Anthropic has announced a major expansion of Claude’s capabilities, introducing interactive app integrations that allow users to open, view, and work directly inside connected tools without leaving the chat interface. The update is powered by MCP Apps, a new extension of Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), and is designed to make Claude a more collaborative, action-oriented workspace rather than a purely conversational assistant.

With this launch, Claude moves beyond taking actions for users and begins showing those actions in real time, enabling live collaboration across project management, design, analytics, and communication tools.

Anthropic says users can now see and interact with tools as part of the conversation, enabling faster execution and clearer collaboration.

Examples include:

Coming soon, Salesforce integrations will bring enterprise context into Claude through Agentforce 360, enabling teams to reason, collaborate, and act from a single, connected interface.

Anthropic emphasized that the update builds on its open-source Model Context Protocol, which provides a standardized way for tools to connect to AI systems.

MCP Apps extend this foundation by allowing developers to:

Anthropic said it open-sourced the Model Context Protocol to give developers a universal way to connect tools to AI systems. With the introduction of MCP Apps, the company is extending that foundation to support interactive user interfaces, allowing developers to build tools that can operate wherever users engage with AI — not just inside a single assistant.

Users can begin connecting interactive apps in Claude by visiting the Claude app directory and selecting integrations labeled as “interactive.” The feature is currently available on web and desktop for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, with support for Claude Cowork expected in a future release.

Q: What’s new about this update compared to previous Claude integrations?
A: Claude previously connected to tools and took actions in the background. With MCP Apps, users can now see and interact with those tools directly inside the conversation.

Q: Is this limited to Claude?
A: No. MCP Apps are built on an open standard, allowing interactive tools to work across any AI platform that supports MCP.

Q: Why does this matter for enterprise teams specifically?
A: For enterprise users, interactive app integrations reduce friction between analysis and execution. Teams can reason, act, and verify work inside a single interface, improving visibility, collaboration, and auditability across workflows.

Q: How does this compare to OpenAI’s tool and app integrations?
A: OpenAI has already moved toward tool-centric AI experiences, particularly through custom GPTs and embedded actions. Anthropic’s approach differs by emphasizing open standards and cross-platform interoperability, positioning MCP Apps as a foundation that can support interactive tools across multiple AI systems — not just Claude.

Q: Who has access today?
A: The feature is available on Claude web and desktop for Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

At first glance, Anthropic’s new interactive app integrations may look indistinguishable from what users already experience in OpenAI’s ecosystem. In both cases, AI assistants can connect to tools, take actions, and surface results inside a conversational interface. For end users, the experience can feel nearly identical — and that similarity is intentional.

The difference emerges beneath the surface.

OpenAI’s connectors and custom GPT integrations are platform-centric. Tools are built specifically to operate inside OpenAI’s environment, using OpenAI’s APIs, permissions, and interface assumptions. This delivers a highly polished experience, but it also means those integrations are largely tied to OpenAI as the central hub. If an organization later wants to shift models or adopt a multi-AI strategy, those integrations typically have to be rebuilt or re-architected. That platform-centric design prioritizes speed, cohesion, and a tightly integrated user experience — qualities many organizations actively prefer when rolling out AI at scale.

Anthropic is taking a different architectural approach. By extending the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and introducing MCP Apps, Anthropic is separating the tool, the interface, and the AI model itself. A tool built using MCP can expose both its functionality and its interactive UI through an open standard. Any AI system that supports MCP — not just Claude — can then host that same tool without requiring a custom, platform-specific integration.

In practical terms, this means the same connector can be reused across AI platforms, rather than recreated for each one. For enterprises, this reduces long-term dependency on any single AI provider and makes it easier to adopt multi-model strategies, enforce governance standards, and respond to changes in pricing, policy, or regulatory requirements.

This shift matters because AI assistants are rapidly becoming the primary interface for work itself, not just productivity add-ons. The question is no longer which model is smartest, but who controls the workflow layer where reasoning, execution, and collaboration converge. Anthropic’s bet is that open, interoperable standards will be more durable than closed ecosystems — even if both approaches look the same to users in the short term.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.