Anthropic Turns Claude Into a Front Door for Daily Apps

Anthropic introduced consumer app connectors for Claude, letting users link the artificial intelligence (AI) assistant directly to services they use every day.

The integrations include Spotify, Uber, Uber Eats, Instacart, Intuit TurboTax, Intuit Credit Karma, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, AllTrails, Audible, Resy, StubHub, Taskrabbit, Thumbtack and Viator. Since launching in July, the Claude connector directory has grown to over 200 integrations, with users frequently connecting multiple apps and using them together inside a single conversation, according to Anthropic.

The move brings Claude into direct competition with OpenAI and Google. As CNET reported, both Gemini and ChatGPT already allow third-party app connections, with ChatGPT linking to tools like Canva and Zillow. Historically, Claude’s connectors have been work-focused. This launch is geared toward daily consumer use.

The architecture of Claude’s connector system differs from how competitors have approached third-party integrations. Gemini connects primarily to Google’s own app ecosystem. ChatGPT relies on users selecting tools manually.

In contrast, Claude now suggests the right app based on what the user is doing inside the conversation, whether finding a reservation, adding to a grocery cart or identifying a flight, working from the user’s stated preferences and conversational context, according to Anthropic. The user doesn’t browse or select. When more than one connected app could help, Claude shows both and lets the user choose.

Claude is ad-free and plans to stay that way. There are no paid placements or sponsored answers in conversations, and when two connectors could help, both are shown ranked by usefulness to the user, the company said. Before completing any booking or purchase, Claude is designed to check with the user first.

That confirmation-before-action design matters for enterprise and consumer trust alike. The model recommends. The user decides. The app executes.

AI as a Transaction and Commerce Layer

The connector model turns Claude into an orchestration layer above individual apps. A conversation about weekend plans can produce a hiking recommendation from AllTrails, a restaurant booking from Resy, a grocery order from Instacart, and a ride from Uber without the user switching between apps. Each step represents a potential transaction.

The grocery use case illustrates the complexity that makes this harder than it appears. Instacart’s CTO Anirban Kundu described the challenge in a company post published alongside the launch. Grocery involves tens of thousands of SKUs per store, inventory availability that changes by the minute, and deeply personal household preferences. Most AI grocery experiences fail because they surface plausible-sounding results that don’t reflect what’s actually in stock, what things cost at a specific store, or what a household actually buys.

What makes Instacart’s integration viable inside Claude is its underlying infrastructure: data pipelines into more than 2,200 retail banners, a product catalog with more than 2 billion items, and a personalization engine called Smart Shop that tracks how preferences shift by season, occasion and household. When a user builds a grocery cart inside Claude, it connects to real inventory from nearby stores. Any cart built in the conversation syncs automatically to the user’s Instacart account.

Competitive Landscape and Platform Implications

The connector expansion puts Anthropic on the same consumer terrain as OpenAI and Google at a moment when all three are competing to become the default layer for everyday decisions. The execution model is where Anthropic is making its bet. Suggestion-driven discovery inside a conversation is a different distribution model than a tool store where users choose integrations manually.

The more apps a user connects, the more Claude can do. Claude suggests relevant connectors as the user works, which can be installed with a click on desktop or a few taps on mobile, according to Anthropic. Once connected, a service is available in every conversation.

Connectors are available across all Claude plans. Mobile access is currently in beta. Anthropic said it will continue expanding the directory and invited developers to submit their products for inclusion.

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