01
What is Claude?
Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic. It can read, write, analyze, code, research, and work through multi-step tasks.
Unlike a simple chatbot, Claude can:
- Work with your files and documents
- Remember useful context about you
- Connect to apps such as Google Drive and Gmail
- Research topics across many sources
- Create documents, slides, spreadsheets, and apps
- Run longer tasks with tools
- Write and run code with Claude Code
- Follow reusable workflows called Skills
Use it on the web at claude.ai, in the desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and in the iOS and Android apps.
02
Choose a plan
- Free
- $0. Chat, memory, Projects (up to five), Skills, and many connectors, with lower usage limits.
- Pro
- $20/month, or $17/month billed annually. More usage, Claude Code, and more features.
- Max
- From $100/month for much higher usage.
- Team
- From $20 per seat per month billed annually, with admin controls and sharing.
- Enterprise
- Advanced security, controls, and scale.
Start free. Upgrade when you hit limits on work that matters.
03
Know the models
- Claude Fable 5.1
- Anthropic’s most capable public model, released September 1, 2026.
- Claude Opus 5.5
- The flagship for coding, agents, and complex work, released September 22, 2026.
- Claude Sonnet 5.5
- Faster and lower cost, released September 28, 2026.
- Claude Haiku 4.5
- The fastest and cheapest option.
Pick a model from the menu under the message box. Use the default for most work and switch up for harder problems.
04
Set up your profile
In settings, tell Claude about yourself so every answer starts with context:
- Your role and industry
- What you use Claude for
- Your preferred tone
- Formatting preferences
- Things to always or never do
Short and specific works better than long and vague.
05
Write better prompts
A strong prompt includes:
- Goal
- What you want to achieve.
- Context
- Background Claude cannot guess.
- Input
- The files, notes, or data to use.
- Format
- Length, structure, and style of the answer.
- Constraints
- What to avoid or must include.
Example:
I run a small bakery. Write three Instagram captions for our new sourdough. Friendly tone, under 40 words each, one emoji at most, and end each with a call to visit this weekend.
06
Iterate instead of restarting
- “Make it shorter.”
- “Use simpler words.”
- “Give me three options.”
- “Explain your reasoning.”
- “What did you assume?”
- “What is missing?”
The first answer is a draft. The conversation is where quality comes from.
07
Use memory
Since March 2026, memory is available on all plans. Claude can carry useful context, such as your projects and preferences, into future chats.
Review and edit what Claude remembers in settings. Remove anything you do not want stored.
08
Organize work in Projects
Projects are workspaces with their own files and instructions. Use them for a client, a course, a book, or a business area.
- Upload the key documents
- Write project instructions
- Keep related chats together
- Reuse context without re-uploading
Paid plans use retrieval to expand project knowledge by up to 10x. Team and Enterprise plans can share Projects.
09
Work with files
Upload documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, images, and code. Ask Claude to:
- Summarize long documents
- Compare files
- Extract tables and data
- Analyze spreadsheets
- Read charts and screenshots
- Create Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files
Turn on code execution and file creation in settings so Claude can create and edit files.
10
Connect your apps
Connectors let Claude use information from your tools, such as:
- Gmail
- Google Drive
- Google Calendar
- Notion
- Microsoft 365
- Slack (paid plans)
Connect only what you need, and review what each connector can access.
11
Use Research for deep questions
Research lets Claude search across many sources and return a report with citations.
Use it for market research, competitor analysis, technical comparisons, and any question that needs current information.
Always open the cited sources for claims that matter.
12
Use Skills for repeat work
Skills are folders of instructions and scripts that teach Claude a specific workflow. They are available on all plans.
Anthropic includes Skills for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF work, and you can upload your own as a ZIP file under Customize, then Skills.
13
Create documents, slides, and designs
In September 2026, Anthropic launched Claude Docs and Claude Slides in beta and brought Claude Design into chat.
- Docs: living documents you edit with Claude, exportable to Word or Google Docs
- Slides: presentations exportable to PowerPoint or PDF
- Design: prototypes, mockups, and one-pagers from a prompt
These are rolling out to Pro and Max first, with other plans to follow.
14
Let Claude handle longer tasks
Claude can now decide when a request needs a multi-step approach and keep working with tools, connectors, and files. On the desktop app, it can work with local files you allow.
Give it a clear goal, the inputs it needs, and what done looks like.
15
Code with Claude Code
Claude Code is Anthropic’s agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDEs, the desktop app, and the web. It is included in all paid plans.
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
Run claude inside a project folder to start.
16
Browse with Claude in Chrome
Claude in Chrome, generally available since August 2026, lets Claude read and act on web pages in your browser.
Review actions on important sites, and never let it handle passwords or payments without your direct involvement.
17
Protect your privacy
- Check your data and privacy settings
- Avoid sharing passwords and ID numbers
- Review connector permissions
- Edit or delete memory you do not want
- Use Team or Enterprise plans for company data
18
Know the limits
Claude can still:
- Make factual mistakes
- Misread ambiguous requests
- Miss recent events without search
- Produce code with bugs
- Sound confident when wrong
For anything important, verify the result.
19
Your first week with Claude
- Day 1
- Set up your profile and try five everyday tasks.
- Day 2
- Upload a long document and ask questions about it.
- Day 3
- Create a Project for one area of your work.
- Day 4
- Connect one app you use daily.
- Day 5
- Run a Research question.
- Day 6
- Create a document or slides.
- Day 7
- Turn your best workflow into a Skill.
20
Ten starter prompts
- Prompt 1
- “Summarize this document in five bullet points and three action items.”
- Prompt 2
- “Rewrite this email to be clearer and friendlier.”
- Prompt 3
- “Explain [topic] like I am new to it, then quiz me.”
- Prompt 4
- “Compare these two options in a table with pros, cons, and a recommendation.”
- Prompt 5
- “Turn these notes into a one-page plan.”
- Prompt 6
- “What questions should I ask before deciding this?”
- Prompt 7
- “Find the weaknesses in this argument.”
- Prompt 8
- “Analyze this spreadsheet and tell me the three biggest trends.”
- Prompt 9
- “Draft a first version, then list what you were unsure about.”
- Prompt 10
- “Ask me questions until you have enough context to help.”
The golden rule
Do not use Claude like a search box. Give it context, a goal, and a way to check its work.
- Context
- Goal
- Files
- Projects
- Skills
- Review
The goal is not to ask Claude more questions. It is to hand it better problems and use your judgment on the answers.
