5 Best Computer-Use Tools for AI Agents (and How to Run Them Safely) (2026)

Computer use tools let an AI agent see a screen and click and type on it, the way a person would. Computer use tools for AI agents on this list are for different screens, not one winner. Host the desktop and call Anthropic Claude computer use, OpenAI computer use, or Google Gemini API Computer Use. Stay on the apps already on a Mac or Windows PC with GitHub Copilot computer use, or skip a hosted model and use Vercel Labs agent-desktop.

The notes below are vendor pages. Last checked 2 Nov 2026. I have not run these products. No link in this post is an affiliate link.

• Best for a desktop you host, with a fixed toolset: Anthropic Claude computer use.
• Best for the Responses API computer tool: OpenAI computer use.
• Best for browser, Android, or desktop in one API tool: Google Gemini API Computer Use.
• Best for local Mac and Windows apps: GitHub Copilot computer use.
• Best for a local CLI and no required model: Vercel Labs agent-desktop.

Updated November 2, 2026.

• Scheduled for 11 November 2026. Vendor pages checked 2 November 2026. No hands-on testing. The pages were not re-opened on the publish date.

Link to this sectionHow this list was chosen

An assistant drafted this from the vendors' own pages. I have not used Anthropic Claude computer use, OpenAI computer use, Google Gemini API Computer Use, GitHub Copilot computer use, or Vercel Labs agent-desktop. There is no hands-on test in this post.

Checked on 2 November 2026. Each tool section links the page the sentence comes from. When a page is silent, the section says "not published". The comparison table says "not stated" for that same silence. That is the marker this site uses when a price cell would otherwise be read as a real price. When two of a vendor's own pages disagree, both are quoted.

The five were picked on these criteria, in this order:

• The vendor's own page describes a model or agent operating a browser, a desktop, or native apps.
• The page was open on 2 Nov 2026. A third-party roundup was not a source.
• The set was already these five. Nothing was added to round the count, and nothing was dropped to change it.
• A stated best-for that comes from what the page says the product controls, not from a score.

Affiliate status did not change who is on the list or the order. No public affiliate program was found for these five on the pages checked. I have not joined one. None of my products is in the list.

The OpenAI integration guide names Browserbase, Stagehand, Browser Use, Daytona, and E2B Desktop as partner environments where that tool can run. They are not separate rows.

Link to this sectionComparison

Link to this sectionAnthropic Claude computer use

Anthropic Claude computer use is an Anthropic-defined client toolset, computer_toolset_20260801, with 17 member tools: screenshot, zoom, clicks, type, key, scroll, wait, and more. It is for an application that runs every call on a desktop you control. It is not available in Claude Managed Agents, and a dollar price is not published.

Your application runs the loop. Screenshot, then the model picks an action, then you run it, then you screenshot again. The toolset needs no beta header on the models listed below. For web-only tasks, Anthropic points to a separate browser use tool.

The reference setup is a Docker container running Xvfb, Mutter, and Tint2, with apps such as Firefox and LibreOffice. You host that desktop. Anthropic does not host it for you.

On the Claude API and on Claude Models on Google Cloud, the current toolset needs no beta header:

• Fable 5.1, Mythos 5.1, Fable 5, Mythos 5, and Mythos Preview
• Opus 5.5, Opus 5, Sonnet 5.5, Sonnet 5, Haiku 5.5, and Opus 4.8

Earlier tool versions computer_20251124 and computer_20250124 need beta headers on Claude Platform on AWS, Amazon Bedrock, and Microsoft Foundry, and for older models:

• Haiku 4.5, Opus 4.7, Opus 4.6, and Opus 4.5
• Sonnet 4.6 and Sonnet 4.5

The current toolset and the earlier beta versions are separate lines on that doc.

Pricing is standard tool-use pricing. The toolset adds about 4,500 input tokens (about 4,590 on Sonnet 5, about 4,520 on other models). Disabling zoom saves about 410. Screenshots are billed as image input, at about 1,000 to 1,800 tokens each. Earlier versions add 466 to 499 system-prompt tokens plus about 735 tokens per tool definition. A dollar rate for those tokens is not published on this page, so the table price is not stated.

The doc says screenshots stay in your environment and are not stored by Anthropic. It also says the tool is eligible for ZDR, excluding Covered Models, and for HIPAA. MCP is not published. Team features are not published. A support channel beyond "contact support" to turn the prompt-injection classifiers off is not published.

Anthropic's own limits list: latency, coordinate hallucination, tool-selection errors, scrolling, spreadsheets, limited account creation and social-platform posting, and jailbreak and prompt-injection risk. The AUP applies. The doc says: "Do not use Claude for tasks requiring perfect precision or sensitive user information without human oversight." Recommended resolution is 1024x768 or 1280x720, and no higher than 1920x1080.

Safety lines from the same page:

• Use "a dedicated virtual machine or container with minimal privileges".
• Avoid "account login information".
• Limit internet access to "an allowlist of domains".
• Ask a human to confirm decisions that might have "meaningful real-world consequences". The examples are cookies, financial transactions, and terms of service.
• "In some circumstances, Claude follows commands found in content even when they conflict with your instructions."
• Classifiers scan screenshots for prompt injection. Turning them off requires contacting support.
• Inform end users of the risks and get their consent.
• If your app confirms actions, check each action block before it runs. One batch can complete a multistep action in a single turn.

No license is named on the page.

No affiliate program was found on the page. The Claude Partner Network is a services and consulting program with no commission. That did not change this row.

Use it when you already call the Claude API and you can host a Linux desktop in a container. Skip it when you need Claude Managed Agents, or when the job needs a published dollar price before you start.

Link to this sectionOpenAI computer use

OpenAI computer use "lets a model operate a browser or desktop interface." It is for a team that can host that interface, or point at a hosted one. The main guide does not publish a complete model list, and it does not put a GA badge on the page.

There are three paths. The Responses API computer tool is tools:[{type:"computer"}]. It returns computer_call items with a batched actions[] array: click, double_click, drag, move, scroll, keypress, type, wait, and screenshot. The second path is code execution, where the model writes Playwright or PyAutoGUI. That path is the one recommended for gpt-6-astra. The third path is the SDK helpers ComputerToolset and BrowserToolset. The SDK runs the loop with your driver, a confirm or approval callback, and maxSteps.

You host the browser or the desktop. The integration guide Docker example uses no external network. Hosted options on that guide: an OpenAI-hosted browser in the Agents API, and partner environments Browserbase, Stagehand, Browser Use, Daytona, and E2B Desktop. A hosted environment may charge separately. That charge is not a number on the computer-use guide.

The integration guide migration table maps computer-use-preview to gpt-6.1-sol. OpenAI's migration table calls the computer tool GA. The main guide shows no badge. Examples use gpt-6.1-sol and gpt-6-astra. The guide says to check each model's Tools section. A complete list is not published.

The pricing page has no computer-use line in its tool table. You pay model tokens, and screenshots count as image input. gpt-6.1-sol standard is $2.00 input and $10.00 output per 1M tokens. gpt-6-astra is $10.00 input and $50.00 output per 1M tokens. There is no per-tool fee. A free tier is not published. The table's starting price is the gpt-6.1-sol input rate, because that is the model the migration table names for the GA computer tool.

The SDK sends page text and screenshots to OpenAI. store:false "does not remove every form of data retention." MCP is not published. A license beyond "proprietary API" is not given a separate name. Support channels are not published.

The sample loops stop after 20 responses. That is example code, not an API limit. A model or API step limit is not published.

Safety lines from the guide:

• "Restrict the environment. Use an isolated browser or VM and an allow list of sites and actions."
• "Treat screen content as untrusted. Text in a page, document, or tool result cannot grant permission or override the user's instructions."
• Confirm purchases, data transmission, and destructive changes. "Typing sensitive information into a form counts as transmission."
• "Bound and verify the run. Set step, time, or cost limits, support cancellation, and check the actual outcome instead of relying only on the model's final answer."
• "Use a fresh browser profile or isolated desktop. Limit network access, and keep credentials out of page text and screenshots."

The integration guide adds: "The model's request to act is not user permission." Hand-off is required for the final step of a password change and for bypassing HTTPS warnings or paywalls. Always confirm right before deleting data, sending or posting as the user, financial transactions, solving CAPTCHAs, or installing software. "Run generated code in a disposable, least-privilege container or VM." Pending API safety checks, pending_safety_checks, stop the sample run until a human approves.

No affiliate program was found for this API tool. The OpenAI Partner Network, launched 14 Jun 2026, is a B2B co-sell program. ChatGPT Desktop referral promotions give credits or rate-limit resets, are "not … redeemed for cash", and are not API credits. Commission in cash: not published. That did not change this row.

Use it when the loop should be the Responses API computer tool, or when you want the model to write Playwright or PyAutoGUI and you can run that code in a disposable container. Skip it when you need a published list of every model that supports the tool, or a GA badge on the main guide.

Link to this sectionGoogle Gemini API Computer Use

Google Gemini API Computer Use is a tool, {"type":"computer_use","environment":"browser"|"mobile"|"desktop"}. You build and run the client-side environment. It is for a paid Gemini API call. The free tier is "Not available".

Actions include an intent field. Coordinates are normalized from 0 to 999. The environments are a browser, an Android-optimized mobile environment, or a desktop that uses OS-level cursor commands.

The changelog entry for 30 Oct 2026 says: "Computer Use generally available (GA): Released the Computer Use tool to general availability (GA) across the Interactions and GenerateContent APIs." Earlier lines on that changelog: Gemini 2.5 Computer Use Preview on 7 Oct 2025, support in Gemini 3 previews on 29 Jan 2026, and a public preview in Gemini 3.5 Flash on 24 Jun 2026, with intents, browser, mobile, and desktop environments, safety policies, and prompt-injection detection.

Models on the guide: gemini-4-argon, Gemini 3.8 Flash (recommended), Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite, and Gemini 3 Flash Preview. The Python SDK named there is google-genai 2.7.0 or later.

The pricing page says the paid tier is "Charged as regular tokens per model pricing (e.g., standard Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing)." Checked 2 Nov 2026.

• Gemini 3.8 Flash: $0.75 input and $3.75 output per 1M tokens through 31 Dec 2026, then $1.50 and $7.50 from 1 Jan 2027.
• Gemini 4 Argon: $2 input and $10 output per 1M tokens through 30 Nov 2026, then $4 and $20.

After those dates the later rates on that page apply.

The model can return a safety_decision with require_confirmation. You must get the user's confirmation and send safety_acknowledgement. Safety policies you can configure: FINANCIAL_TRANSACTIONS, SENSITIVE_DATA_MODIFICATION, COMMUNICATION_TOOL, ACCOUNT_CREATION, DATA_MODIFICATION, USER_CONSENT_MANAGEMENT, and LEGAL_TERMS_AND_AGREEMENTS. You can turn them off with disabled_safety_policies. The model may still ask for confirmation. enable_prompt_injection_detection is opt-in and defaults to false, on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or later. You can also set excluded_predefined_functions and custom functions such as yield_to_user.

The guide says: "Computer Use may contain errors and security vulnerabilities. We recommend supervising closely for important tasks, and that you avoid using the Computer Use capability for tasks involving critical decisions, sensitive data, or actions where serious errors cannot be corrected."

Best practices on that page:

• A human in the loop.
• A secure execution environment: a sandboxed VM, Docker, or a dedicated browser profile with limited permissions.
• Input sanitization, content guardrails, allowlists, and blocklists. "A more restrictive allowlist is even more secure."
• Observability, logging, and a clean environment state.

Specific numeric limits, such as max steps or screen size, are not published on the guide. The general rate limits apply. MCP is not published. A training policy is not published. License: proprietary API. Support channels are not published.

No affiliate program specific to the Gemini API was found. Google Cloud has a general affiliate program. It is not a Gemini API program. That did not change this row.

Use it when you want browser, Android, or desktop in one tool, and you can pay token rates with no free tier. Skip it when the job needs the free tier, or when you need prompt-injection detection without opting in. The default is off.

Link to this sectionGitHub Copilot computer use

GitHub Copilot computer use is a feature in the GitHub Copilot app and Copilot CLI. It reads app content through the accessibility tree, or screenshots when it needs visual context, then clicks, types, edits text, presses keys, scrolls, drags, and moves across apps, "including those without an API, command-line interface, or MCP integration." It is for local sessions on your Mac or Windows PC. A computer-use price is not published, and the models for this feature are not published.

It has been in public preview since 1 Oct 2026. The 1 Oct 2026 changelog is the first public-preview announcement, for Copilot CLI and the Copilot app on macOS and Windows. The 28 Oct 2026 Universe releases changelog featured it again. That later post is not the announcement. The concepts page still says: "Computer use is in public preview and subject to change."

The Copilot app itself also runs on Linux. Computer use is macOS and Windows only.

It is off by default. The how-to says to turn it on in Settings, then Computer Use, then Enable Computer Use, or to run /computer on. /computer show shows status. /computer off disables it. On macOS it needs Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions.

It follows the Tool Permissions setting. Per app, you can Allow for this session, Always allow (saved, and shared between the app and the CLI on the same machine), or decline. Deny rules take precedence. Enterprise and organization admins can disable it through managed settings. Interrupt with Stop or Esc in the app, or Esc twice in the CLI. Removing an "Always allowed" app does not revoke access in a running session. You have to end the session.

It works in the background where possible. On Windows it brings the target app into focus only when needed.

The billing page is the price this table uses, because a computer-use line is not published. Since 1 Jun 2026, Copilot uses usage-based billing in GitHub AI Credits, and Copilot CLI and Chat consume credits. Pro is $10 a month (1,500 total credits, including the flex allotment). Pro+ is $39 a month (7,000). Max is $100 a month (20,000). Copilot Free has an allowance limited to auto model selection. Whether computer use is included in that free allowance is not published.

Vendor-listed limits: it can pick the wrong control or type in the wrong place, it struggles with dynamic controls, and timing changes can make it repeat actions.

Safety lines from the docs: it "introduces security risks. Ambiguous instructions or unexpected on-screen content may cause unintended actions" and it is "not a substitute for human judgment." "Only use computer use with applications and tasks whose visible content you are comfortable providing as context to Copilot." "Avoid choosing Always allow for applications that contain sensitive information or support high-impact actions." When asked to approve, "check that the requested application and action match your prompt."

License: proprietary. MCP support for this feature is not published. The phrase about apps that lack MCP is a description of which apps it can click, not a statement that Copilot computer use is an MCP server. A training policy for this feature is not published.

No affiliate program was found on the computer-use pages. That did not change this row.

Use it when the apps are already on your Mac or Windows machine and you can leave the feature off until you approve each app. Skip it on Linux, and skip it when you need a published computer-use price or a published model name before you turn it on.

Link to this sectionVercel Labs agent-desktop

Vercel Labs agent-desktop is "Computer use for AI agents: read and operate desktop apps through the OS accessibility tree." It is a CLI and a C library for macOS, Windows, and Linux, written in Rust. The model is yours. The native CLI does not require a remote model service. The limit is the machine you point it at, and Linux mouse input is only partial.

It ships as one native binary, plus libagent_desktop_ffi, so Python, Swift, Go, Ruby, Node, C, and C++ programs can call it. "A snapshot returns JSON with a ref for every element an agent can act on. The agent acts on a ref and snapshots again to check, with no pixel matching; the loop stays in your agent."

The README says it ships 60 command names, 56 of them operational. They cover observe, act on a ref, keyboard and mouse, apps and windows, notifications, clipboard, wait, sessions and trace, and system and skills.

Install from the README:

npm install -g agent-desktop

Bun, Yarn, and pnpm also work. Native archives are on GitHub Releases. Homebrew and Scoop packages are "being submitted", not available on this check. The agent skill is on skills.sh, and the README's install command points at this same GitHub repo.

macOS needs Accessibility permission. The command for the guide is agent-desktop permissions --guide. Windows needs no grant for apps at your terminal's integrity level. Linux needs a graphical session with at-spi2-core. Mouse input needs X11 and --headed. Wayland is partial.

Headless is the default. Ref actions go through the accessibility API without moving the pointer or taking focus. --headed allows physical input. "Retry only when error.disposition.retry is safe." Stale UI returns STALE_REF or AMBIGUOUS_TARGET instead of acting on the wrong element. key-down, key-up, mouse-down, and mouse-up refuse to run until a daemon exists. macOS shell surfaces are "Planned".

The optional JEV helper sends screen descriptions to a model provider you configure. That helper is optional. The CLI itself is model-agnostic.

Releases. Latest: v1.0.2 (30 Oct 2026, 21:17 UTC).

The FAQ says it is free: "Yes. agent-desktop is Apache-2.0 licensed for personal and commercial use." The GitHub API and the README both name Apache-2.0. MCP is not published. A paid plan is not published.

The security policy says snapshots, clipboard reads, screenshots, command output, and debug artifacts can contain private desktop content. Keep them out of public logs and uploads. "Redaction does not make a screenshot safe to publish." On macOS, TMPDIR must be owned by the current user with mode 0700. Vulnerabilities go through GitHub private vulnerability reporting. That is a security contact, not a sponsorship contact.

No affiliate program. It is open source. The notes say Vercel's v0 referral program ended on 15 Jul 2026. That did not change this row.

Use it when you want a local, model-agnostic way to read and click native apps, and your agent already owns the loop. Skip it when you need a hosted model inside the product, or when the desktop session is Wayland and you need mouse input.

Link to this sectionHow to choose

Pick by the screen you can actually give the agent, and by who confirms the click.

• You can host a Linux desktop and you already call the Claude API. Anthropic Claude computer use. Budget the extra input tokens. A dollar rate for them is not published.
• You want the Responses API, or you want the model to write Playwright or PyAutoGUI. OpenAI computer use. Read the migration table and the main guide separately. They do not use the same status words.
• You want browser, Android, or desktop in one Gemini tool, and a paid token rate is acceptable. Google Gemini API Computer Use. There is no free tier. The $0.75 Gemini 3.8 Flash input rate on the pricing page ends 31 Dec 2026.
• The apps are already installed on your Mac or Windows PC, and a preview feature is acceptable. GitHub Copilot computer use. Leave it off until you approve the app. Linux is not a computer-use platform.
• You want the accessibility tree, a local binary, and no required model. Vercel Labs agent-desktop. You still bring the agent that decides what to do with each ref.

If two of those fit, use the safety section before you pick the one with the broader screen. A wider desktop gives the agent more to click. The vendor pages say that in their own words below.

Link to this sectionHow to run computer use tools for AI agents safely

These six are the shared recommendations on the vendor pages checked 2 Nov 2026. Each line names the vendor that published it. Where a vendor is missing, that vendor's pages did not state that item.

I wrote about keeping an agent off the open internet in I Exposed My AI Agent to the Internet: An OpenClaw Security Guide, and about commands I do not hand an agent in The Commands I Never Let an AI Agent Run (and How I Sandboxed OpenClaw). The supervision side is in The Hidden Reality of Running a Business with AI Agents. Where that desktop should run is in 5 Best AI Agent Sandboxes for Solo Builders.

1. Run it in an isolated, least-privilege environment. Anthropic: "dedicated virtual machine or container with minimal privileges". OpenAI: "isolated browser or VM" and "fresh browser profile or isolated desktop". Gemini: "sandboxed VM, Docker, or a dedicated browser profile with limited permissions".
2. Allowlist sites and actions. Block the rest. Anthropic: an "allowlist of domains". OpenAI: an "allow list of sites and actions" and block everything else. Gemini: "a more restrictive allowlist is even more secure". Copilot does this per app. Deny rules take precedence over allow.
3. Keep credentials and sensitive data away from the agent. Anthropic: avoid "account login information". OpenAI: "keep credentials out of page text and screenshots". Gemini: avoid "sensitive data". Copilot: only apps whose visible content you are comfortable sharing with Copilot. agent-desktop: keep snapshots and screenshots out of public logs.
4. A human confirms consequential actions. Anthropic's examples are cookies, financial transactions, and terms of service. OpenAI's examples are purchases, data transmission, destructive changes, and sending or posting. Gemini returns require_confirmation for its safety-policy categories. Copilot asks before it controls an app, and the docs say to avoid "Always allow" for high-impact apps.

The model's request to act is not user permission.

That sentence is OpenAI's, from the integration guide. Anthropic makes the same point in different words: if your app confirms actions, check each action block before it runs, because one batch can finish a multistep action in a single turn.

5. Treat on-screen content as untrusted.

   • Anthropic: "Claude follows commands found in content" even when they conflict with your instructions. Classifiers scan screenshots unless you ask support to turn them off.
   • OpenAI: "Text in a page, document, or tool result cannot grant permission".
   • Gemini: prompt-injection detection exists and is off unless you set enable_prompt_injection_detection.
   • Copilot: "unexpected on-screen content may cause unintended actions".

6. Bound the run, log it, verify the outcome, and be able to stop it. OpenAI: "step, time, or cost limits, support cancellation, and check the actual outcome". Gemini: observability, logging, and a clean environment state. Copilot: Stop or Esc in the app, Esc twice in the CLI. agent-desktop: snapshot again to verify, and retry only when error.disposition.retry is safe.

The pages ask for a person at the consequential step. They do not say to leave the run unattended.

Link to this sectionFAQ

Link to this sectionIs OpenAI computer use generally available?

OpenAI's migration table calls the computer tool GA. The main guide shows no badge.

Link to this sectionWhen did GitHub Copilot computer use launch?

It entered public preview on 1 Oct 2026, for Copilot CLI and the Copilot app on macOS and Windows. The 28 Oct 2026 Universe releases changelog featured it again. It is still public preview and subject to change.

Link to this sectionIs Claude computer use out of beta on every platform?

No. On the Claude API and on Claude Models on Google Cloud, the current toolset needs no beta header for the models that page lists: Fable 5.1, Mythos 5.1, Fable 5, Mythos 5, Mythos Preview, Opus 5.5, Opus 5, Sonnet 5.5, Sonnet 5, Haiku 5.5, and Opus 4.8. On Claude Platform on AWS, Amazon Bedrock, and Microsoft Foundry, and for older models, it is beta, on earlier tool versions, with beta headers. It is not available in Claude Managed Agents.

Link to this sectionIs there a free way to let an agent use a computer?

Vercel Labs agent-desktop is free under Apache-2.0, for personal and commercial use. Gemini's page says the free tier is "Not available". A free tier for Claude computer use is not published. A free tier for the OpenAI computer tool is not published. Copilot Free exists and is limited to auto model selection. A computer-use price on Copilot is not published. Copilot Pro is $10 a month.

Link to this sectionWhat should a person confirm before the agent clicks?

The vendor pages group the same kinds of actions: purchases and other financial transactions, sending or posting as the user, deleting data, accepting cookies or legal terms, typing secrets, solving a CAPTCHA, installing software, and bypassing an HTTPS warning or a paywall. OpenAI also says the model's request is not permission. Confirm at the moment of the action, not only at the start of the run.

Link to this sectionHow much does Gemini computer use cost?

The pricing page charges regular model token rates. The free tier is "Not available". Checked 2 Nov 2026.

• Gemini 3.8 Flash: $0.75 input and $3.75 output per 1M tokens through 31 Dec 2026, then $1.50 and $7.50 from 1 Jan 2027.
• Gemini 4 Argon: $2 input and $10 output per 1M tokens through 30 Nov 2026, then $4 and $20.