Claude’s chat and Cowork just merged — what does that actually change for me?

A merged chat-and-workspace flow means you can discuss a job, hand over the relevant files, and refine the result without repeatedly rebuilding context in separate tools. The safest workflow is still deliberate: start with a narrow goal, attach only the documents required, ask for a plan before execution, and review every generated file or outward-facing action. Convenience reduces handoffs; it does not remove the need to verify the work.