Introducing Claude: The Next-Gen AI Assistant - Features, Use Cases, and How to Get Started

The generative AI boom, sparked by ChatGPT, continues to evolve with the emergence of various new AI tools.

This article will introduce "Claude," a generative AI tool considered to have performance equal to or even surpassing ChatGPT.

We will cover the basic information about Claude, including its overview, features, and capabilities. If you want to learn about specific operations and usage methods, please check out this article as well.

What is Claude?

Claude is the name of a generative AI tool.

Based on a Large Language Model (LLM), Claude falls into the same category of generative AI as OpenAI's ChatGPT and the Japanese-developed ELYZA.

Within Japan, ChatGPT is so well-known that generative AI is almost synonymous with it, but globally, Claude has garnered just as much attention.

Current Version of Claude

The latest Claude model, "Claude 3," was released on March 4, 2024, and is said to outperform GPT-4, the latest ChatGPT model.

While retaining the conventional features such as AI communication through prompt input, file uploading, and code generation, Claude 3 boasts improvements such as twice the processing speed and the ability to read research papers in just 3 minutes.

Why Claude is Attracting So Much Attention

Claude is attracting significant attention not only because of its performance as a generative AI but also because of its developer, Anthropic.

Anthropic is an AI startup based in the United States, known as a leading AI company alongside OpenAI. In the U.S., the government directly engages with Anthropic to discuss future generative AI applications.

As a company receiving such close attention, Anthropic has successfully raised substantial funding from companies like GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon), which will allow it to attract even more talented individuals and embark on the development of higher-quality generative AI.

Features of Claude

More Natural Conversation Compared to ChatGPT and Other Generative AIs

One key feature is its ability to engage in more natural conversations compared to other generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

Even within generative AI, the outputted text possesses a certain "stance."

For example, ChatGPT gives the impression of "responsiveness and logicality," while many find that Claude provides a feeling "closer to talking to a person."

Neither is necessarily better or worse, but such communication stances will appeal to different people and reflect the unique characteristics of each AI.

Relatively New Data

Another key feature is that the AI has relatively new data.

It is well known that the outputted answers to inputted prompts depend on the AI's training data. Claude has been trained on data up to around early 2023.

The free version of GPT-3.5 uses data up to around September 2021, making it clear that Claude's data is comparatively more up-to-date.

File Upload Capability

A third feature is the ability to upload files.

While GPT-4V (paid) also allows file uploads, Claude offers this feature for free.

You can upload files from the clip icon shown in the figure and then input prompts.

For example, if you upload a picture of a dragon and input the prompt, "What is this picture of?"

It correctly identifies the image as a dragon and provides a description of the uploaded image file.

Since text files can also be uploaded in addition to image files, Claude can be useful for summarizing longer articles, such as research papers, and it could be applied in many other areas.

High Program Code Creation Ability

The fourth feature is its high program code creation ability.

Even its predecessor, Claude 2.1, was shown in experiments to have a higher program code creation ability than ChatGPT-4, and the latest Claude 3 is said to have approximately twice the accuracy.

This highlights one reason why Claude's use is anticipated in a wide range of professions.

How to Use Claude

There are several ways to use Claude, but this article will introduce three methods.

Using the Official Website

The first method is using the official website.

This is the method we are using in this article.

Because it has a similar UI and usage method to ChatGPT, it feels very user-friendly.

Searching for "Claude AI" will bring up a URL like the one below. Access the page and log in to start using it easily.

If you are interested in specific usage methods, they are described in more detail in this article.

Using Slack

The second method is using Slack.

You can use Claude by installing the "Claude App for Slack" integration in Slack.

For details, please refer to the official Anthropic website, which has a page in Japanese.

Using Poe

The third method is using the AI chat tool Poe.

Poe itself allows you to converse with multiple generative AI models, so you can use not only Claude but also ChatGPT with the same UI.

Usage is very simple. After connecting to the Poe official website and creating an account or logging in, you can select Claude from "Explore" on the left bar.

These are the methods introduced in this article. I think it's best to use the tools that you are familiar with, so please try the one that suits you best.

Tips for Using Claude

As a conclusion to this article, here are three tips for using Claude.

Define More Than a Certain Number of Conditions to Obtain Ideal Answers

The first tip is to define more than a certain number of conditions to obtain ideal answers.

This is true for generative AI in general, but the specificity of AI's answers is highly dependent on the inputted prompts.

Instead of asking simple questions, try to define various conditions so that you get the answers you want.

Don't Just Ask Questions and End There; Try Asking More Questions

The second tip is to not just ask questions and end there, but to try asking more questions.

In a sense, this is similar to "hitting a wall," but instead of simply accepting Claude's output, interpret it and ask further questions to refine the answers.

If you feel something is off or want a more ideal output, try to deepen the discussion by asking more questions.

Grasp the Peculiarities of the Claude AI Model

The last tip is to grasp the peculiarities of the Claude AI model.

Although they are often grouped together as LLM-based generative AI, their training data and output tendencies differ.

It is entirely possible that prompts that yielded good results with ChatGPT may not with Claude.

Trying out various things and understanding Claude's peculiarities is the first step towards optimizing Claude's usage.

Summary

This article has summarized the overview and features of Claude, a generative AI.

If you want to know more about specific usage methods, please check out this article.