What is Claude AI assistant?
What Claude does
Claude is a large language model trained to be helpful, harmless, and honest. It can write and debug code in dozens of languages, summarize long documents, brainstorm ideas, draft emails and essays, analyze data you paste in, explain complex topics at different levels, translate between languages, and roleplay scenarios for practice. It works through a chat interface at claude.ai or via API for developers.
- Code writing, debugging, and explanation
- Document summarization and analysis
- Creative writing and brainstorming
- Multi-language translation
- Step-by-step reasoning and tutoring
- Data analysis from pasted text/CSV
Models and access tiers
Anthropic releases model families (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku) with different capability/speed tradeoffs. As of 2024, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the flagship model for most users. Free tier at claude.ai gives access to a capable model with daily message limits. Pro ($20/month) increases limits 5x and adds priority during peak times. Team plans add admin controls and higher quotas. API access is separate, priced per million tokens.
Common mistakes
- Confusing Claude.ai (chat interface) with the Anthropic API (developer access) — different accounts and billing.
- Assuming Claude has live internet access — it doesn't unless you use a tool-enabled version.
- Thinking the free tier is a trial — it's ongoing with daily limits that reset.
