What is Claude? The Definitive Guide to Anthropic’s AI Assistant

Claude is an artificial intelligence assistant developed by Anthropic that distinguishes itself through its focus on safety, ability to process extremely long contexts (up to 200,000 tokens), and “Constitutional AI” system that makes it more reliable and aligned with human values.

Launched in 2022 by Anthropic (founded by former OpenAI members), Claude represents a different approach to conversational AI, prioritizing safety, honesty, and helpfulness over mere performance.

Who’s behind Claude?

Anthropic: The founders

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI executives. The team includes elite AI researchers who left OpenAI due to differences in AI safety approach.

Company mission

Anthropic focuses on developing “Constitutional AI” - AI systems that are:

Helpful: Effectively assist users
Harmless: Avoid causing harm
Honest: Transparent about their limitations

Investment and backing

Funding: Over $7 billion in funding
Key investors: Google ($300M), Spark Capital, Salesforce
Valuation: Estimated at $18-20 billion (2024)

What makes Claude unique?

🧠 Extremely Long Context

Claude can process up to 200,000 tokens in a single conversation:

Equivalent to ~150,000 words
Can analyze complete books
Maintains coherence across long documents
Remembers specific details throughout extensive conversations

🛡️ Constitutional AI

Unique training system based on principles:

Self-discipline: Claude corrects itself
Explicit principles: Based on human rights declarations
Transparency: Explains its ethical reasoning
Iterative refinement: Improves responses based on principles

🎯 Safety Focus

Lower probability of generating harmful content
More nuanced and careful responses
Openly acknowledges its limitations
More effectively avoids biases and stereotypes

📊 Excellence in Analysis

Superior for complex document analysis
Better understanding of legal and technical context
Advanced reasoning capabilities
Sophisticated information synthesis

Models and capabilities

Claude 3 Family (Current)

Claude 3 Haiku - Speed and Efficiency

Use: Fast and simple tasks
Speed: Fastest in the family
Context: 200k tokens
Price: Most economical
Ideal for: Chatbots, basic data analysis

Claude 3 Sonnet - Perfect Balance

Use: General and enterprise work
Speed: Balance between speed and capability
Context: 200k tokens
Price: Intermediate
Ideal for: Content analysis, writing, coding

Claude 3 Opus - Maximum Performance

Use: Most complex and creative tasks
Speed: Slower but more capable
Context: 200k tokens
Price: Highest
Ideal for: Research, complex analysis, creative writing

Technical capabilities

Feature	Claude 3 Haiku	Claude 3 Sonnet	Claude 3 Opus
Speed	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Intelligence	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Context	200k tokens	200k tokens	200k tokens
Multimodal	✅ Text + Image	✅ Text + Image	✅ Text + Image
Coding	Basic	Advanced	Expert

Constitutional AI: What does it mean?

Revolutionary concept

Constitutional AI is Anthropic’s distinctive training method:

Phase 1: Principle-based Training

Base principles (examples):
• "Choose the most helpful, harmless, and honest response"
• "Respect human dignity and fundamental rights"
• "Be transparent about limitations and uncertainties"
• "Avoid perpetuating harmful biases or stereotypes"

Phase 2: Self-correction

Claude generates initial response
Evaluates response against constitutional principles
Self-critiques and improves
Produces final response that’s more aligned

Reinforcement Learning based on adherence to principles
Human feedback on constitutional alignment
Continuous iteration to improve alignment

Practical benefits

✅ Fewer harmful responses: Refuses to generate problematic content ✅ Greater transparency: Explains its reasoning ✅ Better alignment: More consistent responses with human values ✅ Self-discipline: Corrects itself without external intervention

Main use cases

📚 Long document analysis

Why Claude is superior:

Processes complete documents up to 200k tokens
Maintains coherence and accuracy
Identifies complex patterns and connections

Practical examples:

• Analysis of complete legal contracts
• Review of extensive academic papers
• Synthesis of annual financial reports
• Evaluation of long business proposals
• Comparative analysis of multiple documents

⚖️ Legal work and compliance

Contract and legal terms review
Complex regulation analysis
M&A due diligence
Legal research and precedents
Legal document drafting

🔬 Academic research

Exhaustive literature reviews
Research methodology analysis
Multi-paper synthesis
Critical argument evaluation
Research hypothesis generation

💼 Strategic consulting

Deep market analysis
Competitive strategy evaluation
Investment due diligence
Long-term strategic planning
Detailed risk assessment

✍️ Advanced writing and editing

Long manuscript editing
Complex narrative development
Deep literary analysis
Book ghostwriting
Specialized technical writing

Claude vs ChatGPT: Detailed comparison

Aspect	Claude (Anthropic)	ChatGPT (OpenAI)
🧠 Max context	200,000 tokens	32,000 tokens
🛡️ Safety	Constitutional AI	Filters + RLHF
🚀 Speed	Variable by model	Consistent
🔌 Integrations	Limited	Extensive ecosystem
💡 Creativity	More conservative	More experimental
📊 Document analysis	Superior	Competent
💻 Programming	Excellent	Excellent
🌐 Updated info	No (up to April 2024)	No (up to April 2024)
💰 Price	$20/month (Pro)	$20/month (Plus)

When to choose Claude?

👍 Choose Claude if you need:

Analyze very long documents (>10,000 words)
Legal or academic work requiring precision
More careful and nuanced responses
Lower risk of hallucinations
Simultaneous analysis of multiple documents

👍 Choose ChatGPT if you need:

Plugin and integration ecosystem
More experimental use cases
Larger community and resources
More mature multimodal functionalities
More creative and “risky” responses

Pricing and plans

🆓 Claude Free

Price: Free
Model: Claude 3 Haiku + limited Sonnet access
Limits:
- ~10-15 conversations per day
- Full 200k token context
- No priority during high demand
Ideal for: Occasional personal use

💎 Claude Pro

Price: $20 USD/month
Models: Full access to Claude 3 (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus)
Benefits:
- 5x more usage than free version
- Priority access
- Early access to new features
- File support (PDF, DOC, etc.)
Ideal for: Professionals and power users

🏢 Claude for Work (Coming Soon)

Price: To be announced
Target: Teams and enterprises
Expected features:
- User management
- Enhanced security and compliance
- Enterprise integrations
- SLA and dedicated support

How to use Claude effectively

Best practices for long context

Structuring long prompts

For extensive documents:

1. "Here's a complete [type] document. 
   Please read it thoroughly before responding.
   
   [COMPLETE DOCUMENT]
   
   Now answer: [your specific question]"

2. "Analyze these 3 documents and compare [specific aspect]:
   
   DOCUMENT A: [content]
   DOCUMENT B: [content]  
   DOCUMENT C: [content]
   
   Provide a detailed comparative analysis."

Leveraging context memory

Reference specific parts of the document
Ask for analysis that cross-references different sections
Use Claude to maintain coherence in long projects

Effective prompts by use case

📊 For business analysis:

"Act as a senior consultant. Analyze this complete business plan 
and provide:
1. Critical evaluation of strategy
2. Identification of main risks
3. Specific improvement recommendations
4. Financial viability analysis

[PLAN DOCUMENT]"

⚖️ For legal work:

"As a specialized legal assistant, review this contract and:
1. Identify problematic or ambiguous clauses
2. Suggest specific improvements
3. Analyze legal risks
4. Verify compliance with [specific regulation]

[CONTRACT TEXT]"

📚 For academic research:

"Help me with a systematic literature review:
1. Analyze these 5 papers on [topic]
2. Identify consensus and controversies
3. Find research gaps
4. Suggest future directions

[COMPLETE PAPERS]"

Limitations and considerations

⚠️ Current limitations

Geographic availability
- Not available in all countries
- Waitlist in some regions
Integration ecosystem
- Fewer plugins than ChatGPT
- Limited third-party integrations
- No widely available public API
Updated information
- Knowledge cutoff in April 2024
- No real-time internet access
- Cannot generate images
Variable speed
- Claude 3 Opus can be slow
- Long context processing takes time
- Not always the fastest option

🔄 Usage considerations

For teams:

Lack of collaborative features
No shared workspaces
Limited user management

For developers:

API with waitlist
Less extensive documentation
Smaller community

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude better than ChatGPT?

It depends on usage. Claude is superior for long document analysis, work requiring precision, and cases where safety is critical. ChatGPT has a better ecosystem and more integrations.

How long can Claude’s context be?

Claude can process up to 200,000 tokens (~150,000 words) in a single conversation, significantly more than ChatGPT (32,000 tokens).

Can Claude generate images?

No, Claude currently cannot generate images. It can analyze images you provide, but cannot create visual content.

Is it safe to use Claude for confidential information?

Claude has a strong focus on security, but like any cloud service, it’s not recommended for highly sensitive information without reviewing terms of service and privacy policies.

Does Claude have internet access?

No, Claude cannot browse the internet or access real-time information. Its knowledge is limited to training up to April 2024.

Can I use Claude for business/commercial purposes?

Yes, Claude Pro allows commercial use. For large enterprises, Claude for Work is expected to launch with specific enterprise features.

What languages does Claude work in?

Claude works in multiple languages including Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, etc., although its performance is optimal in English.

Conclusion

Claude represents a unique and refreshing approach to conversational AI. Its focus on safety, extensive context, and Constitutional AI makes it especially valuable for:

Professionals working with long documents
Researchers needing detailed analysis
Legal teams requiring precision
Organizations prioritizing safety and ethical alignment

Is Claude perfect? No. It lacks ChatGPT’s extensive ecosystem and can be more conservative in its responses.

Is it worth trying? Absolutely. Especially if your work involves analyzing long documents or requires particularly careful and well-reasoned responses.

Ready to try Claude? Visit claude.ai and experiment with its unique long-context capability.

Claude and its features evolve rapidly. For the most current information, check Anthropic’s official website.