Two designs: your own screen, or a computer in the cloud
Every product here does one of two things, and several now do both. One kind drives the computer in front of you: it takes screenshots, moves the pointer and types into whatever app is open. The other runs a machine of its own in a data center, with its own browser and files, and works on the accounts you connect.
That choice decides what an agent can reach. On your own screen it gets every app you have and every site you're signed in to, including the old accounting program with no API. It also sees whatever else is on that screen, and it stops when the computer sleeps. A cloud agent keeps working with the lid shut, but it only touches what you hand it.
Claude and ChatGPT cover both sides. Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity and Manus start in the cloud and reach your own machine in narrower ways: a browser, or apps on a Mac.
| Claude | ChatGPT | Gemini | Copilot Cowork | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operates desktop apps on your Mac or PC | Yes | Yes | Partly | No |
| Drives the browser you are signed in to | Yes | Yes | Yes | Edge, work accounts |
| Keeps working with your laptop shut | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offered in the EU and the UK | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Where screen control stands | Beta | Available | Beta, Mac app only | Browser only |
Sources: Claude Help Center: computer use in Cowork (read November 8, 2026), Anthropic: supported regions (read November 8, 2026), OpenAI docs: Computer Use (read November 8, 2026), OpenAI docs: what's new (read November 8, 2026), Google Help: Gemini Spark requirements (read November 8, 2026), Microsoft Learn: browser use in Copilot Cowork (read November 8, 2026)
Partly, for Claude's laptop row: cloud tasks run with the lid shut, screen control doesn't. Gemini's desktop app work is on the Mac only.
Side by side: what each agent needs and how to start it
Most of the choice sits in the Conditions column: the plan, the region, and a switch that you or an admin turn on before anything happens. Prices are in the plan table further down.
| Agent | What it operates | Runs on | Conditions | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Apps on your computer, by clicking and typing, after it tries a connector and then a browser. Claude in Chrome works on sites you are signed in to | The Claude desktop app on Mac and Windows. Claude in Chrome on desktop Chrome | Pro, Max or Ultra, not Free, Team or Enterprise. Computer use is in beta. The computer stays awake with the app open, and Claude asks before each new app | Update the desktop app, then turn on Enable computer use in Settings. On a Mac, allow Accessibility and Screen Recording. Ask for a job and approve each app |
| ChatGPT Work | Apps on your screen, through Computer Use in the desktop app. A cloud computer with its own browser, which keeps going while your laptop sleeps | The desktop app on Mac and Windows. The cloud computer on the web and your phone | Every plan. Free and Go get a small allowance in the desktop app only, and the cloud browser starts at Plus. Computer Use is offered only in some regions, and it shares an allowance with Codex | Turn on Computer use in the desktop app’s Settings and, on a Mac, allow Screen Recording and Accessibility. In a Work chat, type @, choose Computer and approve each app |
| Gemini Spark (Task) | Your desktop Chrome with your logins, if you allow it, or a browser in the cloud. On the Mac app, the files and apps you give it | The Gemini app on phones, the Mac and the web. Chrome control is desktop only | Google AI Pro or Ultra on a personal account, age 18 or over, with Keep Activity on. In beta, and not offered in the EEA, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK. Up to 15 tasks run at once | Pick Task with the Chat / Task switch above the prompt box, then describe the job |
| Microsoft Copilot Cowork | Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint on Microsoft's servers, and your own Edge browser in a hidden tab. It doesn't operate other Windows apps | Cowork on the web, iPhone and Android. Browser use only from Cowork on the web, in Edge | A Microsoft 365 Copilot license on a work or school account. Generally available, but off until an admin turns it on. Tasks bill Copilot Credits | Your admin turns on Cowork, plus Cowork Browsing for the browser. Then open Cowork on the web in Edge |
| Perplexity | Comet browses for you. Computer is a worker in the cloud. Personal Computer gives it folders you pick and, on a Mac, Mail, Finder and Slack | Comet on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Personal Computer on Mac and Windows, with app control on the Mac only | Comet is free, its assistant paid. Computer comes with Pro and Max and spends credits. Personal Computer launched on Max, with Pro rolling out | Download Comet and send the job in Work mode, or install Personal Computer and connect a folder |
| Manus | My Computer: files in a folder you choose, and command-line tools. Computer Use: your apps and browser. Cloud Computer: a machine in the cloud that stays on | Studio on Apple silicon Macs and Windows 10 or 11. No Linux | Studio spends the same credits as Manus on the web and works only while it runs. Its default mode approves safe steps by itself. Cloud Computer is a separate monthly plan | Install Manus Studio, turn on Work locally, pick a folder and choose how often it asks you |
| OpenClaw | Your own machine: web pages, forms, files and shell commands, on instructions you send as chat messages | Mac, Linux and Windows. You message it from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, iMessage and other chat apps | Free MIT software, and you pay the model provider. The sandbox is off by default, so it has your user account's access. Keep it off the public internet | Run the install script for your system, then openclaw onboard --install-daemon, then message it. Run openclaw security audit to check the setup |
| Opera Neon | Websites, inside the Neon browser, through its Neon Do agent | Windows and macOS | The browser is free. Neon Do needs the Standard plan, which Opera still calls early access | Download Neon, then subscribe to Standard to get Neon Do |
Claude: the widest reach on your own computer, still in beta
Claude's agent began as Cowork, a research preview in the Claude Desktop app. It reached every paid plan on Mac and Windows in April, and in September Anthropic merged it into ordinary chat. You don't switch modes any more. Claude decides when a request needs the agent.
Computer use is the part this comparison is about. On Pro, Max or Ultra, Claude can open the apps on your Mac or Windows PC and work through them by clicking and typing. It reaches for a connector first, then a browser, and takes the screen only when nothing else gets to the app. It asks before each new app, and trading and crypto apps stay blocked unless you allow them.
The catches are specific. Anthropic still calls computer use beta, and it runs only in the desktop app with the computer awake. Team and Enterprise seats don't have it yet, which matters if your company is the buyer. Agent work also eats your plan's limits faster than chat, because every step is another model call. The help page puts the risk plainly: "Computer use has no sandbox between Claude and your applications."
For web errands there's a lighter option. Claude in Chrome, the extension that clicks and fills forms on sites you're signed in to, became generally available on 26 August on every paid plan.
Cowork research preview
In the Claude Desktop app on macOS, for Max subscribers first.
Source: Claude release notes (read November 8, 2026)
Computer use and Dispatch
Claude can use your apps, and you can hand it a task from your phone.
Source: Anthropic: Dispatch and computer use (read November 8, 2026)
Cowork on every paid plan
Generally available on macOS and Windows.
Source: Anthropic: Cowork for enterprise (read November 8, 2026)
Cowork and chat become one Claude
Claude picks the agent when a task needs it.
Source: Anthropic: Cowork is now Claude (read November 8, 2026)
ChatGPT: Work replaced agent mode and the Atlas browser
OpenAI rebuilt its agent this summer. On 9 July it launched ChatGPT Work with a new desktop app for Mac and Windows that holds Chat, Work and Codex in one window. The old agent mode is gone. The Atlas browser stopped working on 9 August, and its jobs moved to the desktop app's built-in browser and a Chrome extension.
Work runs in two places. On the web and on your phone it's a virtual machine in the cloud that stays on, with a browser that can keep you signed in. In the desktop app, Computer Use sees your screen and works the apps on it. On a Mac it can work in a background window while you use another. On Windows it takes over the pointer and keyboard, so the PC is its until the task ends.
Work comes with every plan, Free included. Free and Go get a small allowance in the desktop app only, and the cloud browser starts at Plus. Work shares one allowance with Codex, counted in five-hour windows, so a long screen task spends what you'd otherwise spend on code. Pro has no five-hour limit.
The newest piece is dots, launched on 29 September: agents that run around the clock, each on a cloud computer of its own. The first dot comes with Pro and with Business Premium seats. Pro subscribers in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK don't get one.
Gemini: at home in Chrome and Gmail, closed to Europe
Google's agent is Spark, announced at I/O on 19 May and renamed Task in the Gemini app in October. It runs in the cloud and keeps going when you close the laptop or lock your phone. Since July it can drive your desktop Chrome, using your logins and saved passwords if you allow it, or a separate browser in the cloud. On the Mac app it also works with the files and apps you give it.
Up to 15 tasks can run at once. You need Google AI Pro or Ultra on a personal account, and Chrome control started in the US. Google's help page lists every region except the EEA, Nigeria, Switzerland and the UK, and gives no date for them.
Two older names are gone or folded in. Project Mariner, Google's experimental browsing agent, shut down on 4 May. Chrome's auto browse, which scrolls, clicks and types for you on desktop and Android, is for US subscribers.
Microsoft Copilot: Office work in the cloud, plus your Edge browser
Microsoft's agent is Copilot Cowork, generally available since 16 June to companies on Microsoft 365 Copilot. It runs long tasks across Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint on Microsoft's servers, so a shut laptop doesn't stop it. Since August it can also drive the employee's own Edge browser in a hidden tab, with their existing sign-ins, once an admin turns browser use on. It hands control back for CAPTCHAs, passwords and sign-in codes.
It doesn't operate Windows apps outside the browser. That lives in two other places. Copilot Actions on Windows is an experimental preview for Windows Insiders that works on a separate agent desktop. Computer use in Copilot Studio lets companies build agents that click through Windows apps on a machine they set up.
The seat isn't the whole bill. Cowork tasks are charged in Copilot Credits on top of the Copilot license, priced by model use, tool calls and runtime, and Studio's computer use charges for every step. A personal version for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family and Premium subscribers is in preview.
Perplexity, Manus, OpenClaw and Opera Neon
Perplexity splits the job in three. Comet, its browser, is free on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, but the free plan has no Comet Assistant. Paid work goes to Computer, a cloud worker that spends credits. Personal Computer, the desktop app, lets that worker read and write folders you pick and operate Mail, Finder, Slack and other Mac apps. Installed-app control isn't on Windows yet.
Manus is independent again. China blocked Meta's purchase in April, and the company resumed on its own on 1 September. Its Studio desktop app, for Apple silicon Macs and Windows, has My Computer for files and command-line tools and Computer Use for your apps. Its default setting approves safe actions by itself and blocks risky ones. At launch in March, every terminal command waited for your approval.
OpenClaw is the free, open-source choice: MIT-licensed software on your own machine that you message from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or iMessage. You pay only the model provider. Its security policy is blunt: the sandbox is off by default, so the agent acts with your user account's access, and you should assume a web page or message can steer it. Read what to check before you install someone else's skill.
Opera Neon is a browser with its own agent, Neon Do, that acts on websites for you. The browser is free, and the agents come with its paid plan.
Benchmark scores: close at the top, and not what decides it
OSWorld hands an agent 369 jobs in real apps on a Linux desktop: Chrome, LibreOffice, GIMP, Thunderbird, VS Code and tasks that span several of them. When it came out in 2024, the best model finished 12% and people about 72%. On the official Verified board, where the OSWorld team runs every entry itself, more than a dozen entries now beat that human mark.
First place isn't a lab's model. It's a framework from a small company, run with extra coding actions allowed. Claude Fable 5 is the best plain model, at 86%. OpenAI and Google haven't entered their current models, and since mid-2026 the labs report OSWorld 2.0 or 2.1 instead, harder versions whose scores don't line up with this one or with each other. Qwen says its Qwen3.8-Max reaches 86.1%, by its own count.
For a buyer, the scores say the models can now finish most routine desktop jobs. What differs between products is what each is allowed to touch, how often it stops to ask, and how much of your plan a long task spends. Those gaps are wider than a few points at the top of a chart.
Sources: OSWorld-Verified results file (official site) (read November 8, 2026), OSWorld paper (arXiv 2404.07972) (read November 8, 2026)
The official file was last updated on 7 August 2026, so models released since then are not on it.
What the plans cost
The cheapest plan with an agent and the plan you'd need are often different, so read the last column as closely as the price.
| Agent | Cheapest plan with screen or browser control | Its price | Above it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude (Cowork, computer use) | Pro | $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly | Max $100 and Ultra $200 a month. Team seats ($25 or $125 a month) have Cowork without computer use |
| ChatGPT Work | Plus (Free and Go get a small desktop allowance) | $20 a month | Pro at $100, $200 or $500 a month, with the first dot. Go is $8 |
| Gemini Spark (Task) | Google AI Pro | $19.99 a month, or $199.99 a year | AI Ultra at $99.99 or $199.99 a month |
| Microsoft Copilot Cowork | Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, for work accounts | $21 per user a month, paid yearly | Cowork tasks bill Copilot Credits on top, at $0.01 each pay as you go |
| Perplexity Computer | Pro | $20 a month, or $200 a year | Max at $200 a month, or $2,000 a year. The Comet browser is free |
| Manus | Free, 300 credits a day | $0 | Pro from $20 or $40 a month. A Cloud Computer adds $30 or $50 a month |
| OpenClaw | No plan: free software | $0 | Your model provider’s bill |
| Opera Neon | Standard | $19.90 a month | None |
Which one is worth paying for
If you want an agent working in the apps on your own computer, the entry plans of Claude and ChatGPT are the best value here, and they cost the same. Pick the one whose chat you already pay for. We'd lean to Claude for work in documents, spreadsheets and folders, the jobs Cowork was built for. ChatGPT wins when the agent has to keep going with the laptop shut.
Gemini earns its price only if your day runs through Gmail, Docs and Chrome, and only outside Europe. There, AI Pro costs about the same as the other two, and Spark is at its best in exactly those apps.
Copilot Cowork makes sense when your company already pays for Copilot seats and your work lives in Outlook, Teams and Office files. Budget for the credits each task spends, and expect it to stay inside Edge on the web.
The top tiers buy room, not a smarter agent. Claude's Max and Ultra and ChatGPT's Pro tiers run the same agent with higher limits, so move up after the entry plan runs dry for a few weeks in a row. The exception is dots: an always-on ChatGPT agent needs Pro or a Business Premium seat.
OpenClaw costs nothing to install. It's the right choice for someone who wants the agent on their own hardware and will read its security notes. For everyone else, the hours spent on setup cost more than a monthly plan.
Before you hand one your accounts
An agent that clicks for you can also click the wrong thing, or follow an instruction hidden in a page it reads. The vendors say so themselves, so set it up the careful way first.
- Point the first jobs at a folder of copies, not the originals.
- Leave approvals on, the setting that asks before each new app or risky step. Claude, ChatGPT and Manus all have one.
- Keep banking and password manager apps closed while the agent works, since a screen agent reads whatever is visible.
- Sign the agent in to a test or secondary account before it touches your main email.
- Watch the first runs to the end, and read what it changed before you trust it with the next job.
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude use my computer on a Team or Enterprise plan?
Not yet. Anthropic's help page says Team and Enterprise plans don't have computer use at this time. Those seats still get Cowork's other tasks, Claude in Chrome and connectors.
Is there a free AI agent that can control my computer?
OpenClaw's software is free, and you pay only for the model it calls. ChatGPT Free includes a small Work allowance in the desktop app, and Manus's free plan gives 300 credits a day. Comet is a free browser, but its assistant needs a paid plan.
Does ChatGPT agent mode still exist?
No. OpenAI's help article says ChatGPT agent is no longer available and points to ChatGPT Work. The Atlas browser closed on 9 August.
Which computer use agent works on Linux?
None of the big ones controls a Linux screen yet. Claude's Linux desktop app is a beta without computer use, and ChatGPT's Linux preview leaves Computer Use out. OpenClaw runs on Linux, set up by you.
Sources
- Claude Help Center: get started with Cowork https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13345190-get-started-with-cowork
- Claude Help Center: let Claude use your computer in Cowork https://support.claude.com/en/articles/14128542-let-claude-use-your-computer-in-cowork
- Claude release notes https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12138966-release-notes
- Anthropic: Dispatch and computer use https://claude.com/blog/dispatch-and-computer-use
- Anthropic: Cowork for enterprise https://claude.com/blog/cowork-for-enterprise
- Anthropic: Cowork is now Claude https://claude.com/blog/cowork-is-now-claude
- Anthropic: Claude in Chrome is generally available https://claude.com/blog/claude-in-chrome-generally-available
- Claude pricing https://claude.com/pricing
- Anthropic: supported regions https://www.anthropic.com/supported-countries
- The Next Web: OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-chatgpt-work-agent-launch
- VentureBeat: OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Work, a cloud-based AI agent https://venturebeat.com/technology/openai-introduces-chatgpt-work-a-cloud-based-ai-agent-that-manages-tasks-across-email-slack-and-calendars
- OpenAI docs: Computer Use https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/computer-use
- OpenAI docs: what's new https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/whats-new
- OpenAI docs: pricing https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing
- OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT agent https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11752874-chatgpt-agent
- 9to5Mac: what happens when ChatGPT Atlas shuts down https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/04/openai-explains-what-will-happen-when-chatgpt-atlas-shuts-down-this-weekend/
- SiliconANGLE: OpenAI launches dots, always-on agents in ChatGPT https://siliconangle.com/2026/09/29/openai-launches-dots-always-on-ai-agents-in-chatgpt-with-their-own-cloud-computers/
- Google: the next evolution of the Gemini app (I/O 2026) https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/next-evolution-gemini-app/
- Google: Gemini Spark updates, July 2026 https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/gemini-spark-updates-july-2026/
- Google Help: Gemini Spark requirements https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16596215?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
- Google Help: tasks in the Gemini app https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/17094507?hl=en
- Google Chrome Help: auto browse https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/16821166?hl=en
- BornCity: Google retires the Mariner web agent (in German) https://borncity.com/news/google-beerdigt-web-agenten-mariner-technologie-wandert-zu-gemini/
- Google: Gemini subscriptions (US) https://gemini.google/us/subscriptions/
- Microsoft 365 blog: Copilot Cowork is generally available https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/06/16/copilot-cowork-is-now-generally-available/
- Microsoft Learn: browser use in Copilot Cowork https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/cowork/cowork-local-browser
- Microsoft Support: get started with Cowork https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/get-started-with-cowork
- Microsoft Support: experimental agentic features in Windows https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai/ai-features/experimental-agentic-features
- Microsoft Learn: computer use in Copilot Studio https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/computer-use
- Microsoft Tech Community: Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-copilot-blog/act-now-lock-in-current-pricing-on-microsoft-365-copilot/ba-p/4502628
- Perplexity: Comet is now available to everyone https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/comet-is-now-available-to-everyone-worldwide
- Perplexity Help Center: which subscription plan is right for you https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11187416-which-perplexity-subscription-plan-is-right-for-you
- Perplexity Help Center: what is Personal Computer https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/14659663-what-is-personal-computer
- Perplexity Help Center: plan prices https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/12167980-using-the-connector-for-slack
- Manus: Manus resumes independent operations https://manus.im/blog/manus-resumes-independent-operations
- TechCrunch: China vetoes Meta's Manus deal https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/27/china-vetoes-metas-2b-manus-deal-after-months-long-probe/
- Manus docs: Studio desktop app https://manus.im/docs/features/desktop
- Manus Help Center: membership pricing https://help.manus.im/en/articles/11711111-what-is-the-current-membership-pricing-for-manus
- Manus Help Center: Cloud Computer plans and billing https://help.manus.im/en/articles/15392078-understanding-cloud-computer-plans-and-billing
- OpenClaw on GitHub https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
- OpenClaw security policy https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/SECURITY.md
- Opera Neon: subscription https://www.operaneon.com/subscription
- Opera: your AI agents can use Opera Neon free of charge https://blogs.opera.com/news/2026/08/your-ai-agents-can-use-opera-neon-free-of-charge/
- Claude Code docs: let Claude use your computer https://code.claude.com/docs/en/desktop#let-claude-use-your-computer
- 9to5Google: Gemini Spark becomes Task https://9to5google.com/2026/10/12/gemini-spark-task-redesign/
- Perplexity Help Center: how credits work https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/13838041-how-credits-work-on-perplexity
- OpenClaw docs: security https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security
- OSWorld-Verified results file (official site) https://raw.githubusercontent.com/os-world/os-world.github.io/main/static/data/osworld_verified_results.xlsx
- OSWorld paper (arXiv 2404.07972) https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.07972
- OSWorld 2.0 (official site) https://osworld-v2.xlang.ai/
- Gigazine: Alibaba releases Qwen 3.8 Max https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20260804-alibaba-qwen-3-8-max/