Anthropic adds personal app connectors to Claude, including Spotify

In short: Anthropic says its Claude chatbot can now connect directly to everyday personal apps like Spotify, Uber Eats, and TurboTax.

What happened

Anthropic announced new “connectors” for Claude that let the chatbot link to personal apps people use outside of work. A connector is like a plug that lets Claude safely reach into an app you approve, so it can pull in relevant info or help you do something.

The company says this expands beyond earlier connectors aimed at work tools, such as Microsoft apps. The new list focuses on consumer services, including Audible, Spotify, Uber, AllTrails, TripAdvisor, Instacart, and TurboTax.

After you connect an app, Claude can suggest it during a conversation when it seems helpful. For example, if you ask for hiking ideas, Claude might point you to AllTrails. Anthropic also says Claude will ask you to confirm before it takes actions like making a purchase or booking something.

Anthropic says the connectors are available now on all Claude plans, with mobile support “in beta” (meaning it is still being tested and may have issues). Users can manage these connections by choosing “connectors” in the “customize” tab in Claude’s sidebar.

Why it matters

This brings chatbots closer to being one place where you can plan and act, not just ask questions. It could save time, since you may not need to jump between several apps to do simple tasks.

It also raises privacy questions, so Anthropic highlighted a few limits. The company says data from connected apps is not used to train its AI models, the connected app cannot see your other Claude chats, and you can disconnect at any time. Anthropic also says there are no paid placements or sponsored answers, and if several apps fit your request, Claude will show results from more than one.

Source: The Verge AI