Anthropic has announced that Claude in Cowork, the desktop app for Claude, now includes a built-in browser. This feature allows Claude to open a dedicated browser within the side panel of the desktop application, enabling it to navigate websites, read page content, fill out forms, and click elements. The purpose is to let users hand off web-based tasks to Claude while they continue working elsewhere in the app, without needing to share their personal browser session.

The built-in browser is separate from the user’s own browser, so Claude never sees the user’s tabs, bookmarks, or passwords. However, users can choose to bring their logins from Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on macOS, and from Firefox on Windows and Linux, on a site-by-site basis. Certain categories like banking, email, and single sign-on sites are excluded unless the user explicitly includes them.

This complements the existing Claude in Chrome extension, which still works for tasks on pages already open in the user’s browser. The built-in browser is intended for broader web research or data collection, such as gathering research for a report or pulling invoices from a vendor portal. Users can switch the preferred browser for Claude in the app’s settings under Cowork → Preferred browser.

On the safety side, the built-in browser carries the same prompt injection protections as Claude in Chrome, including checks that review Claude‘s actions against the user’s original request. While these measures reduce risk, they cannot eliminate it completely, so Anthropic recommends starting on trusted websites and consulting their safety guide.

The rollout begins this week for Pro, Max, and Team plans on the Claude desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux (the latter in beta). Enterprise administrators can enable or manage the built-in browser starting today via Organization settings → Cowork → Built-in browser. The feature is on by default for eligible plans once available.