Anthropic folded its Claude chat and Cowork tools into a single interface this week, according to TechCrunch, ZDNet and SiliconANGLE. People who use Claude no longer pick between separate tabs for a quick question and a longer task: the assistant now decides on its own which mode a request needs and handles it from the same window.
The change also covers Artifacts, Claude's interactive workspace for things like code and documents, and Claude Design, the website and prototyping tool Anthropic introduced earlier this year. All three now work from any conversation in Claude, instead of living behind their own separate front ends, TechCrunch and ZDNet reported.
Why Anthropic combined the tools
Before the update, customers often struggled to figure out which tab fit a given task, TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE reported. Cowork had been built as a separate space for heavier, multistep work such as managing files across a project, while the regular chat handled faster, single-turn requests. That split meant a user had to guess in advance how big a job would turn out to be before even starting it.
With the tools merged, Claude routes each prompt to the mode it needs automatically, without the person switching windows or losing the context they had already built up in a conversation, according to the three outlets. The bet is that removing that upfront decision makes the assistant faster to use for everyday tasks, not just the complex ones Cowork was designed for.
Claude Docs and Claude Slides, in beta
Alongside the merge, Anthropic introduced two new features in beta: Claude Docs and Claude Slides, according to ZDNet and SiliconANGLE.
Claude Slides lets a user ask the assistant to draft, edit and present a slide deck directly inside Claude, then export the result as a PDF or a PowerPoint file, TechCrunch, ZDNet and SiliconANGLE all reported. That turns a task that used to require switching to separate presentation software into something handled inside the same chat where the research or the writing already happened.
Claude Docs works alongside the user to draft sections of a document, answer questions about what has been written, and add comments on parts that are already finished, TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE reported. SiliconANGLE added that multiple people can edit the same document at the same time, which pushes Claude closer to a shared workspace than a single-user chat window.
Documents and slides made this way live at a single shareable link that can be opened and edited from a phone, TechCrunch and ZDNet reported. A person can start a document on a desktop computer and check how it is coming along later from the mobile app, according to TechCrunch, without having to email a file back and forth.
Rollout starts with Pro and Max plans
The merged interface and the new features are reaching Claude's Pro and Max subscribers first, on the web, desktop and mobile apps, TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE reported. Both outlets said Anthropic plans to extend the update to Team and free accounts in the coming weeks, though neither outlet gave an exact date for that wider release.
Anthropic did not say whether routing more requests through Cowork's heavier, multistep processing inside the unified interface changes how usage gets billed for subscribers on lighter plans, an open question for anyone who relies on the assistant for daily work.
For someone managing a project in Claude, the practical change is fewer decisions before typing a request: instead of weighing whether a task belongs in chat or in Cowork, they type it once and let the assistant sort out how much work is involved. The features formerly split across chat, Cowork, Artifacts, Design, Docs and Slides now sit behind that same single starting point.
