How to Use Claude AI: Complete Guide to Anthropic's Assistant

Claude is an AI assistant built by Anthropic, designed to be helpful, harmless, and honest.

📊 Claude AI Specs (2024)
200KContext tokens
3Model tiers
$20/moClaude Pro
#1Coding benchmarks
Source: Anthropic

Anthropic developed Claude with Constitutional AI—training to be helpful while avoiding harm.

Getting Started

Access Claude at claude.ai (free tier) or via API. Free tier offers Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Pro ($20/mo) adds higher limits and all models.

Model Tiers

Claude 3.5 Sonnet—Best balance of speed and capability. Default for most users.

Claude 3 Opus—Most capable for complex reasoning.

Claude 3 Haiku—Fastest and cheapest for simple tasks.

Prompting Tips

Be Conversational

Claude responds well to natural language. No rigid formatting needed.

Explain Your Goals

Context about why produces better results than just what.

Use Artifacts

Ask for "artifacts" to get standalone code/docs you can iterate on.

Claude Excels At

Long-form writing: Maintains coherence over lengthy pieces.

Code review: Thoughtful analysis and clear explanations.

Nuanced discussions: Handles sensitive topics thoughtfully.

Try our Prompt Optimizer to improve your Claude prompts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Claude free?
Yes, with daily limits. Pro ($20/mo) offers more.
Claude vs ChatGPT?
Claude has larger context (200K vs 128K) and often more nuanced writing. Both are capable.
Can Claude browse the web?
Not in real-time. Has a training cutoff date.
Knowledge cutoff?
Claude 3's data goes up to early 2024.
Good for coding?
Yes, Claude 3.5 Sonnet scores highly on coding benchmarks.