Anthropic Releases Claude Opus 4.8 with Effort Control and Dynamic Workflows

Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4.8, an update to its Opus 4.7 model, announced in a press release. The new version improves performance across benchmarks and introduces new features for users and developers, while maintaining the same pricing structure.

Claude Opus 4.8 adds effort control to claude.ai and Cowork, allowing users to adjust how much processing effort the model applies to a task. Higher effort settings produce more thorough responses, while lower settings prioritize speed and efficiency. In Claude Code, a research preview feature called dynamic workflows enables the model to handle large-scale problems by running hundreds of parallel subagents within a single session.

The update also reduces the cost of fast mode by three times compared to previous models, allowing Opus 4.8 to operate at 2.5 times the standard speed. Developers can now modify Claude’s system instructions mid-task through the Messages API without disrupting the prompt cache.

According to Anthropic’s internal assessments, Opus 4.8 shows improved reliability and reduced rates of misaligned behavior compared to its predecessor. The company plans to continue development through Project Glasswing, which is expected to introduce Mythos-class models with higher intelligence and enhanced cybersecurity safeguards in the coming weeks.