Coworking with Claude: AI That Actually Does Your Work, Not Just Advises

As you know, I'm a big fan of Claude Code. Its become a nearly daily companion for me with a terminal-based interface that just clicks with my brain. That said, Claude Code has more to offer than just code assistance. Its capabilities can extend well beyond the scope of developer needs. Anthropic clearly agrees, as earlier this week, they announced Cowork: Claude, a new expansion of their macOS desktop app that builds on the foundations laid by Claude Code.

Like Claude Code, Cowork enables Claude to move from conversation to action, directly carrying out tasks on your behalf. This interaction model brings agency to Claude, including the ability to make and execute multi-step plans, read and write files and folders on your computer with your permission, and even leverage connectors and skills. Coupled with Claude for Chrome, Cowork can navigate the web, fill out forms, click buttons, and retrieve data to help it execute plans.

AI Assistant or AI Therapist?

I don't know about you, but if I hired an assistant, I'd expect them to get things done on my behalf, not just research and advise. Platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Claude are notoriously "friendly," more typically aiming to please than aiming to be correct -- a sounding board that will always be there for you, validating your feelings. Its not surprise that there are countless examples of people using AI assistants as a replacement for therapy. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not do this yourself. LLMs make lousy therapists, but they would probably make a pretty awesome Tamagotchi.

An assistants in meatspace earn their keep by actually assisting you, dutifully completing tasks that you don't have time to take care of yourself. A good assistant is worth their weight in gold, and with Cowork, Claude has taken one more step down the path to being a true assistant.

What Can #C46849 Do For You?

When building software products, I have often broken down features into several buckets -- DIY (Do It Yourself), DIWM (Do It With Me), and DIFM (Do It For Me). Where do AI assistants fall on this spectrum?

In my high school and college years I lived in Atlanta, the birthplace of successful hardware store brand Home Depot. Famously, Home Depot has positioned themselves as a DIY advisor with the tagline -- "You can do it. We can help." First generation AI assistants very much aligned with this positioning -- "You can do it. ChatGPT can help." Don't get me wrong, AI assistants have demonstrated transformational utility, helping users do their work more quickly, but, at most, they've been DIWM tools.

So, what about Cowork: Claude? I'd suggest the tagline of another famous brand, UPS -- "What can brown do for you?" Heck, Claude's primary brand color is a shade of brown (#C46849, to be specific)!

What's Next?

Cowork is just one example of this ongoing trend, and it goes beyond AI chat bots. Amazon announced Alexa+ last year, and Apple is partnering with Google to power its next-gen, LLM-powered Siri, which will integrate directly into their operating systems.

I'm truly excited to see how this all unfolds in 2026. Expect more on this front this year.