On Thursday, Anthropic unveiled the latest iteration of Opus, its most sophisticated model, which holds particular significance for Claude Code. Following the release of Opus 4.5 last November, version 4.6 aims to enhance the model’s capabilities and broaden its appeal, catering to a wider array of applications and clientele.
One of the most significant innovations in this latest version is the introduction of what the company refers to as “agent teams.” These teams comprise multiple agents capable of dividing larger tasks into manageable segments.
“Rather than having a single agent tackle tasks sequentially, you can distribute the workload among multiple agents—each responsible for its segment while directly coordinating with one another,” the company explains. Scott White, Head of Product at Anthropic, compared this new functionality to harnessing a talented team of professionals, emphasizing that segmenting responsibilities allows agents to “coordinate in parallel and work more efficiently.” Agent teams are currently available for research preview to API users and subscribers.
Opus 4.6 also features an extended context window, enabling the system to recall a larger volume of information during user sessions. The updated model offers a context capacity of 1 million tokens, which aligns with the capabilities provided by the company’s previous models, Sonnet (versions 4 and 4.5). These expanded context windows facilitate work with larger codebases and the processing of more extensive documents, as noted by the company.
Moreover, the latest iteration of Opus incorporates Claude directly into PowerPoint as a user-friendly side panel. This enhancement surpasses the previous integration of the chatbot with PowerPoint. Previously, users had to direct Claude to create a PowerPoint presentation, only to transfer the file for editing thereafter. Now, presentations can be developed directly within PowerPoint with real-time assistance from Claude.
White shared with TechCrunch that Opus has transformed from a model primarily focused on software development into a tool that is “exceptionally beneficial for a broader range” of knowledge workers. “We have observed numerous individuals who are not professional software developers engaging with Claude Code simply because it serves as an exceptional engine for task execution,” he stated. White further mentioned that the user demographic includes not just software engineers, but also product managers, financial analysts, and professionals across various sectors.
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