If you have heard people talk about "Claude" and weren't quite sure what they meant, you are in the right place. This guide explains what Claude is, who makes it, and what you can actually do with it.

The short version

Claude is an AI assistant created by a company called Anthropic. You interact with it mostly by typing, the same way you would message a knowledgeable colleague. You ask a question or describe a task in ordinary language, and Claude responds with text it generates on the spot. It can explain ideas, draft and edit writing, summarise long documents, help with analysis, answer questions, and assist with coding, among many other things.

Under the hood, Claude is what researchers call a large language model. That means it was trained on an enormous amount of text so that it can predict and produce language in a way that is coherent and useful. You do not need to understand the technical details to benefit from it, in the same way you do not need to understand engine mechanics to drive a car.

Who makes Claude?

Claude is built by Anthropic, an AI research company. Anthropic places a strong emphasis on building AI systems that are helpful, honest, and safe. The assistant is named Claude, and Anthropic releases updated versions over time, each generally more capable than the last.

How do you use it?

The most common way is through a chat interface on the web or a mobile app, where you simply type a message. There is also a developer platform that lets businesses connect Claude to their own software. For everyday users, the chat experience is the place to start.

A typical interaction looks like a conversation:

You: "I have a job interview tomorrow for a marketing role. Can you give me five likely questions and a strong way to answer each?"
Claude: responds with a tailored list you can practise with.

What is it good at?

  • Writing and editing: drafting emails, reports, posts, and stories, or polishing text you already have.
  • Summarising: condensing long articles, documents, or transcripts into the key points.
  • Explaining: breaking complex topics into plain language at whatever level you need.
  • Brainstorming: generating ideas, names, outlines, and plans.
  • Analysis and reasoning: working through problems step by step.
  • Coding help: writing, explaining, and debugging code.

What it is not

Claude is a tool, not a person, and it is not connected to your private accounts unless you deliberately set that up. It can occasionally be wrong or out of date, so for anything important, treat its output as a helpful draft to verify rather than a final authority. It is not a substitute for professional advice in areas like law, medicine, or finance.

Good habit: ask Claude to show its reasoning or cite where a fact comes from. It encourages clearer answers and makes it easier for you to check the result.

Where to go next

Once you are comfortable with the basics, two things will improve your results quickly: learning which Claude model to use for a given task, and learning how to phrase your requests. Our guides on Claude's models and prompting tips cover both.