Anthropic Claude AI Ecosystem

Anthropic Claude AI Ecosystem

Claude MODELS

• Claude Opus 4.5 — Anthropic's most intelligent model. Excels at complex analysis, nuanced writing, multi-step reasoning, and tasks requiring deep understanding of context. Best for strategic work, sophisticated content creation, and problems where quality matters more than speed. Available in Claude Pro and API.

• Claude Sonnet 4.5 — The balanced workhorse. Delivers strong intelligence with faster response times and lower cost than Opus. Handles most professional tasks well—coding, analysis, writing, research. Default model in Claude.ai and most IDE integrations. The sweet spot for daily use.

• Claude Haiku 4.5 — Optimized for speed and efficiency. Ideal for high-volume tasks, quick responses, and cost-sensitive applications. Powers free tiers (like GitHub Copilot Free) and real-time interactions where latency matters. Surprisingly capable despite being the "lightweight" option.

WORKSPACES & ORGANIZATION

• Claude Projects — A "workspace" container where you can upload a knowledge base (documents, code snippets) and set custom instructions. Effectively gives you a "mini-agent" that remembers your specific project context without needing to reprompt every time.

• Artifacts — Interactive outputs Claude creates alongside responses. Code, documents, visualizations, React components, Mermaid diagrams, SVGs. Can be edited, iterated, and exported.

• Memory — Persistent context across conversations. Claude remembers relevant details from past chats to personalize responses without manual reprompting.

PROTOCOLS & STANDARDS

• MCP (Model Context Protocol) — Open standard providing a universal way for AI models to connect with external tools and data sources. Rather than building custom integrations for every AI-tool combination, developers create a single MCP "server" (for Slack, Google Drive, databases, CRMs, etc.) that works across any MCP-compatible AI. Handles both reading data and taking actions—Claude can pull information from Notion AND create pages, update records, execute workflows. Think of it like USB for AI: one standard connection replacing dozens of proprietary plugs.

• Claude Agent Skills — System for packaging specific expertise—instructions, scripts, and templates—into reusable folders Claude can "load" dynamically. A Skill is a folder with a SKILL.md file (instructions) and supporting files (Python scripts, templates). Enables consistent, repeatable workflows.

DEVELOPER TOOLS

• Claude Code — Command-line tool bringing agentic coding directly into your terminal. Unlike chat-based assistance, autonomously navigates codebases, reads and edits multiple files, runs commands, manages git operations, and executes multi-step development tasks. Describe what you want built or fixed, and it works through implementation—reading existing code for context, making changes across files, testing, iterating. A junior developer you delegate to, not a copilot suggesting completions.

• Claude API — Programmatic access to all Claude models. Text, vision, tool use, streaming. Models: claude-opus-4-5, claude-sonnet-4-5, claude-haiku-4-5.

• Computer Use — Claude's ability to view screens, move cursors, click buttons, and type text. Powers direct file creation (docx, pptx, xlsx, pdf), code execution, and system interaction.

INTEGRATIONS

• Claude for Chrome — Browser agent. Claude can navigate websites, click buttons, fill forms, and complete multi-step web tasks directly in your browser.

• Claude for Excel — Spreadsheet agent. Understands entire workbooks—nested formulas, multiple tab dependencies. Get explanations with cell-level citations, update assumptions while preserving formulas.

• Claude for Slack — Workspace assistant. Draft content, do quick research, or prep for meetings—right where you're already working.

• Claude.ai — Main web and mobile interface. Chat, projects, artifacts, file uploads, deep research, computer use capabilities.

RESEARCH FEATURES

• Deep Research — Multi-step research agent. Browses sources, synthesizes findings into comprehensive reports. Handles complex research questions requiring multiple searches and source evaluation.

• Extended Thinking — Enhanced reasoning mode where Claude shows its step-by-step thought process for complex problems. Improves accuracy on math, logic, and multi-step reasoning.

SUBSCRIPTION TIERS