More AI chatbots are increasingly integrating third-party apps as companies look to make their platforms more capable and competitive. Anthropic’s Claude is the latest to do so, introducing support for external app connections that allow users to link the chatbot with a range of consumer services.
In a statement released today, Anthropic said users can now link Claude to their AllTrails, Audible, Booking.com, Instacart, Intuit Credit Karma, Intuit TurboTax, Resy, Spotify, StubHub, Taskrabbit, Thumbtack, TripAdvisor, Uber, Uber Eats and Viator accounts. The company noted that it plans to add more services in the future.
Claude can suggest relevant apps based on what users are discussing, such as booking hotels, grocery shopping, or travel plans. According to Anthropic’s official blog, the chatbot uses available context, including the conversation history and user preferences, to determine which connected service is most relevant.
Much like other chatbot integrations, all of these processes happen within the app itself. As an example, a user can ask Claude to recommend a weekend hike, and AllTrails can help locate nearby trails that suit their preferences. From there, they have the option to further refine the suggestion by adding more details. Moreover, if more than one connected app can help address the request, Claude surfaces all relevant options and lets the user choose.
There are also questions about how this setup interacts with users’ personal data, particularly data shared through connected accounts. Anthropic says that data from connected apps is not used to train its AI models. The company also states that it does not access users’ other conversations with Claude. Not only that, but users can also disconnect their accounts at any time.
The connectors are available on both desktop and mobile versions of Claude. It is rolling out across all plans, with mobile support currently in beta.
(Source: Claude)
