What is Claude?
Author: Domeny.ForSale editorial team Published
In brief: Claude is an artificial intelligence assistant from Anthropic, as well as the name of the family of models that power it. It helps with tasks such as writing, analysing documents, explaining concepts and creating code based on instructions in everyday language. It can speed up your work, but it can also provide incorrect information, so important answers need to be checked.
What is Claude and how does it work?
Claude is based on a large language model: a system trained to process and generate language using patterns learned during training. When you enter a question, the model generates an answer, taking into account your instructions and the available context of the conversation. It does not work like a database from which it always retrieves a ready-made, verified fact.
The name Claude can refer both to a service for chatting with AI and to a specific model used in other applications. For someone using the chat, the distinction is simple: the application provides the interface, while the model processes instructions and generates answers. The available tools and limits depend on the chosen model, plan and service configuration.
Claude is not the same as a traditional search engine. A search engine primarily helps you find web pages, whereas an assistant generates an answer or works with materials you provide. If Claude has access to web search in a particular environment, it can use up-to-date sources; without that access, you should not assume it knows about the latest events.
What can you use Claude for?
Claude is useful for tasks that involve transforming, organising or explaining information. The easiest way to assess its usefulness is to work with specific material whose accuracy you can check yourself.
Typical uses include:
- Writing and editing: drafting an email, simplifying instructions, improving style or comparing versions of a text.
- Document analysis: summarising a report, gathering findings from notes or identifying discrepancies between materials.
- Learning: explaining a concept through an example, preparing exercises and walking through a solution step by step.
- Programming: explaining code, suggesting tests, looking for possible causes of an error and creating draft sections of a program.
- Work planning: breaking a project down into tasks, preparing a meeting agenda or organising requirements.
For example, a shop owner could give Claude approved product specifications and ask for a clear description. However, they should specify that the assistant must not add certifications, features or promises that are not in the source material. The result still needs to be checked against the specifications.
In versions that support them, you can also provide images or files. Check the current documentation for supported formats, size limits and how documents are read — accepting a file does not mean that every table, chart or scan will be recognised without errors.
How do you get started and write a good prompt?
The simplest way to use Claude is through the official chat interface. Developers can also use the API, an interface that lets them connect the model to their own application. Service availability, account terms and any fees should be confirmed in Anthropic’s official materials.
An instruction for AI, also called a prompt, should specify the task, the input material and the expected result. Instead of writing “make a summary”, specify the audience, length and information that must not be left out.
Here is an example of a prompt for working with notes:
Based on the meeting notes below, prepare a list of decisions and tasks. For each task, include the person responsible and the deadline, but only if those details appear in the notes. Mark missing information as “not determined”. Do not add any decisions or details of your own.
Once you receive the answer, compare the decisions, names and deadlines with the original. You can then ask for a different format, a shorter version or the passages in the notes that support each point. This kind of checking is more useful than simply asking the model whether it is sure of its answer.
What limitations and risks should you know about?
Claude can produce hallucinations: information that sounds plausible but is untrue. This can include quotations, website addresses, functions in programming libraries and details of legal provisions. A fluent writing style is not proof of accuracy.
When working with documents, the assistant may overlook a caveat, misread a table or combine information from the wrong passages. Check important figures against the source, verify calculations independently and test generated code before using it. Treat answers about health, law or finance as informational material, not personalised advice from a professional.
Privacy is a separate issue. Do not paste passwords, API keys or confidential customer data without an appropriate basis and your organisation’s permission. Before uploading documents, check the rules on data retention, any use of the data to improve models and the privacy settings applicable to the service; where possible, remove information that identifies individuals.
Claude or ChatGPT — how do you choose?
Claude and ChatGPT are separate services from different companies: Anthropic and OpenAI, respectively. Both let you converse with AI models, but the available features depend on the current versions and plans. There is no basis for considering one service better at every task.
A practical test is to give both tools the same non-confidential material and identical instructions. Compare factual accuracy, adherence to instructions, the number of revisions needed and the cost for your way of working. Confirm prices, limits and tool availability in the official pricing information.
To begin, choose one small task, such as organising your own notes. Keep the original and check the result point by point — you will then see whether Claude genuinely saves you work.
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