Anthropic Folds Cowork Into Claude Chat and Adds Docs and Slides

Anthropic is folding Claude Cowork into its main chat app, removing the separate place users once used for larger agent tasks. A normal conversation can now shift into longer-running work, while new Claude Docs and Claude Slides tools turn responses into editable, shareable documents and presentations.

The practical change is a simpler starting point. On accounts receiving the update, the Chat-versus-Cowork selector disappears. Users describe what they need in any conversation, and Claude determines whether the request calls for a quick reply or a task that can use tools, connectors and multiple steps.

Cowork’s underlying behavior is not going away. Anthropic says the capability includes longer-running work, task decomposition, and connector and tool use while a user is away. Existing Cowork chats, projects, artifacts, connectors and skills are set to remain available during the transition, so users will not need to restart their work in a new space.

The integrated experience builds on Cowork’s cloud execution. Anthropic’s help documentation says cloud sessions run on its servers, with files and sessions saved to the user’s Claude account across desktop, web and mobile. A task can continue after a laptop closes, and scheduled work can run without a device online.

That continuity is central to the redesign. A user can start a request on one surface, then open the same session elsewhere to check progress, answer questions or redirect the work. Claude’s interface becomes the common entry point for a short exchange and a job that keeps running in the background.

Claude Docs and Claude Slides are launching in beta alongside the interface change. Docs are designed for collaborative document work: Claude can draft sections, answer questions and comment on completed portions. Slides can be created, edited and presented from a Claude conversation, rather than existing only as a final generated attachment.

How the new work products travel

• Documents and slides can be shared by link and edited from a phone.
• Claude Slides can be downloaded as PowerPoint or PDF files.
• Claude Docs can be exported to Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
• Claude Design now works inside conversations for visual work.

A single entry point does not make every Claude capability equally available on every device. Cloud sessions can reach connected local files only while the Claude Desktop app remains open on that computer. Local connectors, browser use and direct computer use also have documented desktop-app requirements in certain cases.

Anthropic also says Claude asks for permission before taking an action by default. Users can configure it to continue working until it reaches an action needing closer review. The design therefore removes a visible mode choice while retaining an approval choice over what the system does next.

Cowork was introduced as a research preview in January 2026, initially as a Claude Max feature in Anthropic’s macOS desktop app. Its separate workspace made the handoff to bigger jobs explicit. This release reverses that product boundary: the distinction becomes less visible, even as the task system is placed inside ordinary Claude conversations.

The unified experience is rolling out gradually to Claude Pro and Max subscribers on web, desktop and mobile. Team and Free plans are due to follow later. Claude Code remains separate, preserving a distinct product for developers working in terminals and integrated development environments.