Curious Companion: Claude in Chrome: Your Browser Just Got a Helpful Roomate

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

In this episode I cover Claude in Chrome, a Chrome browser extension that lets Claude see your browser and take actions on your behalf. I walk through what Claude in Chrome is, how it works, how to get it installed, and what it can and can’t do, plus the real use case that finally made me understand its utility. Also in this episode: a quick update on Anthropic’s new Mythos model and a case of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

Curiously Up to Date

I know, it feels like we cannot escape AI and it’s everywhere that we don’t want it. But I think you’re going to want it here.

Claude actually told me about Claude in Chrome about two weeks ago, and I’ve been wanting to write about it, but I’ve also been wanting to make content about the dope stuff I’ve been building…so, here we are, finally talking about this dope extension.

As per always, my goal is to just keep your curious minds informed and up to date. Whether or not you use the things I throw out there is 100% up to you. Take what serves you and leave the rest.

What is Claude in Chrome?

Claude in Chrome is a Chrome browser extension that lets Claude see your browser and take actions on your behalf.

For those wondering: a browser extension is a small add-on program you install into your browser that gives it extra functionality. This particular extension lets Claude do things for you…in your browser. Sounds a bit sus at first, but honestly I’ve found it to be awesome, which is why I chose it for today’s topic. Real talk, I’m honestly not sure if folks know about it. I certainly didn’t.

A quick history of how/when Claude in Chrome was rolled out:

Claude in Chrome first launched to 1,000 Max plan subscribers in August of 2025 (Last year!!! Who knew? Definitely not me.)
It was then expanded to all Max plan subscribers in November of 2025
The following month, December 2025, it was opened to all paid plans: Pro (what I have), Team, and Enterprise
It is currently in beta, which means people are using it, but weird behavior should be expected and can be reported, if you’re into that kind of thing.

How Claude in Chrome Actually Works

The tech behind how Claude in Chrome works is honestly outside of the scope of this newlsetter, aka I don’t think you’ll care, but for the techies in the crowd: Claude is reading the DOM (Document Object Model) and then executing JavaScript commands to trigger the action (for example: click the button).

Back to regular people speak: What I want you to take away from that click the button example is that Claude can click buttons! I know, doesn’t sound like much. But it can also fill out forms and input lines!

Again, I realize, doesn’t sound like something worth getting even a little bit excited about. But I just want you to think of a super annoying, repetitive task that involves inputting text into fields on a page, or repeatedly clicking buttons to execute an action. If and when you do finally think of that something, Claude in Chrome shines.

My aha moment came when I had Claude in Chrome change metadata for my blog and podcast pages for Prompting Curiosity. That’s over 50 web pages that needed things changed, and Claude in Chrome did all of it!

The Backstory: How I Actually Found Out About Claude in Chrome

Y’all know I just did this big rebrand and domain change for the podcast, changing everything from ChatGPT Curious to Prompting Curiosity. Because of that rebrand, I found myself in Google Search Console looking to see if things had in fact officially switched over and what Google was seeing, aka what was being indexed and what wasn’t. Full transparency, despite dating the SEO queen, I have no idea how Google Search Console works. But you know who does? Claude.

I was working through all of this with Claude, and at one point Claude just “said”: “If you’ve got the Chrome extension, I can just open Search Console and tell you exactly what I’m seeing.”

Say whaaaaat.

I literally had no idea the extension existed. I’d had had a few conversations with my friend Khe about Claude in Chrome, but those conversations had left me not really understanding the utility of it, or honestly, what it even was. That moment in Search Console changed all that and made me a believer. Big talk, I know. But it was truly impressive.

How to Install Claude in Chrome

Claude walked me through getting Claude in Chrome installed, and it was super straightforward. You need to be on a paid Claude plan, and there are two ways to do it:

Through Claude Desktop: via the Connectors tab in Settings (this is how I did it)
Chrome Web Store: search “Claude in Chrome”

You can CLICK HERE to read a support article from Claude that will walk you through it.

What Claude in Chrome Can (and Can’t) Do

The TL;DR: if you can interact with something or do something via your browser, Claude can probably do it as well.

A few exceptions to keep in mind:

Login walls: It cannot log in to things on your behalf; it will ask you for permissions inside Claude Desktop or via the Claude in Chrome sidebar on the page you’re having it interact with
CAPTCHAs: Nope (this is a good thing!)
Some JavaScript-heavy sites: May have issues

So to put it plainly: if you are navigating a website, a web page, or anything via your browser, you can have Claude look at that page, interact with that page, and take action on your behalf on that page.

I realize that everything I’ve written thus far likely comes off exactly the same as the rest of the backwards AI/LLM marketing: instead of the company building a solution for your problem, they say “Here’s a solution, go find a problem.” Backwards.

So, yes, I’m well aware I realize that this whole time you’ve likely been thinking, “WTF would I even use this for?” That was 100% me listening to my friend Khe rave about it.

Until it wasn’t.

If and when a use-case emerges for you, Claude in Chrome really is quite remarkable. Until then, no need to force anything. My goal, is simply to provide whatever information I can to keep your curious minds up to date and aware of what’s going on in the land of LLMs.

On Safety

As per always, safety is a concern and something to think about. Real talk, I have definitely found myself getting to a point where I’m kind of like YOLO; the benefits gained justify the risks taken. A position I definitely did not hold just a few months ago.

I have no idea where your head is at with things, but best practice is clearly to use at your own discretion.

Quick Update: Anthropic’s New Model, Mythos

Alrighty, one quick update before we get to how I used AI this week. This changes nothing for you or me (at least not yet), but I want you to be in the know.

On April 7th, Anthropic released a new model called Mythos. It’s reported to be a significant jump in capability (I’m talking SIGNIFICANT) via stronger reasoning and coding, and its cybersecurity capabilities specifically are so far ahead of everything else that Anthropic decided not to release it publicly. Translation: the model is too capable to ship.

‘The Sandwich Story’ has been circulating, serving as a “fun” anecdote depicting Mythos’ capabilities: During testing, Mythos escaped a secured sandbox computer it was contained in, figured out how to get internet access, and sent an email to the researcher running the evaluation…who was eating a sandwich in a park at the time.

So, the update is that a new, superpowerful model has been released, and this definitely feels like one of those “just because you can make something doesn’t mean you should” moments. What does that mean for you right now? Nothing.

The entire cybersecurity world is currently working together via a project called Glasswing, and time will tell exactly what Mythos means for…well…everything.

How I Used AI This Week

Each episode I share a quick example of how I used AI that week.

This week I used Claude to build a Google Apps Script to automate forwarding utility bills to Lex. Seems trite and trivial, and that’s exactly the point. That right there is how I love to use AI.

Lex and I split utilities 50-50, but gas, electric, and internet are all in my name simply because I set them up. Gas and electric amounts change each month, so I forward her the bill and in return she sends me the money. The only problem is, I always forget to forward the email bill. The last time I forwarded one of said bills was…November of last year. It’s currently April.

So I had Claude whip up a script that I could run in Google Apps Script, and those particular emails now get automatically forwarded to Lex, and I don’t have to touch a single thing.

Da Wrap-up

At first glance, Claude in Chrome gets an eyebrow raise and seems to have little to no utility. My suggestion: Stay curious and remember that if you can do something in a browser, Claude in Chrome can probably do it as well.

As always, endlessly grateful for you and your curiosity.

Catch you next Thursday.

Maestro out.