It's not about replacing but collaboration! Anthropic updates AI tools: integrated into enterprise software emphasizing helping clients grow

Following market turbulence triggered by its AI (artificial intelligence) tools, AI startup Anthropic is expanding into new areas.

On February 24th, local time, Anthropic upgraded its intelligent agent software Claude Cowork, launching a new AI plugin designed to automate tasks in fields such as human resources, investment banking, and design. The plugin is also compatible with applications like Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.

According to reports, in Claude Cowork, Claude is no longer used as a standalone chatbot but can be integrated into enterprise software tools. Users can extract context information and data without leaving the current window. The new plugin will help Claude perform tasks more efficiently, such as building scenario models in private equity work, writing job descriptions and hiring notices in HR, and creating creative briefs for design-related tasks.

Perhaps to ease market pressure, Anthropic emphasized that these new plugins are developed in collaboration with partner companies. For example, Anthropic has partnered with FactSet, S&P, and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to develop financial services plugins, and with Apollo Global Management to develop private equity tools.

Earlier this year, Anthropic released the desktop intelligent agent application Claude Cowork, along with 11 plugins targeting specific roles across core business areas such as law, sales, finance, and marketing. Investors are concerned that such tools could automate a large portion of internal company work, severely impacting software and chip manufacturing companies.

Scott White, head of Anthropic’s Claude AI model product, stated at the launch event that the company’s goal is to eliminate the gap between how people use AI at work and the tools they use. He said that linking market performance to a single product release is “a bit of an overinterpretation,” as the company’s AI models are helping enterprise clients achieve growth. With this update, users will find it easier to interact with Claude, making it more like a “truly fully functional virtual collaborator.”

White firmly denied that AI agents will replace traditional software service companies: “This is not a product trying to take over or cover all workflows. We provide infrastructure and intelligent capabilities so that our partners or clients can incorporate their business knowledge, expertise, long-standing trust, and their customers into this system.”

Anthropic’s product leader Matt Piccolella also stated, “We believe the best way to promote enterprise adoption of AI is to build dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of such plugins… Think of them as mini-applications. Companies can develop hundreds of these plugins and distribute them to employees.”

Anthropic’s recent announcement did not trigger another wave of sell-offs and helped some previously impacted giants recover. On the 24th, media group Thomson Reuters (Nasdaq: TRI) rose over 11%, financial data firm FactSet (NYSE: FDS) increased 5%, and software giant Salesforce gained 4%.

Currently, panic over AI’s disruptive impact is sweeping the market. Last weekend, research firm Citrini Research published a report outlining risks AI could pose to various sectors of the global economy. The report hypothesizes a scenario in June 2028: by then, the disruptive effects of AI could lead to mass white-collar unemployment, decreased consumer spending, loan defaults supported by software, and an economic contraction.

Analysts from investment bank Wedbush Securities noted in the report that Anthropic’s update indicates that the threat of AI to SaaS companies has been “exaggerated.” They believe that AI models cannot replace complex workflows deeply embedded in modern software infrastructure: “The reality is that these new AI tools will not completely overthrow and replace existing software ecosystems and data environments. Their value depends on the scope of data they can access and utilize.”

(Source: The Paper)