Claude

AI assistant from Anthropic for drafting, editing in side-by-side Artifacts, organising recurring work in Projects, and summarising long documents.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: Claude Web (claude.ai) & Desktop App

These instructions were checked against official product documentation on the review date. Menus, features and availability may change or vary by device, software version and subscription. If your screen looks different, check the official help links below or contact AAT Solutions.

Practical ways to use Claude at work

Claude is useful when you want to turn rough notes or dictated thoughts into a structured email or report outline, keep reference material inside a dedicated Project, or summarise a long PDF and check the cited pages.

Instead of repeating your formatting preferences in every conversation, you can save standing instructions once so Claude uses UK English, clear headings, and concise paragraphs automatically.

Getting started: instructions, Projects, and Artifacts

  1. Check your account and data permissions first: Only enter workplace information or upload files that your organisation permits in an approved account. On consumer plans (Free, Pro, Max), review your model-improvement privacy setting; on commercial plans (Team, Enterprise), inputs are not used for model training by default, though your employer's data policy still applies. Practise with fictional material first.
  2. Save your personal instructions: Click your initials and open Settings → Your Claude → Instructions (or Account → Instructions for Claude on older layouts). Add a plain-English preference such as: "Use UK English spelling, clear headings, and short paragraphs."
  3. Organise recurring work in Projects: Open Projects in the left sidebar to create a workspace for a specific topic. You can upload reference files to Project knowledge and add Project instructions that apply across chats in that project.
  4. Draft and refine side by side in an Artifact: Ask Claude for a document artifact, or choose Output → Docs where available (requires file-creation/Artifact capabilities enabled). Highlight any passage in the right-hand document panel and choose Edit with Claude for a targeted change, review the update, and use Export or Copy when finished (older legacy artifacts may show different copy/download controls).
  5. Upload and verify long PDFs: Click + → Add files or photos, select your PDF, and click Open. Ask Claude for the relevant passage and PDF viewer page number (which can differ from printed page numbers on the document). Because AI can miss or misread information, always check the cited passage in the original PDF.

Keeping responses easy to read and review

  • Request headings and short sections: Ask Claude in your prompt or standing instructions to break longer answers into short sections with headings and bullet points so they are easier to scan.
  • Wait until generation finishes: Let the reply finish generating before navigating or copying. You can use the reply's Copy button to paste the draft into Microsoft Word or your preferred editor if you want to review it with your own reading or dictation tools.
  • Keyboard navigation for Artifacts: On current Artifacts, you can press Enter on the artifact button in the conversation to open it and Tab between controls and content. To close the panel from the keyboard, press Escape to step outward from any open menu or editing layer until focus reaches the Artifact panel itself, then press Escape again (or activate the panel's Close button) to return to the conversation. (Legacy artifacts created under older versions may behave differently.)

Common problems, and what to do

  • You reach your usage allowance quickly. Long conversations and large attachments use more of your allowance. Keep reusable background files in Project knowledge (which uses caching), start a fresh chat when changing tasks, and check Settings → Usage where available.
  • The draft sounds too formal or generic. Add a short paragraph of your own writing to Settings → Your Claude → Instructions or your Project instructions, and state what to avoid (for example, "Avoid corporate jargon and keep sentences concise").
  • A document summary misses a key figure or condition. Never rely on an AI summary alone for policy, financial, legal, or clinical decisions. Ask Claude to quote the exact sentence and PDF page number, then inspect the original file directly.

5-minute practice exercise

  1. Sign in to Claude, open Settings → Your Claude → Instructions, and add: "Use UK English and structure longer answers with clear headings."
  2. Start a new chat and click + → Add files or photos to attach a short, fictional or public PDF (or paste a fictional 300-word meeting note).
  3. Ask Claude: "Create a document artifact containing a three-bullet summary and an action list."
  4. In the right-hand Artifact panel, select one sentence, choose Edit with Claude, and ask to make it shorter.
  5. Verify the summary against your source text, then export or copy the checked draft.

Official Claude help links

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