Claude
Anthropic · The thoughtful writer and careful reasoner.
Claude is an AI assistant from Anthropic, known for strong writing, careful reasoning, and following instructions closely. If you care about quality of thought and quality of words, Claude is often the one to reach for.
What it's great at
Writing and editing that sounds human, not robotic. Reasoning through messy problems step by step. Reading long documents and staying coherent. Coding with clear explanations. And being honest — Claude will tell you when something is uncertain rather than bluff.
How to prompt it well
- Give it a role and a goal: 'You are an editor. Make this clearer without losing my voice.'
- Use its long memory — paste the whole document, not a snippet.
- Ask for its reasoning when the stakes are high ('walk me through your thinking').
- Tell it the format you want (bullets, a table, a tweet) and the length.
- Push back — if the first answer is too cautious or wordy, say 'be more direct / shorter.'
Common mistakes
Being vague. 'Make this better' gives generic results; 'tighten this to 3 sentences and cut the hype' gives great ones. Also: Claude errs toward caution, so if you want a bold take, ask for one explicitly.
Quick start
Try this: 'You are a brutally honest advisor. Review my plan below and tell me the weakest part and what you'd do instead.' Paste your plan and watch it work.