# Claude

> Anthropic's assistant app, where one conversation covers both a quick answer and a long piece of delegated work

- Category: Agents & Automation / Assistants & Chatbots
- Licence: Proprietary
- Website: https://claude.com/
- Canonical page: https://ai-tldr.dev/tools/claude/
- Updated: 2026-09-16

## In short

Claude is the assistant app Anthropic builds around its own models, reachable on the web, in desktop apps, on iOS and Android, through a Chrome extension, and inside Microsoft 365. It sits in the Assistants & Chatbots category of the Agents & Automation tools and is licensed Proprietary. To get started: open Claude on the web or install an app.

## Overview

Claude is the assistant app Anthropic builds around its own models, reachable on the web, in desktop apps, on iOS and Android, through a Chrome extension, and inside Microsoft 365. Anthropic describes it as an artificial intelligence trained using Constitutional AI to be safe, accurate and secure. Day to day it does the things a capable assistant does — reading large amounts of material, searching the web, drafting text and code, running code, making charts, and remembering context across conversations — with Projects to keep related chats and documents together.

The shape of the product changed on 16 September 2026, when Anthropic merged Claude Cowork into ordinary Claude chat. Before that, agentic work lived behind its own toggle and users had to decide up front whether a task belonged in chat or in Cowork. Now there is no mode to choose: you describe what you want and Claude decides whether to answer directly or take on a longer job such as research, a report, a spreadsheet or a presentation, handing the result back as a file you can edit. How far it goes on its own is a setting, from asking before each action to working continuously and checking in only when it needs you.

Two new surfaces arrived with that merge, both in beta. Claude Docs is a document you and Claude write together, where you can add sections, ask questions and leave comments. Claude Slides drafts a deck you can edit, present from inside Claude, or download as PowerPoint or PDF. Claude Design, previously a standalone surface, now runs inside conversations too. Around these sit the features Anthropic ships across the app — Artifacts, Connectors, Plugins, Skills and Research — plus the separate products that share the Claude name: Claude Code for the terminal, Claude Science and Claude Security.

## What it does

- One conversation for both quick answers and long delegated work, with no mode toggle to pick
- Claude Docs (beta): a document you and Claude edit together, with sections, questions and comments
- Claude Slides (beta): decks you can edit, present from Claude, or export as PowerPoint or PDF
- Adjustable autonomy, from approving each action to letting Claude run and check in only when needed
- Artifacts, Connectors, Plugins, Skills, Research and Projects for organising chats and documents
- Available on web, desktop, iOS and Android, plus a Chrome extension and a Microsoft 365 integration
- Memory across conversations, web search, file creation, code execution and data visualisation

## Getting started

Claude is a hosted product rather than something you install from a package manager. There is a Free tier; Claude Docs, Claude Slides and Claude Code start on Pro.

1. Open Claude on the web or install an app

   Claude runs on the web and as desktop, iOS and Android apps. A Chrome extension and a Microsoft 365 integration are available on paid plans.

```text
https://claude.com/
```

2. Pick a plan

   Free is $0/month and covers chat, web search, file creation, code execution, memory, app connections and artifacts. Pro is $17/month billed annually or $20/month billed monthly and adds Claude Design, Slides and Docs, Claude Code, Claude Science, projects and the browser and Microsoft 365 extensions. Max starts at $100/month for 5x or 20x usage.

```text
https://claude.com/pricing
```

3. Ask for the artifact, not the answer

   Since the September 2026 merge you no longer choose where a task belongs. Ask for a document, a deck or a piece of research and Claude routes the request itself, returning a file you can keep editing.

```text
Write me a five-slide deck on our Q3 numbers
```

4. Set how much Claude does on its own

   The engagement setting decides whether Claude asks before each action or keeps working and checks in only when it needs you.

```text
Claude → settings → engagement level
```

## When to use it

- Handing off a long piece of work — research, a report, a spreadsheet — and getting an editable file back rather than a wall of chat text
- Drafting a document or a deck with the model in the same place you discuss it, then exporting to PowerPoint or PDF
- Working across a set of related chats and files in a Project, with memory carrying context between sessions
- Teams that want one assistant on web, desktop, mobile, Chrome and Microsoft 365 instead of a separate tool per surface

## Version history

- 2026-09-16 One Claude: Anthropic merged Claude Cowork into Claude chat, removing the mode toggle so Claude decides whether a request is a quick answer or a longer job. Claude Docs and Claude Slides launched in beta and Claude Design moved inside conversations, rolling out to Pro and Max first.