Anthropic merges Claude chat and Cowork features into one interface: Here’s what it means for users

​Claude developer Anthropic is merging Claude’s chat and Cowork features into a single interface. This will let users handle both quick questions and larger, multi-step tasks in the same conversation. The company says Claude can now decide what a task needs without users having to choose between chat, Cowork or Claude Design. The update also brings new Claude Docs and Claude Slides tools, while Claude Design is being integrated into conversations.​In a blog post, the company confirmed that the features are rolling out to Pro and Max subscribers over the coming weeks across web, desktop and mobile. Anthropic says the change aims to remove the need to switch between separate tools while keeping context, connectors, and skills available throughout a task.​Claude chat and Cowork now work together​Anthropic originally developed Cowork as a separate space for larger projects, while Claude Design was designed for visual work. However, users told the company that choosing the right tool was becoming frustrating, especially when work started in one place couldn't easily carry over to another.​With the new setup, users can start a task in a regular Claude conversation and hand over larger jobs to Claude. The assistant can work on the task even after the user closes their laptop.​Anthropic says users can also choose how Claude interacts with them during longer tasks. By default, Claude asks for approval before taking an action. Users can instead let it keep working and check in only when it needs more input.​Claude Docs and Claude Slides arrive​The update also introduces Claude Docs and Claude Slides in beta for paid users. Users can ask Claude to create a document or presentation directly inside a conversation and then continue editing it.​Users can edit documents and presentations within Claude, share them through a single link, and download them as PowerPoint or PDF files. Claude Design is also available directly inside conversations, although the standalone Design experience will continue to work.​Enterprise administrators will control when these features are enabled for their organisations.​What users can do with the new Claude​Anthropic says the unified interface can handle tasks that combine research, writing and presentation work. For example, a user can ask Claude to analyse a weekly business report, identify changes, write the report and turn its key points into a presentation from the same conversation.​The company says the shared context keeps the presentation aligned with the report without requiring users to repeat information or switch between separate tools.​Andrew Keller, Senior Economist, described how he uses Claude for research, saying: “I could have Claude pull up [my legal research database], and it would pull all the cases, read them, figure out which other cases I might need, download them, and store them in a folder for my personal review.”​Claude rollout plan for Pro and Max users​The combined Claude experience is rolling out to Pro and Max subscribers over the coming weeks. It is available through the Claude app on web, desktop and mobile, and users do not need to enable anything manually.​Team and Free plans will get the features later, while Enterprise customers will receive advance notice before changes are made to their organisations.​Users who already work with Cowork will also retain their existing chats, projects, artifacts, connectors and skills, allowing them to continue their work from the new unified Claude interface.​Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.