversion data, and paste it into this spreadsheet." With Computer Use enabled, Claude can actually see your screen, move the cursor, click buttons, and type — like a remote assistant controlling your computer. It's experimental and used for automating tasks that have no API.
Where Computer Use shows up
2 articlesOn August 26, 2026 Anthropic made Claude in Chrome generally available on every paid plan and gave Cowork its own built-in browser. They look like the same feature and are not. Chrome works on the pages you already have open, with your logins, and now auto-approves actions a classifier judges safe. The Cowork browser is a separate, isolated browser Claude drives alone. Here is which one to use for what, and where the prompt injection risk actually sits.
On August 19, 2026, Anthropic moved computer use to general availability as computer_toolset_20260801 and launched browser use as a separate client toolset. The Skills API and Files API went GA the same day. Here is what changed in the request shape, when to pick browser over computer, and what to check before you migrate.