Claude.ai
Claude.ai is the web interface for Claude — the browser-based product where most people first interact with Claude. It goes well beyond a basic chat window: it includes Projects, Artifacts, file uploads, and collaboration features that make it a productive daily tool.
Interface Overview
The Claude.ai interface is organised into a few key areas:
- Left sidebar: Lists recent conversations and Projects. New conversations start here. Starred conversations stay pinned at the top.
- Main chat area: The conversation thread with message history. Supports multi-turn dialogue, file attachments, and image uploads.
- Artifacts panel (right side): When Claude generates code, documents, diagrams, or other structured content, it appears as a standalone Artifact — a persistent, rendered output you can copy, export, or iterate on without cluttering the conversation.
- Model selector: At the bottom of the chat input, you can switch between Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus depending on your plan.
Conversations vs Projects
Claude.ai has two distinct work modes — plain conversations and Projects. Knowing when to use each is the most impactful habit you can build:
Plain conversations
- One-off questions or tasks
- Quick lookups, rewrites, short code snippets
- No context needed beyond the current session
- Context resets at the start of each new conversation
Projects
- Ongoing work that benefits from persistent context
- Custom instructions applied to every conversation in the project
- Knowledge base: upload files Claude references in every conversation
- All conversations within the project share the same context
Use Projects whenever you're doing repeated work in a domain — writing for a specific audience, coding in a specific codebase, or any task where "remember this about my work" matters. See What Are Projects for a deeper guide.
Artifacts
Artifacts appear automatically when Claude generates content that is better rendered separately — code files, markdown documents, HTML, SVGs, React components, and data visualisations. Key things to know:
- Artifacts persist across the conversation — you can return to them at any time
- You can iterate on an Artifact directly: "update the code in the Artifact to also handle edge case X"
- Code Artifacts can be run in-browser for JavaScript and React content
- Artifacts can be copied, downloaded, or shared via link
File Uploads
Claude.ai supports file uploads in conversations and Projects. Supported formats include:
- Documents: PDF, Word (.docx), plain text, Markdown
- Code: Most programming language file types
- Images: PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP (Claude can see and describe them)
- Data: CSV, JSON (Claude can analyse and summarise)
Files uploaded to a Project's knowledge base are available in every conversation within that Project. Files attached to a plain conversation are only available in that conversation.
Sharing and Collaboration
- Share conversation link: Generate a public or private link to a conversation. Recipients can view the full conversation thread.
- Export: Download conversation history as Markdown or plain text.
- Projects on Teams/Enterprise plans: Projects can be shared with workspace members, with shared conversation history visible to all members.
Plans and Usage Limits
| Plan | Models | Key limits / features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Haiku + limited Sonnet | Daily message limit; no Projects; limited file uploads |
| Pro ($20/mo) | Haiku, Sonnet, Opus | 5× more usage than Free; full Projects; all model tiers; priority access |
| Teams ($25/user/mo) | All models | Shared Projects; admin controls; usage visibility; billing per seat |
| Enterprise (custom) | All models | SSO, audit logs, data retention controls, HIPAA eligibility, expanded limits |
Usage limits apply to the number of messages or tokens per time period, not to the number of conversations. Switching to a smaller model (Haiku) stretches your usage budget if you hit limits on Sonnet/Opus.
Checklist: Do You Understand This?
- Claude.ai is the web product — conversations, Projects, Artifacts, file uploads, sharing
- Projects give Claude persistent context via custom instructions and an uploaded knowledge base
- Plain conversations are for one-off tasks; Projects are for ongoing, context-heavy work
- Artifacts are rendered outputs (code, documents, React) that persist alongside the conversation
- Free plan has daily limits; Pro unlocks all model tiers and full Projects; Teams adds shared workspaces; Enterprise adds compliance and SSO