Send emails and iMessages by letting Claude control your computer

An author gave Claude computer use control for three hours; it opened Outlook to compose and send an email, and found an iMessage conversation to message a friend.

What They Did

Claude CoWork's Outlook connector needed IT approval and its iMessage integration had failed earlier, so the author turned on computer use instead. That took five setup steps, including a Chrome extension, screen recording and accessibility settings. Claude then opened the Outlook desktop app, composed and sent an email, and found the right iMessage conversation and sent a text. The author told it who to message and what to say.

How It Went

Both the email and the text were sent without any API or integration. Claude also messaged a coworker in Teams, pausing for the author's approval before sending. The author doesn't report any failures in these runs.

Worth Knowing

Outlook took a few minutes to load because the desktop app had never been opened. Expect a delay on apps you haven't launched before.