Guide · Published October 2026

How to Use Claude in Chrome: A Beginner's Setup Guide

Claude in Chrome is a browser extension that lets Claude read a page alongside you and take actions on it, clicking, typing, and filling in forms, instead of you describing the page back to Claude in a separate chat window. Anthropic's own support article, last updated August 26, 2026, walks through installing it, and the company's August 25, 2025 announcement laid out the safety work behind letting an AI agent act inside your browser. Here is how to set it up and what to check before you let it click anything for you.

What Claude in Chrome actually does

Per Anthropic's support article, last updated August 26, 2026, the extension can read, click, type, and fill out forms on websites, read a page's console logs (errors, network requests, DOM state), manage several tabs at once, record a workflow to repeat later, run background and scheduled tasks, and accept screenshots or images you share with it. On macOS, the same article lists a beta integration with 1Password for logins. It works alongside Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and the Claude desktop app rather than replacing any of them.

How to install it

Anthropic's support article, last updated August 26, 2026, gives four steps: open Google Chrome itself, since the extension is not built for other Chromium browsers or for mobile devices; go to the Chrome Web Store and click "Add to Chrome"; sign in with your existing Claude account; then pin the extension to your toolbar and grant the permissions it requests. Once it's pinned, a side panel opens next to whatever page you're on, and a Claude in Chrome session can pick up a task you already started in the Claude app, or hand one back to it.

Which plan you need

According to the same support article, Claude in Chrome ships on every paid plan: Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise, with the Chrome side panel experience itself still labeled beta. That's a wider rollout than the feature's original form: Anthropic's August 25, 2025 announcement describes it starting as a research preview limited to 1,000 Max plan users, expanding to all Max subscribers on November 24, 2025, and reaching Pro, Team, and Enterprise plans on December 18, 2025. If you're still deciding which Claude plan fits your work beyond browsing, our guide to choosing a Claude model breaks down what each plan actually includes.

Safety settings worth checking first

Letting any agent click and type on your behalf carries real risk, and Anthropic's own materials say so directly. Its August 25, 2025 announcement names prompt injection, malicious instructions hidden inside a web page, email, or document, as the main threat, and reports that its red-teaming measured a 23.6% attack success rate without defenses, reduced to 11.2% once its mitigations were in place, and down to 0% on a specific four-attack browser challenge set it tested afterward. The listed safeguards include site-level permission controls, a confirmation step before sensitive actions, system prompt changes for handling sensitive data, blocklists covering categories like financial services, and classifiers meant to catch suspicious instructions. Anthropic's support article, last updated August 26, 2026, still describes direct website interaction on your behalf as inherently risky and recommends reading its safety guidance first; Team and Enterprise admins can also set allowlists or blocklists restricting which sites the extension can act on.

What this doesn't tell you yet

The safety statistics above come from Anthropic's own red-teaming, published alongside its own product, not an independent audit, so treat them as the company's self-reported numbers rather than a third-party benchmark. Rollout details can also shift after publication: if a capability listed here isn't visible on your account yet, that's more likely a staged rollout than a setting you're missing.

Questions people ask about Claude in Chrome

What is Claude in Chrome?

A Chrome browser extension that lets Claude read a page and take actions on it for you, such as clicking, typing, and filling in forms. Per Anthropic's own support article, last updated August 26, 2026, it also reads console logs, manages multiple tabs, and can run scheduled or recurring tasks.

How do I install Claude in Chrome?

Anthropic's support article, last updated August 26, 2026, describes opening Google Chrome itself (not another Chromium browser or a mobile device), visiting the Chrome Web Store, clicking Add to Chrome, signing in with your Claude account, then pinning the extension and granting the permissions it asks for.

Which Claude plan do I need for Chrome?

Per Anthropic's support article, last updated August 26, 2026, Claude in Chrome is available on every paid plan: Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise, with the side panel experience still in beta. Free plan accounts are not listed as having access.

Is it safe to let Claude click and type on my behalf?

Anthropic's own announcement, dated August 25, 2025, says its red-teaming found a 23.6% attack success rate from prompt injection attempts without defenses, cut to 11.2% with its mitigations in place, and to 0% on a four-attack browser challenge set it also tested. The same support article still calls direct website interaction on your behalf inherently risky and recommends reviewing its safety guidance and permission controls before use.

Does Claude in Chrome work with Cowork tasks?

Yes. According to Engadget's August 12, 2026 report, Claude Cowork sessions now run inside the Chrome side panel, with conversations saved to your history and your existing skills and connectors working automatically in the browser. Engadget reported Max and Team subscribers got this immediately, with Pro plan access described as coming in the following weeks.

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