HomeClaude and the apps

Modified

Claude AI: a guide to Claude and the apps

Claude is an AI assistant from the company Anthropic, much like ChatGPT and Gemini. Claude writes and edits text, reads documents and images, searches the web and helps with code. You can write to Claude in Swedish. Claude has a free version at claude.ai and in the apps for computer and phone. The guide has three parts. Part 1, which you are reading now, covers the apps. Part 2 covers Claude Code and part 3 the Claude API.

Claude is in four places. The guide starts with the web and the apps, which anyone can use.

The basics

What is Claude?

Claude is a chat with a language model that Anthropic has trained. You type a question or a task, called a prompt, and Claude answers. Anthropic's address is in San Francisco, USA, according to the company's consumer terms.

Claude does more than answer questions. Claude can also:

  • read files and images you upload
  • search the web
  • create documents and small apps you can share
  • remember earlier chats
  • work in other services, such as Google Drive
  • carry out tasks on its own, as an AI agent, with Cowork and Claude Code

Does Claude work in Swedish?

Claude works in Swedish. Write in Swedish and Claude answers in Swedish. Anthropic's help page says you can chat with Claude in any language.

The menus are not in Swedish at the time of writing, though. The interface comes in languages such as English, German and French, according to the same help page.

How do you get started with Claude?

Four steps are enough to get started with Claude.

1. Open claude.ai or get the app

Claude is at claude.ai in your browser. You download the app for Mac and Windows at claude.com/download. The phone app is called Claude by Anthropic in the App Store and on Google Play.

2. Create an account

The free plan is open to anyone aged 18 or over, according to Anthropic's terms. Your account keeps your chats, so you can go back to them.

3. Ask your first question

Start with something you already know well. Then you can see where the answers are good and where they fall short. Give Claude context: who the text is for, how long it should be and what tone you want. The prompt guide has more examples.

4. Check the answer

Claude can be wrong and still sound sure of itself. This is called hallucination. Check facts, figures and sources before you use them.

Where is Claude? The web, your computer and your phone

Claude is at claude.ai, in a desktop app for macOS and Windows and in a phone app for iPhone and Android. The Linux desktop app is a beta, meaning a test version, according to Anthropic's download page at the time of writing.

You need the desktop app when Claude should work on your own computer. Cowork uses the app to reach your files, and Claude Code sits in the app under the Code tab.

Voice mode lets you talk to Claude instead of typing. Voice mode is in the phone app, the desktop app and on the web, and works best on a phone. Anthropic's help page shows that voice mode is in beta on all plans at the time of writing, and that languages other than English are in beta too.

Features and models

What can Claude do?

Claude has a handful of features you will use most often.

Files and images

Claude reads PDF, Word, CSV spreadsheets, plain text and images in JPEG, PNG, GIF and WebP. Claude reads Excel files when code execution and file creation are turned on. Anthropic's help page on uploads says how many files you may upload and how large they may be.

Web search and Research

Claude searches the web when an answer needs fresh information. Research goes deeper and runs many searches in a row. Research is included in the paid plans, and you turn it on under the plus sign in the chat.

Projects

A project gathers documents about one thing, such as a course or a client. Claude uses those documents in every chat in the project. Projects are on all plans, and the free plan has a cap on how many projects you can have, according to Anthropic's help center.

Artifacts

An artifact is, in Anthropic's words, anything Claude makes for you that you'd put in front of someone. A document and a presentation are two examples. Artifacts stay private until you share them.

Memory

Claude can remember things from earlier chats. Memory is on from the start on the individual plans. You turn it off under Settings, Your Claude, with the Generate memory from chats toggle.

Connectors and skills

Connectors let Claude read and work in services such as Google Drive and your calendar. Claude then uses your permissions. Skills are ready-made ways of working that Claude loads when it needs them. Skills are on all plans and need code execution turned on. Part 2 shows how to write a skill of your own.

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is Claude doing tasks for you instead of only answering. Anthropic describes Cowork as built on the same agent technology as Claude Code, but without the terminal, the text window where you type commands.

Cowork works in several steps. You give it a task, for example "compile the invoices in this folder into a spreadsheet". Claude makes a plan, does the work and hands you the result.

Cowork comes with the paid plans but not with the free plan, according to Anthropic's Cowork guide at the time of writing. Tasks run in the cloud. You need the desktop app when Claude should work with files on your computer or in your browser.

Anthropic is merging chat and Cowork into one view at the time of writing.

Claude in Chrome, Excel and other programs

Claude also works inside other programs. Here is where things stand at the time of writing, according to Anthropic's pages:

  • Claude in Chrome is a browser extension. Claude reads the page you are on, types text, clicks links and fills in forms. The extension is generally available on all paid plans.
  • Claude for Excel, PowerPoint and Word are generally available on all paid plans. Claude for Outlook is in beta.
  • Claude in Slack is now called Claude Tag. Claude Tag is in beta on Team and Enterprise.

Which Claude model should you choose?

Claude comes in four model families: Fable, Opus, Sonnet and Haiku. Anthropic releases new versions in each family at regular intervals. Anthropic's models page lists the versions available right now.

Anthropic describes the families like this:

  • Fable is the largest and most capable family, for the hardest and longest tasks.
  • Opus is for complex work and advanced code. At the time of writing, Anthropic suggests most people start with Opus.
  • Sonnet is the balanced family, fast and capable for everyday work.
  • Haiku is the fastest and cheapest family, and suits simple tasks.

Price and safety

What does Claude cost?

Claude has a free plan and several paid plans. Prices change, so check claude.com/pricing before you buy.

The free plan gives you chat, web search, files, memory and Artifacts, with lower limits on how much you can use Claude. The paid plans give you more usage, Opus, Research, Cowork and Claude Code. Every plan has limits, and they reset at regular intervals, according to Anthropic's pricing page.

Here is what the plans cost in US dollars, according to Anthropic's pricing page and help pages at the time of writing:

  • Free costs nothing, according to Anthropic's pricing page.
  • Pro costs 20 dollars a month, or 17 dollars a month billed annually, according to Anthropic's pricing page.
  • Max costs 100 dollars a month and gives more usage than Pro, according to Anthropic's help page on Max.
  • Ultra costs 200 dollars a month and gives more usage than Max, according to Anthropic's help page on Ultra.
  • Team is for groups. A standard seat costs 25 dollars per person per month, or 20 dollars billed annually, according to Anthropic's pricing page. A premium seat costs 125 dollars a month at the time of writing, or 100 dollars billed annually, and gives more usage plus Fable, according to the same page.
  • Enterprise costs 20 dollars per seat per month billed annually, according to Anthropic's pricing page. On top of that you pay for usage at Claude API rates.

Is Claude safe? Data and privacy

Claude is safe for everyday questions if you follow the same rule as with any AI. Never type in passwords, ID numbers, card numbers or secrets. Is AI safe? explains why.

Free, Pro and Max let you choose whether Anthropic may train its models on your chats. The setting is called Help improve our AI models and sits under Settings, Privacy. If you allow training, Anthropic keeps your data for up to five years, otherwise for 30 days, according to the terms update from August 2025.

An incognito chat is not used for training. You start one with the ghost icon.

A deleted chat leaves your history at once and Anthropic's servers within 30 days, according to Anthropic's privacy center. Team, Enterprise and the API run under commercial terms, where Anthropic does not train on your data by default. Data sovereignty covers where data is stored.

Never type this to an AI

  • Passwords
  • Personal ID numbers
  • Card numbers
  • Patient data
  • Trade secrets
What you type is stored by the service. Replace names and numbers with made-up ones when you want help with a real case.

Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini?

Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini are the same kind of AI assistant, from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. All three work in Swedish and have free versions. They differ in their models, their prices and the features around them. Claude has Cowork and Claude Code for work in files and code.

None of them is best at everything. Give the same task to two of them and keep the one that answers best for you.

Common questions about Claude

Is Claude free?

Claude is free to start with. The Free plan only needs an account. Free has lower limits and fewer models than the paid plans, which are listed in the section on price.

Who owns Claude?

Claude is made by the AI company Anthropic. The company's address is in San Francisco, USA, according to Anthropic's consumer terms.

Can Claude create images?

Claude does not make photos or illustrations the way an image tool does, according to Anthropic's help page. Claude can draw diagrams, charts and interactive visuals right in the chat, though. Claude builds them in HTML and SVG, the formats for web pages and scalable images. Claude also reads images you upload.

How old do you have to be to use Claude?

Claude requires you to be at least 18 years old, according to Anthropic's consumer terms.

Can you use Claude at work?

Claude is fine at work if your employer allows it. Ask first which AI services are approved. Keep customer data out of a personal plan. Team and Enterprise are made for workplaces and come with commercial terms.

What is the difference between Claude and Claude Code?

Claude is the assistant you chat with on claude.ai and in the apps. Claude Code puts the same models in a coding agent, a program that works in your files and runs commands. Read more in Claude Code: the complete guide.

Next partClaude CodeThe coding agent in the terminal, from install to agents

Read next

Sources: Anthropic: pricing · Anthropic: download · Anthropic: Cowork · Anthropic: upload files · Anthropic: choose a model · Anthropic: consumer terms · Anthropic: languages