Anthropic Launches “Cowork” — Claude Can Now Access Your Computer Folder to Organize Files and Build Projects

Anthropic launches Cowork, letting Claude access your computer folder to organize files, rename documents, and create projects. Discover how AI folder access and agentic AI are changing digital work.

In a major leap toward agentic AI, Anthropic has officially introduced Cowork, a new feature for its AI chatbot Claude that allows the assistant to access and work inside a specific folder on a user’s computer. The announcement marks a big shift in how AI that can manage computer folders, local file access for AI assistants, and automated digital file organization are becoming real.

Cowork is currently available only for macOS users on the $100-per-month Claude Max subscription. With user permission, Claude can enter a chosen folder, organize files, rename documents using custom naming rules, and read contents to create new projects like spreadsheets or reports—making it ideal for AI-powered file organization on Mac, AI for organizing receipts and invoices, and automatic document sorting with AI.

For example, a folder full of messy receipt scans can be turned into a clean expense tracker, showcasing the power of AI for expense tracking from files and turning documents into spreadsheets using AI.

Cowork also supports connectors, letting Claude pull data from other apps to build presentations and documents. Combined with the Chrome extension, it enables AI that works across apps and browsers, and supports AI that completes real computer tasks.

Anthropic warns that Cowork is still in research preview. Users should avoid sensitive data due to risks like AI security risks with folder access and prompt-injection attacks on AI assistants.

As tools like ChatGPT Agent and Gemini Agent expand, Cowork puts Claude in the spotlight for agentic AI that controls files, AI that automates office work, and AI that manages digital workflows—marking a future where assistants don’t just chat, they work.