What is Claude? A practical guide to its usage, pricing, and capabilities in the workplace
"I've heard of ChatGPT, but what is Claude?"
I've been asked that more and more lately. To put it simply, Claude is not just an "AI for writing," but an "AI for delegating work."
In this series, I have actually delegated tasks to it,
ranging from organizing 15 files and creating 5 slides to writing articles, and I will explain everything after having done it all.
Conclusion: In 3 lines
Claude is a conversational AI assistant developed by Anthropic. It can be used naturally in Japanese.
You can start for free and delegate actual work, from writing and document creation to file organization.
Its key feature is "ease of use for work." Its strengths lie in polite writing and features that allow you to delegate tasks.
What is Claude
Claude is a generative AI from the US company Anthropic. It is a leading generative AI alongside ChatGPT and can be used via browsers, smartphone apps, and PC applications.
Here are the three characteristics of Claude that I felt while actually using it.
1. The writing is polite. The quality of Japanese writing and rewriting is high, making it suitable for business documents.
2. It is equipped with "delegation" features. Beyond just chatting, it has robust features for delegating work, such as Cowork for performing PC tasks, Claude Code for development, and Skills for teaching it procedures.
3. It doesn't act on its own. For task-oriented features, it presents a plan and waits for approval before executing. This is a characteristic I consistently confirmed during the series' verification.
What you can do with Claude
Writing and rewriting: Emails, project proposals, and article drafts
Document creation: Generating slides and documents (I actually completed 5 slides in about 4 minutes)
PC tasks like file organization: Delegated via Cowork (in my verification, it correctly classified all 15 files)
Research: Investigating the latest information using Web search
PDF and data analysis: Summarizing and analyzing PDFs, images, and Excel files provided to it
Programming: Creating and executing code (Claude Code)
*Feature availability varies by plan and environment. Please check the official site (claude.com) for the latest information.
How to get started: 3 steps
Access claude.ai and register with your email address or Google account
Use it directly in your browser, or install the mobile/desktop app
Talk to it in Japanese in the input field. That's all there is to it
If you're not sure what to say first, try asking it to "rewrite this email to be more polite." This is the best way to see its true professional capabilities.
Pricing: Free vs. Paid, and which plan to choose
Free Plan: Basic chat. Sufficient for getting started
Pro: Increased usage limits, suitable for daily use
Max: Maximum usage. A plan for those who seriously need to run parallel tasks and heavy-duty features
[*Please check the official pricing page for the latest prices and plan structures as of the publication date and include them here]
The rule of thumb is: use the free plan for casual conversation, and the paid plan for delegating work. With that in mind, here is my conclusion.
If you are serious about running a blog or a newsletter, I recommend the Max plan.
The reason is usage volume. Writing articles in parallel, having it create diagrams, and handling daily tasks—this entire series of articles was created using that workflow, and when you put AI at the center of your work, the usage limit is the first wall you will hit. An AI that stops working when you need it to is not a professional tool.This is the one area where you should not compromise, which is what I've realized after extensive use.
Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone. If you only need it for occasional consultation a few times a week, the Free or Pro plans are sufficient. However, if you have decided to "get serious about creating content and working with AI," this is not the place to cut corners.
Model types: What are Fable, Opus, and the others?
Claude has multiple AI models, and as of July 2026, the latest is Claude Fable 5. There are also the Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku families.
The names are similar and easy to confuse, so next time, I will provide a comprehensive comparison of the four models by work task. For now, just remember: "When in doubt, the latest model is fine."
Who is it for?
Who it is for
People who want to use AI for work documents, materials, and research
People who want to delegate tasks, not just "talk"
Who it is not for
People whose main goal is real-time casual conversation or entertainment (it's not that it doesn't fit, but Claude's strengths lie in work)
Summary: From a "tool that returns answers" to a "partner to delegate work to"
AI is beginning to change from a "tool that returns answers" to a "partner to delegate work to." As an entry point, I feel Claude is the AI most worth trying right now.
Getting started is easy. Register for free today and try having it fix one work email. You'll know if it's a good fit from that one interaction.
The best way to understand Claude is to try it out.
However, if you want to systematically understand the mindset of "delegating work to AI" and how we will work in the future, this book is worth reading.
It was the catalyst for me to learn the mindset of becoming someone who "works with AI" rather than just "someone who uses AI."
▶︎ Click here for "The Book to Read to Ensure Your Job Isn't Taken by Generative AI"
For those who "don't just want to read, but want to be able to actually use AI agents in their work," AI Agent Camp is also recommended.
You can learn practical content using tools like Claude Code and Cursor, so I think it's a great fit for those who want to "make AI a weapon for their work."
▶︎ Click here for AI Agent Camp
Next time preview
Next time, I will thoroughly compare the four models: Fable, Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku. I will not only compare performance but also verify with actual machines which one should be used for which task. Please follow and stay tuned.
[Verification] How to use Claude Cowork
The difference between Claude and Claude Code
[Verification] How to use Claude Skills
What is Forvio | Putting AI into more practical use
This article is part of Forvio's hands-on verification series. At Forvio, we don't just report AI news; we verify whether it can actually be used in professional work.