Anthropic’s continued feature rollout signals increasing competition in the consumer AI space.
Anthropic continues to expand access to its AI chatbot Claude, rolling out two major features that were previously locked behind a paywall. Web search is now available to all Claude users, not just subscribers.
The feature, which debuted in March, allows the chatbot to fetch real-time information from the internet, enabling more accurate and timely responses—particularly useful for news-related or evolving topics.
The update comes as part of Anthropic’s broader push to make Claude more dynamic and user-friendly. The company has also begun beta testing a new voice mode in its mobile apps, according to a report by Engadget.
Unlike the existing dictation tool, voice mode allows for fluid back-and-forth conversations with Claude. Users can choose from five distinct voice options, and Claude will provide transcripts and summaries post-conversation. The voice feature is currently being tested with Sonnet 4, one of the company’s latest AI models.
It’s been a packed month for Anthropic. Just last week, it launched two new models: Opus 4, a power-packed large model built for heavy-duty coding and multi-tool orchestration, and Sonnet 4, a more agile system that can handle everything from rapid-fire queries to nuanced reasoning. Sonnet 4 is also the model currently powering the Claude web app by default.
Anthropic’s continued feature rollout signals increasing competition in the consumer AI space. With voice, web access, and more capable models now reaching free-tier users, the company is inching closer to parity with rivals like OpenAI and Google, while quietly expanding Claude’s capabilities across mobile and desktop platforms.
