Podcast Summary: "Claude Co-Work Can Now Control Your Computer"

Podcast: The Jaeden Schafer Podcast
Host: Jaeden Schafer
Date: March 25, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jaeden Schafer dives deep into Anthropic’s most recent groundbreaking update: Claude Cowork can now control your computer, including mouse, keyboard, and screen functions. Schafer dissects what this advancement means for productivity, how it compares to other agent tools, and what it took to get the feature up and running in real workflow scenarios. He also shares his hands-on experiences, best use cases, and candid thoughts about the tool’s strengths and shortcomings.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Industry Shifts and Anthropic’s Momentum

• Anthropic’s Growth: Jaeden notes the rapid adoption of Claude for powering businesses, highlighting its significant revenue and ability to outpace competitors like OpenAI, especially as OpenAI retired “Sora” (the video model).
• Quote:

  “People are saying [Anthropic is] completely changing everything that OpenAI is doing… all signs point back to Anthropic and how much good ground they have gained with white collar and productivity work.” – Jaeden (01:01)

2. Overview of Claude Cowork’s Computer Control Feature

• Feature Introduction: The new update lets Claude control users’ mouse, keyboard, and screen, and is now available for both Mac and Windows.
• Collaborative Workflow: With Dispatch, Claude can synchronize with your phone, letting you direct automations even while away from your computer.
• How to Enable: Users must download the Claude desktop app and toggle on “Claude Cowork” and “Dispatch” in settings.
• Hands-On Insights:

  “It can do literally anything I want it to do… if I’m at the grocery store, I can open my phone up, see what it’s working on, and chat with it and say, ‘Hey now can you please do xyz?’” – Jaeden (05:16)

3. Comparison with Competing Tools

• Openclaw vs Claude Cowork: Jaeden contrasts Claude’s ease of use for non-developers with Openclaw’s complexity and developer focus.
• User Experience:

  “[Openclaw] is complex... you’re going to want to watch a lot of tutorials if you're not a developer... in my opinion, if you’re the average white collar person… [Claude Cowork] is huge.” – Jaeden (07:52)

4. Performance and Limitations

• Speed & Reliability: The feature currently executes tasks slowly—Anthropic admits as much and is expected to speed things up in future updates.
• Candid Take:

  “It is sort of slow, especially right now.… I’m not gonna overhype this and say, like, it’s zooming around clicking. The speed will increase inevitably… but for the time being, I think they’re just trying to be really careful and make it slow.” – Jaeden quoting Felix Reisenberg, Anthropic (09:45)

5. Example Workflows and Practical Use Cases

• Tasks Automated: Jaeden shares real projects he automated:
  • Generating scripts and content
  • Website logins and content collection
  • Editing videos in CapCut through Claude’s step-by-step interaction
  • Running automations by combining Claude with tools from AI Box AI
• Real-World Frustrations:

  “Like, if you sit there and watch it, sometimes it can feel painful because it’s like, ‘I am opening up Cap Cut now, I am searching for the new project button,’ and then it’s like, says 20 things back and forth for like 3 minutes…” – Jaeden (13:38)

6. Learning Curve and “Skill” Automation

• Workshopping Automation: Developing robust workflows takes time. Once refined, users can save these as “skills” for one-click automation.
• Access Management: Early attempts can be slowed by repeated permissions requests, but once permissions are granted and skills are saved, the workflow is much smoother.
• Optimization Advice:

  “So it takes a while to get something set up, but once you save it as a skill… all I have to do is say, ‘Hey, run this skill again,’ and it will go and do the whole process.” – Jaeden (19:28)

• Best Practice: Run Claude Cowork on a spare or secondary computer, as its slowness may interfere with your main workflow.

7. Broader Implications and Recommendations

• Transformative, Even if Imperfect: Despite speed and UX challenges, Jaeden strongly recommends non-coders, and especially productivity-minded professionals, invest time in learning Claude Cowork.
• Funny and Relatable Moment:

  “I had basically reshared a post that I saw on X from Thomas Frank. He said, ‘Currently 892 hours into automating a 30 second task I do four times a year. It's going to be so worth it once I get everything working.’ I thought that was hilarious and I think that’s kind of what it felt like for me yesterday.” – Jaeden (26:31)

• Looking Ahead: The host predicts that as the tool matures and speeds up, it will become a staple of digital workflows.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the learning curve as a no-coder:

  “If you are a no coder like myself, this is 100%, I think, the best way to work with agents and to automate stuff. It is phenomenal. I would highly recommend it.” – Jaeden (32:11)

• Summing up Anthropic’s advantage:

  “This feels much, much more sophisticated. This feels like it actually works.” – Jaeden (23:42)

• On the practical value:

  “It does get the task done and it does do it well. So I would say spend some time on this one. It’s going to get faster… it’s worth learning.” – Jaeden (29:35)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:01 – Anthropic’s surge past OpenAI; background context
• 05:16 – How Claude Cowork (and Dispatch) enables remote and phone-based automation
• 07:52 – Comparing set-up difficulty: Claude Cowork vs. Openclaw
• 09:45 – Felix Reisenberg (Anthropic) on current speed limitations
• 13:38 – Example: Editing videos in CapCut step-by-step
• 19:28 – Saving workflow as a “skill”; repeat automation
• 23:42 – Why Claude Cowork is a leap forward from previous agents
• 26:31 – The “892 hours” joke about automation’s learning curve
• 29:35 – Jaeden’s final endorsement for non-developers and productivity fans
• 32:11 – Final word: Why it’s a must-try for no-coders

Conclusion

Jaeden Schafer delivers a hands-on, honest breakdown of Claude Cowork’s new computer control powers. He weighs its practical strengths and the very real learning curve, particularly for no-coders, and voices optimism about Anthropic's innovative direction. Listeners interested in cutting-edge workflow automation, AI agents, and boosting productivity will find this episode both informative and actionable.