Link: Anthropic releases Claude for Chrome, which lets Claude take actions on the user's behalf within the browser, as a research preview for 1,000 Max subscribers (Maxwell Zeff/TechCrunch)

Anthropic has introduced a research preview of Claude for Chrome, a browser-based AI agent utilizing their Claude AI models. The preview is initially available to 1,000 subscribers of Anthropic’s Max plan, with a waitlist now open for other interested users.

By installing the Chrome extension, users can interact with Claude in a sidebar that keeps track of their browser activities. Claude can also perform actions in the browser on behalf of the user, upon receiving the necessary permissions.

The competition to develop AI-integrated browsers is intensifying, with companies like Perplexity and OpenAI gearing up their own solutions. This development is crucial as Google faces a potential forced sale of Chrome due to an antitrust case.

Alongside introducing new technologies, Anthropic is focusing on security by implementing measures against prompt injection attacks in their AI agents. This is in response to the security vulnerabilities identified in similar AI-powered browsers like Comet by Brave's security team.

Anthropic’s previous attempts at creating AI agents for PC were less efficient, but the company believes that their current AI, Claude for Chrome, marks a significant improvement in AI capabilities. TechCrunch reports that such browser-based AI agents are generally reliable for handling straightforward tasks.

For added security, Anthropic has designed Claude to request user permissions for high-risk activities and restricted its access to sensitive content like financial services and adult sites. This ensures that the use of AI in browsers aligns with user safety and privacy standards.

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