Claude Tag vs Mates
Claude Tag puts Claude into your Slack channels as a shared teammate. Admins choose its tools (GitHub, Notion, Google Drive, Datadog and others), it remembers what happens in its channels, can schedule tasks for itself over hours or days, and posts a progress checklist as it works. It works in an ephemeral sandbox created per conversation.
Your team is on Claude Team or Enterprise, works in Slack, and wants one shared Claude in its channels.
You want Claude-powered workers that keep their own computer, inbox and files, and that you can watch and replay.
The short version
Mates runs on Claude models too, but gives each mate a persistent computer with a desktop you can watch and take over, its own email address, routines, replays and published apps. Claude Tag is the better fit when the whole team should work with one Claude inside Slack.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Mates | Claude Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Its own computer for each agent | YesOne isolated Linux computer per mate | NoEphemeral sandbox per conversation |
| Live desktop you can watch and take over | YesWatch live, take control, give it back | No |
| Replays of finished work | YesStep-by-step and video replays | PartlyLog of actions and a progress checklist |
| Several agents, each with its own job | YesAs many mates as your plan allows | PartlySeparate Claude identities per use |
| Agents working together in one chat | YesGroup chats with handoffs | Not documented |
| Scheduled routines | YesSchedules in your timezone, Run now | YesSchedules its own tasks over hours or days |
| Starts on events (email, webhooks, apps) | PartlyInbound email and a webhook per mate; app events not yet | PartlyAmbient mode in channels |
| Its own email address | YesIts own address, with approvals for outgoing mail | Not documented |
| App connectors (OAuth, MCP) | YesGmail, Calendar, Notion, Slack, GitHub, HubSpot and more, plus any MCP server | YesAdmin-chosen tools per workspace or channel |
| Asks before risky actions | YesChanges in connected apps and outgoing email ask first | Not documented |
| Reusable skills | YesSkills library; mates write their own too | Not documented |
| Your docs and repos as knowledge | YesGitHub repos and .zip uploads, read-only | YesDrive, Notion, Confluence and channel memory |
| Publishes apps and pages | YesPublished apps at their own web address | Not documented |
| Works inside Slack or Teams | NoWeb app for now | YesSlack only |
| Mobile app | NoWorks in a phone browser; no native app yet | PartlyThrough Slack |
| Voice and phone | PartlyVoice input; no calls yet | No |
| Shared team workspace | NoOne person per workspace for now | YesOne Claude for everyone in a channel |
| Price | Invite-only early access; plans not published yet | Claude Team and Enterprise; channel work draws on the org's usage balance |
Mates is our product. Competitor details come from their public docs and announcements, linked under Sources, and were checked on . Spot something out of date? Tell us.
Where Claude Tag is ahead
- Inside Slack, shared by the whole channel: anyone picks up where the last person left off.
- Admin controls: tools per channel, role-based access on Enterprise, org and channel spend limits.
- Channel memory scoped by admins, and a log of everything it did and who asked.
- Part of Claude Team and Enterprise, with no per-seat charge for channel work.
Where Mates is ahead
- A persistent computer per mate that keeps files and logins between tasks.
- A live desktop you can take over, and replays of every task.
- Each mate's own email address, routines and published apps.
- Works without a Claude Team or Enterprise plan.
Questions people ask
Does Mates use Claude?
Yes. Mates runs on Anthropic's Claude models and picks the right size for each task. Claude Tag is Anthropic's own Slack product; Mates is a separate app.
Does Claude Tag keep a computer between tasks?
No. Anthropic's docs describe an ephemeral sandbox created per conversation and discarded when idle. Each mate in Mates keeps its own computer.
What about Claude Cowork?
Cowork is Anthropic's single-user agent with scheduled tasks and projects. It is a personal agent rather than a teammate with its own identity, inbox and desktop.
Who can use Claude Tag?
Organisations on Claude Team or Enterprise plans, in Slack.