Claude Cowork on Web and Mobile: Availability, Desktop Limits, and the Merge Into Chat

Claude Cowork has run on web and mobile as well as desktop since August 18, 2026: you can start a task at your desk, check it from a browser or phone, and pick up the finished work wherever you are (Claude on X; Anthropic Help Center). Since September 16, Anthropic has been merging Cowork and chat into one Claude, starting with Pro and Max, so on many accounts there is no separate Cowork mode left to pick (Anthropic Help Center).

Key Takeaways

• Cowork works on desktop, web, mobile, and in the Claude in Chrome side panel. Sessions and files live with your Claude account, so they follow you across devices.
• Pro and Max run Cowork in the cloud. Since October 6, 2026, new Pro and Max tasks run in the cloud on every surface, and the "Only on your computer" setting is gone.
• Web and mobile are still in beta on Team and Enterprise. On Enterprise, an admin has to enable it.
• Cowork and chat are merging. Pro and Max accounts with the new experience no longer see a Cowork option; Claude decides whether a request is a quick answer or a task.
• Some capabilities still need the desktop app open. Local files, local connectors, browser use, and computer use reach your computer through Claude Desktop.

Availability

Anthropic's help center lists Cowork on these surfaces (Anthropic Help Center):

The Claude in Chrome side panel also runs Cowork on Max and Team, on Pro as it rolls out, and on Enterprise where an admin has enabled it. Opening the panel starts a Cowork session directly.

How to Start a Task

It depends on whether your account has moved to the merged Claude experience (Anthropic Help Center):

• New experience (rolling out to Pro and Max): there is no Cowork option. Describe the task in any conversation and Claude decides whether it needs a quick answer or a longer task. Anthropic says you can't switch back once your account moves over.
• Message box still shows Chat and Cowork: select Cowork in the bottom left of the message box and describe your task. On web, start from the Home tab on claude.ai; on mobile or desktop, update the app if the Cowork option is missing (Anthropic Help Center).

Anthropic says more plans will follow Pro and Max into the merged experience, and Enterprise admins will hear at least 30 days before anything changes for their organization.

How Cross-Device Cowork Works

Cloud Cowork sessions and their files are saved to your Claude account. You can start, steer, and review a task from desktop, web, or mobile, and resume a session started on another surface. Work continues in the cloud when your laptop is closed, and scheduled tasks run with no device online. Connectors, skills and plugins, projects, and file previews work on all three surfaces (Anthropic Help Center).

What Still Requires Desktop

Some capabilities reach things on your computer, so they need the Claude Desktop app open on that machine even when the session runs in the cloud (Anthropic Help Center):

• Local file access: only for folders you've connected, and only while the desktop app is open.
• Local connectors, including plugins that use local MCP servers.
• Browser use and computer use. Computer use is in beta on Pro and Max.
• Older live artifacts: live artifacts created before August 19, 2026 open on the desktop app only. Artifacts created on or after that date are available on desktop and web.

Corrections and Updates

• October 9, 2026: This page said to start Cowork on web by selecting it from the message box, that web and mobile were in beta for Pro, Max, and Team, and that live artifacts were desktop-only. Pro and Max accounts moving to the merged Claude experience no longer have a Cowork option, Anthropic now lists the beta only for Team and Enterprise, and artifacts created from August 19, 2026 also open on web.
• October 9, 2026: This page was published on July 8, 2026 about Anthropic's announcement that Cowork was coming to mobile and web in a beta starting with Max. On August 18 it was rewritten, without a note, to cover that day's launch on web and mobile for paid plans, which is what it now covers.

Sources

• Anthropic Help Center, "Use Claude Cowork on web, desktop, and mobile" (plans, surfaces, October 6 cloud change, desktop requirements; checked October 9, 2026): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/15520349-use-claude-cowork-on-web-desktop-and-mobile
• Anthropic Help Center, "Claude Cowork and chat are one Claude" (merged experience rollout; checked October 9, 2026): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/16761823-claude-cowork-and-chat-are-one-claude
• Anthropic Help Center, "Get started with Claude Cowork" (checked October 9, 2026): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-get-started-with-claude-cowork
• Claude on X, web and mobile launch post (August 18, 2026): https://x.com/claudeai/status/2089756371570900999