Summary  
This chapter explains how to authenticate and configure the agent orchestration environment by setting up user credentials and navigating the core modules needed to implement autonomous AI agents.

General domain of usage  
Autonomous AI agents

You've been learning about Cowork and Claude for Chrome for two sections. Now it's time to install everything. Follow the steps in this chapter, and by the end, you'll have a working agent on your desktop and in your browser.

Go to [claude.com/settings/plans](https://claude.com/settings/plans). If you're on Free, upgrade to Pro. It's $20/month, or $17/month if you bill annually. You need Pro at minimum — Cowork is not available on Free.

Step 1: Confirm Claude Pro

Head to [claude.com/download](https://claude.com/download). Grab the right version for your operating system — macOS or Windows. Install it like any other app. When it opens for the first time, sign in with the same Claude account you use on the web.

Step 2: Download the Claude desktop app

Once you're signed in, look at the sidebar on the left. You'll see Chat as the default. Look for the Cowork option. Click it. Don't run anything yet — we'll start using it in the next chapter. Just confirm you can get to it.

Step 3: Find Cowork in the desktop app

Open Chrome (or Edge, Brave, Opera, or Arc — any Chromium browser). Go to the Chrome Web Store and search "Claude." Install the official Anthropic extension. After install, click the puzzle-piece icon in your toolbar, find Claude, and click the pin so it stays visible.

Step 4: Install Claude for Chrome

Click the Claude icon in your toolbar. Sign in with the same Claude account. The side panel should open up. Try it on this page — ask it "what is this page about?" and watch it read the page and respond.

Step 5: Sign into the extension

You should now be able to open Cowork in the desktop app, and pop out the Claude side panel from any website in Chrome. That's the full stack. You're ready.

Step 6: Confirm both surfaces work

If anything is broken, the most common issues are:

* **Wrong account:** Make sure both the desktop app and the extension are signed in to the same Claude account.
* **Plan not active:** Pro may take a moment to provision. Refresh and try again.
* **Browser blocked:** Some corporate browsers block extensions. Try using a personal Chrome profile if you run into issues.


What's the minimum Claude plan to use Cowork?

Learn how to use AI agents that do more than answer questions. This course shows you how to set up Claude Cowork, Claude for Chrome, connectors, scheduled tasks, and mobile control through Dispatch. You will learn how agents interact with apps, browse the web, organize files, create documents, build spreadsheets, and complete multi-step workflows. By the end, you will understand how to design safe, useful agents that fit your own work instead of just following demos.

Learn what AI agents are, how they differ from chatbots, and where they are most useful.

Explore the main agent tools available today and decide which setup fits your needs.

Connect Claude to the apps you already use and learn how to manage permissions safely.

Use agents to complete real multi-step tasks across Drive, Docs, Sheets, Chrome, and Shopify.

Take your agents beyond the desktop, design a useful keeper agent, and understand where agent tools are heading.

Getting Your Stack Wired Up