Anthropic has launched domain-specific plugins for Claude Cowork that transform the AI assistant into specialized agents for legal, finance, sales, and marketing teams. Each plugin bundles skills, connectors, slash commands, and sub-agents optimized for specific business functions — powered by Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations with tools like Slack, Figma, Salesforce, and Asana.

This is not general-purpose AI with domain prompts. These are purpose-built configurations that make Claude work like a domain expert teammate.

Claude Cowork Plugins Claude Cowork plugins transform AI into domain-specific experts for business teams

The Plugin Architecture

Each Claude Cowork plugin consists of four components:

Claude Cowork Plugin Structure
├── Skills
│   ├── Domain-specific capabilities
│   ├── Pre-trained on industry workflows
│   └── Optimized prompts and examples
│
├── Connectors
│   ├── MCP integrations with business tools
│   ├── Read/write access to data sources
│   └── Authentication and permissions
│
├── Slash Commands
│   ├── Quick actions for common tasks
│   ├── Keyboard shortcuts
│   └── Context-aware suggestions
│
└── Sub-Agents
    ├── Specialized agents for complex workflows
    ├── Multi-step task automation
    └── Human-in-the-loop checkpoints

Available Plugins

The legal plugin that triggered the $285 billion market selloff includes:

Capability Description
Document review Analyze contracts, flag risks, extract key terms
NDA triage Categorize and prioritize non-disclosure agreements
Compliance tracking Monitor regulatory requirements across jurisdictions
Due diligence Structured analysis for M&A and investment reviews
Citation checking Verify legal references and case citations

The legal plugin integrates with document management systems like iManage, NetDocuments, and SharePoint. It can pull documents directly from these systems, analyze them, and push annotations back.

Finance Plugin

Capability Description
Financial modeling Build and validate spreadsheet models
Report generation Create quarterly reports from raw data
Variance analysis Identify and explain budget deviations
Forecasting Generate projections based on historical data
Audit preparation Compile documentation for audit requests

The finance plugin connects to ERP systems, accounting software, and business intelligence tools. It can read from Salesforce, QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Tableau, synthesizing data across sources.

Sales Plugin

Capability Description
Lead scoring Prioritize prospects based on fit and intent signals
Outreach drafting Generate personalized emails and sequences
CRM updates Automatically log activities and update records
Pipeline analysis Identify deals at risk and suggest interventions
Competitive intelligence Research and summarize competitor positioning

The sales plugin has deep Salesforce integration — it can create and update records, log calls, and trigger workflows. It also connects to outreach tools like Outreach.io, Apollo, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Marketing Plugin

Capability Description
Campaign planning Structure campaigns with timelines and deliverables
Content generation Create copy for ads, emails, and landing pages
Performance analysis Synthesize data from multiple analytics platforms
A/B test design Propose experiments with statistical rigor
Brand consistency Check content against brand guidelines

The marketing plugin integrates with HubSpot, Marketo, Google Analytics, and creative tools like Figma and Canva.

MCP Integrations

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the open standard that enables Claude to interact with external tools. Anthropic has built first-party MCP connectors for:

Tool Integration Type Capabilities
Slack Read/Write Send messages, read channels, respond to mentions
Figma Read/Write View designs, leave comments, export assets
Asana Read/Write Create tasks, update status, manage projects
Salesforce Read/Write Full CRM access with permission controls
Box Read/Write Document storage and retrieval
Clay Read/Write Data enrichment and lead research
Canva Read/Write Create and edit designs
Google Workspace Read/Write Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar
Microsoft 365 Read/Write Office apps, Teams, SharePoint

Each connector respects existing permission structures. If a user does not have access to a Salesforce record, Claude cannot access it on their behalf.

How It Works in Practice

Here is a concrete example of the sales plugin in action:

Scenario: A sales rep needs to prepare for a customer call.

User: /prep-call Acme Corp tomorrow 2pm

Claude Cowork:
├── Pulls Acme Corp record from Salesforce
├── Retrieves recent email threads from Outlook
├── Searches Slack for internal discussions about Acme
├── Checks LinkedIn for recent news about contacts
├── Reviews past meeting notes in Notion
│
└── Generates:
    ├── Company brief (recent news, financials, org changes)
    ├── Relationship summary (touchpoints, sentiment)
    ├── Open issues and blockers
    ├── Suggested talking points
    └── Calendar event with prep notes attached

The entire workflow executes in under 30 seconds. The rep gets a comprehensive briefing without switching between seven different applications.

Enterprise Deployment

For enterprise customers, Claude Cowork plugins include:

SSO Integration: Connect to existing identity providers (Okta, Azure AD, etc.) for seamless authentication.

Permission Inheritance: Claude respects existing tool permissions — if a user cannot access a Salesforce record directly, Claude cannot access it for them.

Audit Logging: Every action Claude takes is logged with timestamps, user attribution, and data accessed.

Data Residency: Enterprise deployments can specify data processing regions to meet compliance requirements.

Custom Plugins: Enterprises can build private plugins using Anthropic's plugin SDK, connecting Claude to internal tools and proprietary systems.

Pricing

Claude Cowork plugins are available on the Claude Pro and Enterprise plans:

Plan Plugin Access Price
Claude Free No plugins $0
Claude Pro All standard plugins $20/month
Claude Enterprise All plugins + custom plugins Custom pricing

API access to plugin capabilities is billed based on usage, with pricing varying by plugin complexity and connector data volume.

The Competitive Response

Claude Cowork's plugin expansion puts pressure on competitors:

Microsoft Copilot has deep Office 365 integration but limited third-party connectors. Its strength is the Microsoft ecosystem; its weakness is everything outside it.

OpenAI GPTs allow custom configurations but lack the structured plugin architecture and enterprise controls that Cowork provides.

Google Duet AI has strong Workspace integration but is playing catch-up on third-party tool connections.

Anthropic is positioning Claude Cowork as the enterprise-grade solution for organizations that use a heterogeneous tool stack — which is most organizations.

What This Means for Business Teams

The plugin architecture changes what AI can do for knowledge workers:

1. Context switching disappears. Instead of bouncing between Slack, Salesforce, Asana, and email, users interact with Claude as a unified interface to all their tools.

2. Tribal knowledge gets captured. Plugins encode best practices and workflows that previously existed only in experienced employees' heads.

3. Junior employees level up. A new hire with Claude Cowork has access to domain expertise that previously took years to develop.

4. Automation scales. Tasks that were too complex for traditional automation (requiring judgment and context) become automatable with AI-powered plugins.

The question is no longer whether AI will transform knowledge work — it is which platform will capture that transformation. Anthropic is making an aggressive bid with Claude Cowork.

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