AI startup Anthropic first burst onto the scene with its Claude chatbot in 2023. Roughly two years later, it is now ready to launch a preview version of a new browser-based AI agent: Claude for Chrome.

Google Chrome is the most used browser globally. As of July 2025, the browser commands a massive 67.92 percent market share, making Anthropic’s decision to target Chrome a huge strategic play.

The AI startup announced the development in a release, suggesting that “browser-using AI” models are inevitable, and that it wants to be at the forefront of the revolution.

For what it’s worth, Google has already launched Gemini integrations for Chrome, though they’re not necessarily close to what Anthropic appears to be building. However, the startup also understands that giving an AI model access to your entire browsing experience comes with associated risks, and that’s precisely why it is taking a very measured approach with this limited preview.

When AI can interact with web pages, it creates meaningful value, but also opens up new risks. We’re releasing Claude for Chrome as a limited research preview to learn from real-world use.

Rolling out to a very limited group

Claude for Chrome is rolling out as an extension “where trusted users can instruct Claude to take actions on their behalf within the browser.” As of right now, it is only available to a group of 1,000 subscribers on Anthropic’s Max plan, which starts at $100 per month. As the company explores and mitigates the risks the integration might pose, it will expand access to more users.

From the looks of it, the AI integration will work in a side panel. For example, you’ll be able to trigger the assistant over a Google Calendar instance and then prompt it to go through the calendar and find meeting that needs rooms. “For each one, check room availability and book appropriate spaces based on meeting size and location preferences,” could be a follow-up request.

Other prompt examples shared include:

  • Look through my sent emails from the past month and identify messages that haven’t received replies but should have. Write a follow-up message if appropriate.
  • I’m looking for a 3-bedroom house in Seattle under $800K, with a garage and at least 1500sqft. Con you search Zillow and show me the top 5 options?
  • Can you find a highly rated restaurant that has garlic noodles and add them to my cart?

It’s worth noting that users retain complete control over what Claude for Chrome can access. Users will have the option to grant or revoke Claude’s access to specific websites at any time. Additionally, Claude will ask users before it takes any “high-risk actions,” which can include the likes of publishing, purchasing, or sharing personal data.

It isn’t clear when Claude for Chrome will be available widely. “Our timeline depends on what we discover during research preview,” wrote Anthropic.