What are the best AI apps to control your computer?
The short list in late 2026: Claude's desktop app, ChatGPT Work with its cloud browser, superbot, and the open-source Agent S. They split on one question more than any other: does the agent act on your screen, or on a computer of its own somewhere else? Answer that first and most of the choice is made for you.
The apps side by side
Each row uses the maker's own description, read on the date under Sources.
| App | Where it acts | Systems | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude desktop app (Cowork and Claude Code) | Your own screen and apps, after you approve each app | macOS and Windows | A Pro, Max or Ultra plan; computer use is in beta |
| ChatGPT Work with cloud browser | A browser on a separate computer in the cloud, not your desktop | Web and mobile | A paid plan other than Free and Go |
| superbot | Your screen, asking before it uses your computer unless you pick Always | Computer use on Mac and Windows | The desktop app; computer use starts at Ask |
| Agent S | A real desktop, seen through screenshots | macOS, Windows and Linux | Your own install and a model to run it |
Your screen or a cloud computer
An agent on your own screen can reach the apps you already use: a spreadsheet saved on your disk, an internal tool with no web version, a design file. The price is that it sees whatever is open. Anthropic's help page says plainly that Claude takes screenshots of your computer and can see any information visible on it, and suggests closing sensitive files first.
A cloud computer keeps the work off your machine. OpenAI describes ChatGPT's cloud browser as its own browser on a separate computer, which can keep going after you close your laptop and pauses when it needs you to sign in. It cannot open the desktop apps on your own computer, so it fits web chores better than file work.
How to choose
- Start with the job. Booking, comparing prices and filling web forms suit a cloud browser. Moving files between desktop apps needs an agent on your screen.
- Check how it asks. Claude asks before each new app. superbot asks before it uses your computer, with a choice of Always allow, Allow in this chat or Not now.
- Find the stop control before the first run. Anthropic says you can stop Claude at any point; whatever you pick, know where that button is before the agent starts clicking.
- Expect it to be slower than a direct integration. Anthropic's own launch note says working through the screen is slower than a connector and that complex tasks sometimes need a second try.
If you want to try the agent we make, superbot runs in a browser with no account, and its desktop app adds computer use on Mac and Windows.
Sources
Last updated .