Recently, Anthropic introduced Cowork, a groundbreaking AI tool designed specifically for non-programmers. This innovative file management agent was developed in response to user feedback indicating that the previous developer-focused tool, Claude Code, was being utilized for various general tasks beyond coding.
According to Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code at Anthropic, the new product was completed in just a week and a half, primarily using its predecessor, Claude Code. This development marks a significant shift for Anthropic, expanding its user reach from primarily software developers to everyday individuals seeking assistance with file and task management.
In an interview with Fortune, Cherny remarked, “It was just kind of obvious that Cowork is the next step. We just want to make it much easier for non-programmers.”
How Cowork Differs from Anthropic’s Previous Tools
Cowork stands apart from Anthropic’s earlier AI offerings due to its capacity for autonomous action, rather than merely providing suggestions. This tool can manage files, access browsers via the “Claude in Chrome” extension, and execute tasks within applications, presenting users with their first real encounter with agentic AI.
While many of its functions may seem simple, the time savings are substantial. Cherny noted that he uses Cowork for project management, automatically contacting team members on Slack when updates to shared spreadsheets are required. He also mentioned instances of researchers employing Cowork to explore museum archives for basket collections. Cherny said, “Engineers just feel unshackled, that they don’t have to work on all the tedious stuff anymore.”
Understanding Claude Code and Its Popularity
In February 2024, Anthropic launched Claude Code, a developer assistant tool that unexpectedly attracted attention from a broader audience beyond software engineers. It garnered significant media coverage, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang calling it an “incredible” resource. Interestingly, a senior engineer at Google reported that it could replicate a year’s worth of work within just an hour.
This tool has proven beneficial even for those lacking programming skills, assisting users with tasks such as purchasing theater tickets, managing taxes, and tracking tomato plants. Remarkably, it found a place in Microsoft’s engineering teams, despite Anthropic’s competitors offering similar technologies like GitHub Copilot. Today, companies like Uber, Netflix, Salesforce, Accenture, and Snowflake are among the many that utilize Claude Code.
Cherny emphasized that the product has achieved “a very intense product market fit across the different enterprise spaces.” Following the virality of Claude Code, Anthropic has experienced a surge in web traffic, with the total web audience reportedly more than doubling since December 2024.
Despite the advantages of these consumer-friendly tools, both Cowork and Claude Code still face security threats, such as the risk of “prompt injections,” where malicious actors embed harmful code to manipulate AI responses. To mitigate these risks, Anthropic has incorporated layers of security into Cowork, including operating within a virtual machine to provide additional protection against accidental file deletions, which Cherny describes as “quite innovative.”
In its announcement, Anthropic cautioned that “Agent safety—that is, securing Claude’s real-world actions—is still an active area of development in the industry.”
Despite focusing on consumer applications, Anthropic is positioning both Claude Code and Cowork for the enterprise market, where it reportedly leads its competitor OpenAI in adoption. Cherny commented, “For Anthropic, we’re an enterprise AI company. We build consumer products, but for us, really, the focus is enterprise.”
This strategy aligns with Anthropic’s commitment to AI safety and appeals to businesses concerned about security and compliance. Initially, the company focused on developing strong coding capabilities and tested its products with technical users before expanding into more general usage applications.
