Anthropic has announced a major update to Claude Cowork, its automation tool built around the Claude chatbot.

The update allows users to add custom plugins, making the tool more flexible and useful for everyday work. The goal is to let people tailor Claude Cowork to their specific needs instead of relying only on built-in features.

Claude Cowork, launched earlier this month, is designed to handle multi-step tasks across file folders and web browsers. For example, it can automatically review and summarize newly downloaded business documents.

With the new update of generative AI, users can now go further by creating their own plugins to extend what the tool can do.

These plugins can connect Claude Cowork to external apps through integrations. For instance, a sales professional could create a plugin that pulls lead information directly from a customer relationship management system.

Plugins can also include sub-agents, which are specialized versions of Claude trained for specific tasks. Users can decide what data each sub-agent can access and give it clear instructions, such as how to design charts or format reports.

Another new feature is custom slash commands. These are simple text shortcuts that let users manually trigger automated workflows they have created. This makes it easier to control complex tasks without repeating instructions each time.

Anthropic has also made plugin creation easier by offering a built-in plugin creation wizard, which itself runs as a plugin. In addition, the company provides 10 ready-made plugins focused on areas like sales, marketing, accounting, research, and task management.

Anthropic says an improved plugin system is coming soon, which will allow companies to create internal plugin libraries for employees.

Together, the new plugin system and real-world use cases show how Claude Cowork is moving beyond simple chat, becoming a powerful automation assistant built to adapt to real work needs.