Anthropic has updated its Claude AI chatbot with the ability to build, host and share AI-powered apps directly in Claude. Launching in beta, the new function builds upon the Artifacts feature Anthropic introduced last year, allowing users to see and interact with what they asked Claude to create. “Now developers can iterate faster on their AI apps without worrying about the complexity and cost of scaling for a growing audience,” according to Anthropic. The San Francisco-based AI startup adds that millions people have already used Claude to create more than 500 million artifacts — from productivity tools to educational games.

The upgrade allows users “to embed AI features directly into their creations, transforming them into AI-powered applications,” writes SiliconANGLE, adding that “for context, Artifacts allow users to use Claude to create standalone content in a dedicated window from the main conversation.”

Artifacts makes it more convenient to work with AI to create and collaborate on content like documents and apps. “Artifacts turn anyone into an app creator—no coding needed. Just tell Claude your idea to instantly create shareable apps, tools, and games,” Anthropic explains in a blog post, using the example of flash cards.

“Rather than asking Claude to create a set of flashcards for one topic, you can ask Claude to build a flashcard app that lets users pick their own topic and generate their own cards,” Anthropic says. “One request gets you static study materials. The other creates a shareable tool that generates cards for any topic,” notes VentureBeat.

“Claude can now create artifacts that interact with Claude through an API — turning these artifacts into AI-powered apps, where the economics actually work for sharing,” Anthropic says in a separate blog post that explains how third-parties can use Claude-powered apps you’ve created. Anthropic has also posted a how-to video for building AI-powered Claude apps.

Amazon and Google are investors in Anthropic. In May, it was reported that Apple teamed with Anthropic to leverage Claude for vibe coding tools, for which a development like this could prove propitious.

Last year Anthropic introduced the Model Context Protocol (MCP) open standard for enabling AI assistants and agents to connect to data systems seamlessly and securely. Since MCP’s rollout, “the standard has become increasingly adopted across the industry, including by Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google,” ZDNet reports. Anthropic said this month it will allow users to integrate Claude Code with any remote MCP servers.

Related:
Anthropic Summons the Spirit of Flash Games for the AI Age, Ars Technica, 6/26/25