AI assistants are undergoing a qualitative transformation from "just talking" to "deep task execution."

On March 24, Anthropic announced a groundbreaking upgrade to its Claude Code and Claude Cowork. The most significant breakthrough in this update is that AI has completely broken through the limitations of tool calls, achieving direct control over computers. This move is seen by industry experts as the most radical capability leap in the Claude system so far, marking the official entry of AI interaction into the "real execution" era.

Simulating Human Operations: Work Without Interfaces

After the upgrade, Claude no longer relies solely on API calls or specific plugin tools, but can now "understand" the screen like a human and perform operations:

Full-Process Control: It can independently open files, control browsers, and even perform complete actions such as clicking, scrolling, and dragging without predefined interfaces.

Low-Barrier Interaction: This "pixel-level" understanding ability means users no longer need to configure complex development environments. Just give natural language instructions, and the rest is handled by AI.

Multi-Device Coordination: Give Commands from Your Phone, Let the Computer Work

Along with this capability upgrade, Anthropic also launched the Dispatch cross-device feature, fully connecting the communication chain between mobile phones and computers:

Remote "Subcontracting": Users can issue commands from their phone even when they are not near the computer.

All-Round Assistant: Whether it's automatically processing a large number of emails, performing complex data summaries, or remotely debugging code, Claude can silently complete tasks in the background.

Two Strong Competitors: Plug-and-Play vs. Open Ecosystem

As Claude demonstrates strong expansion, the veteran Agent framework OpenClaw also saw a major architectural update on the same day. Currently, two distinct technical routes have become clear:

Claude Roadmap: Focused on productization and plug-and-play, it emphasizes usability and security on the macOS system. It is currently available for Pro and Max subscription users.

OpenClaw Roadmap: It adheres to a system-level Agent architecture, enhancing ecosystem openness through the newly released ClawHub plugin marketplace and further integrating compatibility with multiple development tools.

Limitations and Future: The "Pain Period" of Evolution

Although the performance is impressive, the current AI control functions are still in the research preview stage. Testing shows that when handling extremely complex tasks, AI may still require multiple attempts, and the speed of simulated operations is still slower than native API integration.

However, when AI starts to hold the mouse and take over the desktop, the boundaries of human-computer collaboration have been permanently changed. The competition for the "strongest digital employee" has only just begun.