Anthropic Launches Claude Co-work: Real-Time Team Collaboration with Claude

Anthropic launched Claude Co-work today. It's the team collaboration layer for Claude - think Google Docs meets Claude Projects. Claude Co-work lets teams share projects, collaborate on conversations, and work with Claude together instead of separately. This is the feature that turns Claude from individual productivity tool into team platform. ## What Claude Co-work Is Co-work is a set of collaboration features added to Claude Team plans: **Shared Projects:** Create Claude Projects that multiple team members can access and contribute to simultaneously. **Real-Time Collaboration:** Multiple people can work in the same Claude conversation at once, with changes appearing live for all participants. **Conversation History:** All team members see the full conversation history in shared projects. No more "what did you ask Claude about this?" **Persistent Context:** Projects contain shared knowledge (documents, files, context) that everyone can use. Upload once, entire team benefits. **Permission Controls:** Set view-only, comment-only, or full edit access per team member. Control who can modify shared projects. ## How It Works **Creating a Co-work Project:** 1. In Claude Team interface, click "New Co-work Project" 2. Name it (e.g., "Product Launch Planning") 3. Upload shared context (product docs, research, templates) 4. Invite team members with appropriate permissions 5. Start conversations that everyone can see and contribute to **Collaborating in Real-Time:** When multiple team members are in the same project: - See who else is active (live presence indicators) - Watch messages appear as teammates prompt Claude - Add your own prompts and questions - Everyone sees Claude's responses immediately - Full conversation history available to all participants **Managing Team Knowledge:** Projects serve as shared knowledge bases: - Upload client information everyone needs - Add brand guidelines and templates - Include research and reference materials - Store successful prompts and workflows All project members access this knowledge automatically in their conversations with Claude. ## Why This Matters **Before Co-work:** Teams used Claude individually: - Each person uploaded the same documents separately - No visibility into what teammates asked Claude - Couldn't build on each other's work - Duplicated effort across team members - Hard to maintain consistency **With Co-work:** Teams work together with Claude: - Shared knowledge base eliminates duplicate uploads - Full visibility into team's Claude usage - Build on teammates' conversations and prompts - Consistent context across all team work - Collaborate in real-time on complex tasks ## Common Use Cases **Client Work:** Create a Co-work Project for each client: - Upload client background, brand guidelines, past deliverables - Entire account team works from same context - Junior team members learn from senior prompts - Client work maintains consistency - No more "where's that client info?" questions **Product Development:** Shared project for product team: - Product specs, user research, competitive analysis - Engineers, designers, and PMs all work with same context - Conversations about features visible to whole team - Decisions and reasoning preserved in conversation history - New team members get up to speed faster **Content Strategy:** Team project for content creation: - Brand voice guidelines, successful past content, target audience research - Writers maintain consistent voice and messaging - Editors review and improve prompts - Content lead oversees everything - Build library of effective prompts for common content types **Research Projects:** Cross-functional research: - Shared research materials and sources - Multiple team members analyze from different angles - Synthesis conversations visible to everyone - Insights don't get lost in individual Claude accounts - Full research trail available for reference ## Co-work vs Regular Claude Projects **Regular Claude Projects:** - Individual only - Your knowledge and conversations - No sharing or collaboration - Best for personal work **Co-work Projects:** - Team accessible - Shared knowledge and conversations - Real-time collaboration - Permission controls - Best for team work requiring shared context You can have both. Use regular Projects for personal work, Co-work for team initiatives. ## Soft Launch Details Co-work is launching in soft launch (limited availability): **Who has access:** - Claude Team plan customers ($30/user/month) - Gradual rollout over December - Check your Team settings for Co-work access **What's available now:** - Shared projects - Real-time collaboration - Basic permission controls (view/edit) - Conversation history **Coming in general availability (January):** - Advanced permissions (comment-only, granular access) - Inline comments and annotations - Version history and restore - Usage analytics per project - External sharing (invite non-team members) ## Pricing Co-work is included in Claude Team plans at $30/user/month. No additional cost. Requires Team plan - not available on Claude Pro ($20/month individual plan) or free tier. ## Limitations **Team plan required:** Co-work only works on Team plans. Pro subscribers don't get access. **Soft launch restrictions:** Not all Team customers have access yet. Anthropic is rolling out gradually through December. **No external sharing (yet):** Can only share with teammates on your Team plan. Can't invite clients or external collaborators yet. Coming in January. **Basic permissions:** Current permission system is simple (view or edit). More granular controls coming in general availability. ## Getting Started If you're on a Team plan and have Co-work access: 1. **Start with one project:** Create a Co-work project for your most collaborative team initiative 2. **Upload shared context:** Add documents and information the whole team needs 3. **Invite key teammates:** Start with 2-3 people before expanding 4. **Establish conventions:** Agree on how team will use Co-work (naming, organization, permissions) 5. **Iterate:** Learn what works and expand to more projects If you don't have access yet, check Team settings weekly. Anthropic is rolling out through December. ## Quick Takeaway Claude Co-work transforms Claude from individual tool to team platform. Teams can share projects, collaborate on conversations, and work with Claude together. Key features: shared knowledge bases, real-time collaboration, conversation history, and permission controls. Launching in soft launch through December for Team plan customers ($30/user/month). General availability with additional features coming January 2025. If your team uses Claude for collaborative work - client projects, product development, content creation, research - Co-work immediately improves coordination and eliminates duplicate effort. This is the Team plan feature that justifies the upgrade from individual Pro plans.