What is Claude [UPDATED

Ever wondered how Claude compares to ChatGPT? Or who’s behind it? You’re not alone. As AI tools become more advanced and accessible, Claude by Anthropic has quickly become one of the top names in the generative AI world—right alongside OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

So what exactly is Claude, how does it work, and why are so many businesses and users turning to it?

Let’s break it down.

What Is Claude?

Claude is an AI chatbot and large language model (LLM) developed by Anthropic, a San Francisco-based AI research company founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees. It’s named after Claude Shannon, the father of information theory.

Claude is designed to carry out natural language tasks like:

• Writing and summarizing text
  
• Answering questions
  
• Translating languages
  
• Assisting with coding
  
• Reasoning and explaining complex topics
  

Unlike ChatGPT, which is built by OpenAI, Claude’s main focus is AI safety, ethics, and alignment—meaning it’s intentionally designed to be less likely to generate harmful or misleading content.

Who Created Claude?

Claude is built by Anthropic, which was co-founded by:

• Dario Amodei (former VP of Research at OpenAI)
  
• Daniela Amodei (former VP of People & Operations at OpenAI)
  
• Other ex-OpenAI researchers who left due to concerns over safety and transparency
  

Their mission?
To build helpful, honest, and harmless AI systems. Claude is their flagship model—and it reflects their unique approach to AI development, focused on Constitutional AI (more on that below).

Claude Models: Versions and Differences

Anthropic has released several versions of Claude:

Model	Release Date	Key Features
Claude 1	March 2023	First-generation model
Claude 2	July 2023	Better reasoning, longer context (100k tokens)
Claude 2.1	Nov 2023	Reduced hallucinations, better tool use
Claude 3 (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku)	March 2024	State-of-the-art performance, multimodal capabilities, massive context window

🔹 Claude 3 Family

• Claude 3 Opus: Most powerful; designed for advanced reasoning and complex tasks
  
• Claude 3 Sonnet: Balanced; best for general users and businesses
  
• Claude 3 Haiku: Lightweight; fast and inexpensive, good for basic tasks
  

All three models support:

• Multimodal input (e.g., images + text)
  
• Massive context windows (up to 200K tokens for Opus)
  
• Natural conversation abilities
  

What Makes Claude Different?

1. Constitutional AI

Claude is built using a unique approach called Constitutional AI. Rather than relying solely on human feedback to correct behavior (like RLHF in ChatGPT), Claude is trained using a set of written ethical principles—essentially an “AI constitution.”

These principles guide Claude in making safer, more transparent decisions.

Example rules include:

• Avoid harming humans
  
• Be helpful and honest
  
• Respect user privacy
  
• Don’t provide dangerous advice
  

The idea? Claude learns how to reason about its answers instead of just being told what’s right or wrong.

2. Focus on Safety and Alignment

Anthropic prioritizes:

• Reducing hallucinations (false or made-up information)
  
• Avoiding bias
  
• Upholding ethical boundaries
  
• Being transparent about limitations
  

While no AI is perfect, Claude is known for playing it safer and being more careful with sensitive questions.

What Can You Use Claude For?

Claude is versatile. Here are a few popular use cases:

📝 Content Creation

• Write articles, blogs, and emails
  
• Brainstorm marketing copy or social media captions
  
• Generate outlines or reports
  

📚 Research & Summarization

• Analyze PDFs, papers, and articles
  
• Summarize long documents (even 100K+ words)
  
• Extract key facts and bullet points
  

🧠 Reasoning & Explanation

• Break down complex topics like math, science, or law
  
• Act as a tutor or study aid
  
• Explain step-by-step reasoning for problems
  

👨‍💻 Coding Help

• Debug code
  
• Write functions or scripts
  
• Translate between languages (e.g., Python → JavaScript)
  

🌐 Business & Productivity

• Draft internal documents
  
• Process customer feedback
  
• Automate FAQs or chat support
  

Claude vs ChatGPT

Feature	Claude (Anthropic)	ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Developer	Anthropic	OpenAI
Latest Model	Claude 3 Opus (2024)	GPT-4-turbo (2024)
Safety Approach	Constitutional AI	Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF)
Context Window	Up to 200K tokens (Opus)	~128K tokens (GPT-4-turbo)
Multimodal	Yes (image + text)	Yes (image + text, voice)
Web Access	No (as of now)	Yes (with browsing in Plus plan)
Speed & Cost	Haiku is extremely fast & cheap	GPT-4-turbo is fast and affordable
Availability	claude.ai and via API	chat.openai.com and API

Is Claude Free?

Yes and no.

✅ Free Version:

You can use Claude at claude.ai for free, with Claude 3 Sonnet.

💼 Claude Pro:

Costs $20/month, giving you access to Claude 3 Opus—the most advanced model in Anthropic’s lineup. Similar pricing to ChatGPT Plus.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an AI assistant that’s powerful, trustworthy, and safe, Claude is an excellent choice.

It’s especially strong if you:

• Work with long documents
  
• Need safe, explainable answers
  
• Prefer transparency over flashy features
  
• Want a tool that prioritizes ethical boundaries
  

While ChatGPT may lead in raw popularity and tool integrations, Claude excels in long-form thinking, safety, and clean user experience.

Claude FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is Claude?

Claude is an advanced AI chatbot developed by Anthropic. It can write, summarize, reason, answer questions, and assist with tasks like coding or research. It’s known for prioritizing safety, ethics, and reliability.

Who created Claude?

Claude was built by Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI employees, including Dario Amodei. The name “Claude” is a tribute to Claude Shannon, the father of information theory.

How is Claude different from ChatGPT?

Claude and ChatGPT are both large language models, but there are key differences:

Claude	ChatGPT
Built by Anthropic	Built by OpenAI
Uses Constitutional AI	Uses RLHF (human feedback)
Safer, less prone to bias	More feature-rich (plugins, voice)
200K+ token context (Opus)	128K tokens (GPT-4-turbo)

Claude is generally more cautious and excels at long-form reasoning and safety.

What can Claude do?

Claude can help you:

• Write blog posts, emails, and summaries
  
• Understand long documents
  
• Answer complex questions
  
• Generate or debug code
  
• Brainstorm ideas and outlines
  
• Explain math, science, and more
  

Is Claude free to use?

Yes, there’s a free tier on claude.ai using Claude 3 Sonnet.

What is Claude Pro?

Claude Pro costs $20/month and unlocks access to Claude 3 Opus, Anthropic’s most capable model. It offers better performance, longer context, and faster response times.

Does Claude have a mobile app?

No official Claude mobile app exists as of now. However, the claude.ai website works well on mobile browsers.

Does Claude support images or multimodal input?

Yes. Claude 3 models (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku) support image input in addition to text, allowing for multimodal conversations.

Is Claude safe?

Claude was specifically designed to be:

• Helpful
  
• Honest
  
• Harmless
  

Anthropic uses Constitutional AI, which trains Claude using ethical principles to ensure safer, more explainable outputs.

Can Claude access the internet?

Not yet. Claude does not browse the web or access real-time information, unlike ChatGPT with browsing enabled.

Can developers use Claude in apps?

Yes. Claude is available via API through:

• Anthropic Console
  
• Amazon Bedrock
  
• Google Cloud Vertex AI
  

This makes it ideal for building:

• AI-powered apps
  
• Custom chatbots
  
• Research tools
  
• Business automation
  

What are Claude’s model versions?

Version	Release Date	Notable Features
Claude 1	March 2023	First-generation LLM
Claude 2	July 2023	100K context, better reasoning
Claude 2.1	Nov 2023	Fewer hallucinations
Claude 3	March 2024	Opus, Sonnet, Haiku (multimodal)

What’s the Claude 3 family?

Model	Best For
Opus	Advanced reasoning, long documents
Sonnet	Everyday tasks, writing, coding
Haiku	Fast, low-cost queries

Is Claude available worldwide?

Yes. Claude is available in most countries, though some regions may have restrictions depending on local laws or Anthropic’s rollout.

Does Claude store my data?

By default, Claude stores conversations to improve performance and safety. But:

• You can delete your history
  
• Enterprise customers can disable retention entirely
  

Tip: Avoid sharing sensitive personal data unless you’re using a private or enterprise-level account.

16. Can I train Claude on my own data?

Not directly like fine-tuning, but you can:

• Feed Claude long documents (up to 200K tokens)
  
• Build memory systems around Claude using APIs
  
• Integrate Claude with databases, tools, or custom knowledge bases
  .

Can I talk to Claude with voice?

Not yet. Claude is text-only for now, although voice-based features may come in the future as Anthropic expands user interaction options.