Key Points
- Anthropic expanded Claude’s Chrome plugin to all paid subscribers.
- The plugin can automatically fill out forms and manage emails. A new feature lets users teach Claude tasks by recording workflows.
- Claude now integrates directly with coding tools in the browser.
- Anthropic is currently ahead of Google in browser automation features.
Anthropic is finally opening up its Claude Chrome extension to a much wider audience. For a while, only those paying the $200-per-month “Max” plan could try it. The company now says anyone with a paid Claude subscription can use the tool. This move puts powerful AI features directly into the browser for thousands more people.
This plugin does a lot more than just answer questions in a sidebar. Its biggest selling point is that it can actually navigate the web for you. Anthropic built it using “computer use” technology, which means the AI understands how a website looks and functions. It can click buttons, type in text boxes, and navigate different pages. As a result, Claude can complete long forms, organize your messy calendar, and manage your email inbox without you lifting a finger.
The updated version also introduces some clever new features. It now works with Claude Code, a tool designed specifically for programmers. Users can also record themselves performing a specific task on a website. By doing this, they “teach” the AI the exact steps of a workflow. Once Claude sees how you do it, it can take over and finish the job on its own next time.
While “agents” are the latest trend in tech, Anthropic has long focused on computer interaction. They aren’t the only ones in this race, though. OpenAI recently launched its Atlas tool, and Perplexity has its Comet browser. Both enable AI to take action on the web rather than just talk about it.
Interestingly, Google is the one lagging here. Even though this is happening within Chrome, Google’s Gemini AI still cannot navigate websites on behalf of users. You can ask Gemini to summarize a page, but it won’t go out and book a flight or fill out a spreadsheet for you.
While Google has teased similar features through Project Mariner, Anthropic is already letting its customers use these tools today.
