Anthropic Pushes Claude Deeper Into the Enterprise Workflow

Anthropic is taking a clear step beyond the chatbot paradigm. With the launch of interactive apps inside Claude, the AI company is repositioning its assistant as a hands-on workplace tool – one that sits closer to day-to-day enterprise workflows than standalone AI conversations.

Announced on Monday, the new feature allows Claude users to access and interact with third-party apps directly within the chatbot interface. The first set of integrations reflects Anthropic’s enterprise-first strategy, with workplace tools such as Slack, Canva, Figma, Box, and Clay available at launch. A Salesforce implementation is expected next.

Instead of merely generating responses, Claude can now operate within authenticated instances of these services. Depending on the app enabled, users can send Slack messages, work with cloud-hosted files, or generate visual outputs – without leaving the Claude interface.

“Analysing data, designing content, and managing projects all work better with a dedicated visual interface,” Anthropic said in its announcement. “Combined with Claude’s intelligence, you can work and iterate faster than either could offer alone.”

From Conversation To Execution

The move highlights a broader shift underway in enterprise AI: from assistive chat to task execution. By embedding apps directly into Claude, Anthropic is betting that productivity gains come not from smarter answers alone, but from tighter integration with the tools teams already use.

For enterprise users, the appeal is straightforward. Instead of toggling between multiple applications, Claude becomes a single access layer, one that can interpret instructions, pull context from connected systems, and act on them in real time.

The feature is available to Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise subscribers and can be activated through Claude’s app directory. Free users do not have access.

Built On An Open Integration Standard

Claude’s app ecosystem mirrors a similar approach taken by OpenAI, which introduced its own apps system last year. Both rely on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard introduced by Anthropic in 2024 to enable secure, structured connections between AI models and external tools.

MCP began supporting apps in November, drawing on collaboration between multiple AI developers. For enterprises, the open-standard approach lowers the barrier to building custom integrations while reducing dependency on closed ecosystems.

A Natural Extension Of Claude's Co-work

The timing of the app's launch is also notable. Just last week, Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork, an agent-based system designed to handle multi-stage tasks across large and open-ended datasets, work that previously required command-line tools or manual scripting.

While apps are not yet available inside Cowork, Anthropic says the integration is “coming soon”. Once combined, Cowork could be granted access to cloud storage, design tools, or ongoing projects, allowing it to update a Figma design, pull fresh data from Box, or coordinate tasks across platforms.

That convergence points to a future where AI agents are not just advising teams but actively participating in operational workflows.

Guardrails Still Apply

Anthropic has been careful to pair its expanded capabilities with clear warnings. Its safety documentation for Cowork emphasises close human oversight, particularly when granting access to sensitive systems.

“Be cautious about granting access to sensitive information like financial documents, credentials, or personal records,” the company recommends. “Consider creating a dedicated working folder for Claude rather than granting broad access.”

The guidance underscores a growing reality for enterprises adopting agentic AI: productivity gains must be balanced against governance, access control, and risk management.

With interactive apps, Anthropic is signalling that the next phase of enterprise AI is less about novelty and more about integration. Claude is no longer positioned as a destination for prompts but as a layer that connects intelligence with execution.

For enterprises evaluating AI platforms, that distinction matters. The question is shifting from how smart the model is to how deeply it fits into existing work. Anthropic’s latest move suggests it wants Claude to be judged on the latter.