What is Claude Dispatch: your Mac, controlled from your phone
On March 17, 2026, Anthropic launched Dispatch, a new Cowork feature that lets you control a Claude desktop session directly from your smartphone. In practice, you can assign tasks to your Mac while you are away from the office — in a meeting, traveling, at a coffee shop — and Claude executes them on your computer.
The concept is simple: the phone commands, the desktop executes. Dispatch creates a secure bridge between Claude's mobile app and the desktop app (Claude Desktop), allowing you to start, monitor and manage complex tasks without being physically in front of your computer. It is a single persistent conversation between the two devices.
This is not cloud computing: all work happens locally on the Mac. Dispatch is an intelligent remote control, not a remote server. The computer must remain powered on and connected, and the AI operates on the files, applications and tools present on the machine.
How it works: setup in 30 seconds
Activating Dispatch is immediate. Open Claude Desktop on the Mac, enter a Cowork session, click Dispatch and scan the QR code with your phone. From that moment, the phone and desktop are linked in a single, continuous conversation.
From the phone, you send requests in natural language — exactly as you would with Claude in chat. The difference is that Claude does not just respond: it acts on the Mac. It can open files, process data, search for information in local applications, generate documents and organize folders. All while you are elsewhere.
An important design element is how sensitive actions are handled. Before executing potentially destructive operations — deleting files, moving folders, modifying configurations — Dispatch pauses execution and sends a push notification to your phone, requesting explicit confirmation. This mechanism ensures that nothing irreversible happens without the user's consent.
Practical use cases for managers and professionals
Dispatch addresses a real need: work does not stop when you step away from your desk. Here are some concrete scenarios. A sales director on a business trip asks Claude to open the spreadsheet with quarterly sales data, compile a summary report and save it to a shared folder. Everything happens on the office Mac, and the report is ready upon their return.
A consultant in a client meeting needs data that is stored on their own computer. They open Dispatch, ask Claude to find the file, extract the relevant information and send it in a readable format. Within minutes, they receive the answer without interrupting the meeting.
Other examples: asking Claude to analyze the emails and Slack messages received during the morning and prepare a briefing document. Or organizing a project's files into structured folders, renaming them according to a specific convention. Or creating a presentation from data stored in Google Drive. These are all tasks that normally require sitting at the computer — with Dispatch, you delegate them in 30 seconds from your phone.
Want to discuss with an expert?
30 minutes to discuss your specific case.
Security and privacy: end-to-end encryption
Security is a central aspect of Dispatch, especially for enterprise use. The connection between phone and Mac is protected by end-to-end encryption: no data travels in plain text and Anthropic has no access to the content of communications between the two devices.
All processing happens locally on the Mac. Files, data and applications are never uploaded to external servers. This approach is consistent with Cowork's philosophy, which favors local execution over the cloud to ensure the confidentiality of business data.
The confirmation system for destructive actions adds an additional layer of protection. An employee using Dispatch from their phone will not accidentally delete a project folder: every irreversible operation requires explicit approval via push notification. For businesses handling sensitive data — law firms, financial advisors, medical practices — this architecture offers stronger guarantees than cloud-based solutions.
Availability and plans: who can use Dispatch today
Dispatch was launched on March 17, 2026, as a research preview, initially available to Max subscribers. Pro users will gain access within a few days of launch. Support for Enterprise and Team plans is expected shortly — Cowork already supports these subscription tiers, so the extension is a matter of timing, not architecture.
At present, Dispatch works exclusively on Mac. No support for Windows or Linux has been announced, although a future expansion is reasonable given that Claude Desktop is already available on these platforms.
It is worth noting that Dispatch fits within an already mature Cowork ecosystem that includes plugins, connectors, Skills and the Model Context Protocol. It is not a standalone product but a new way to access an already established platform. For those who already know Cowork, Dispatch is a natural evolution.
The competitive landscape: Dispatch vs OpenClaw
Dispatch is Anthropic's answer to OpenAI's OpenClaw, which offers a similar approach to remote desktop control. The key difference lies in the architecture: Dispatch relies on Cowork and its local infrastructure, while OpenClaw adopts a more cloud-oriented model.
For businesses, the choice between the two solutions depends on several factors: the ecosystem already adopted, privacy requirements, task type and budget. Those already using Claude and Cowork will find Dispatch a natural extension of their work environment. Those in the OpenAI ecosystem will evaluate OpenClaw.
The strategic point is something else entirely: mobile productivity is becoming a battleground for the major AI players. The ability to work effectively from a phone, delegating complex tasks to AI, is no longer a nice-to-have — it is a competitive advantage. Businesses that adopt these tools ahead of their competitors gain an efficiency edge that is difficult to recover.
What Dispatch means for businesses: the journey with Maverick AI
For decision-makers, Dispatch carries three concrete implications. The first is out-of-office productivity: managers, consultants and professionals who spend much of their day traveling, in meetings and on business trips can now delegate tasks to AI that previously required returning to their desk. Dead time becomes productive time.
The second is remote and hybrid work. In a context where many companies are consolidating flexible work models, Dispatch offers a new level of autonomy: the office computer remains operational even when the employee is working from home or on the move.
The third is preparation for agentic AI. Dispatch is not just a remote control: it is a practical introduction to the concept of AI that acts on behalf of the user. Businesses that start using Dispatch today are building the culture and processes to adopt increasingly autonomous AI solutions tomorrow. Maverick AI supports companies on this journey — from configuring Cowork and Dispatch to training teams, through to designing AI workflows integrated into business processes.