The beginner's guide to Claude at work
Someone asks for “a quick spreadsheet comparing the three quotes”, and Claude hands back something that looks exactly like one. Whether it's a file you can send, a preview only you can open or a reply in the chat decides what happens next.
What does your job involve?
Open a task to find where it lives in Claude, what your account needs and a prompt to start with. Eight jobs, from a slide deck to a multi-file Cowork task.
Open a task to see where to start, the access to check, a prompt to use and what to check in the result.
Create an editable slide deck Claude → file creation
Go from a brief to a deck you can open and refine.
- Where to start
- Attach the brief in a new chat and ask for a PowerPoint file.
- Access to check
- Needs Code execution and file creation on (Settings › Capabilities). An Artifact or a slide outline in the chat is not a .pptx until you download or export one.
- Bring this
- An agreed storyline, the audience, the source figures and a slide count.
Try this in Claude
Create an editable five-slide PowerPoint from this brief for [audience]. Use one idea per slide, keep every figure and status label as written, and put source references in the speaker notes. Return the .pptx and a short list of things for me to check.Why this request helps: Naming the file type and the source rules gives you a deck to open and check, not a slide-shaped answer in the chat.
Check before using it: Open it in PowerPoint and check chart values, editable text, speaker notes and image crops.
If this route is missing: Ask for the slide-by-slide storyline and build it in PowerPoint yourself.
Build a spreadsheet with formulas Claude → spreadsheet file
Get a workbook whose calculations you can check.
- Where to start
- Upload the data and ask for an .xlsx whose totals are formulas.
- Access to check
- Needs Code execution and file creation on. This creates a new file; it doesn't edit a workbook you already have open in Excel.
- Bring this
- Column definitions, units, the calculation rules and one total you already know.
Try this in Claude
Create an .xlsx from this data. Keep raw data, assumptions and calculations on separate sheets. Make every total a formula linked to its rows, flag any missing inputs, and tell me which cells contain formulas. Don't guess missing prices.Why this request helps: Asking for formulas and a list of formula cells gives you something to test after download.
Check before using it: Click a total to see its formula, change one assumption and reconcile one total you already know.
If this route is missing: Ask for the formulas in the chat and build them in a practice workbook.
Compare several documents Claude → uploaded files
Find the real disagreements between documents.
- Where to start
- Attach the current versions and say what each one is.
- Access to check
- File uploads; check size limits and supported formats for your plan.
- Bring this
- The documents, their versions and one precise question.
Try this in Claude
Compare these documents for [question]. Treat [file 1] as the agreed rule, [file 2] as the latest proposal and [file 3] as background. Show agreements, conflicts and missing evidence with file and section references. Don't treat the newest date as the authority.Why this request helps: Giving each file a role stops a newer, unagreed suggestion from quietly overruling the agreed rule.
Check before using it: Open each cited passage and check the exceptions as well as the headline differences.
If this route is missing: Paste the relevant extracts and compare one question at a time.
Make a small interactive explainer Claude → Artifact
Turn an explanation into something readers can explore.
- Where to start
- Describe one rule or process and ask for an Artifact.
- Access to check
- Artifacts need Code execution and file creation on. They start private; sharing options depend on your plan, and viewers need a Claude account.
- Bring this
- A checked rule or explanation and the one or two inputs a reader should be able to change.
Try this in Claude
Create an Artifact that explains [process]. Let the reader choose [two or three options] and show the explanation for each. Use clear buttons and plain text, and label any assumptions. No live data or external calls.Why this request helps: An interactive Artifact earns its place when changing an input shows the reader something a paragraph can't.
Check before using it: Try every option, use it with the keyboard and on a narrow screen, and check who can open the link before you share it.
If this route is missing: Ask for a short structured explanation or a simple diagram instead.
Find evidence in connected work tools Claude → connector
Use the work evidence your connection can reach.
- Where to start
- Open Customize › Connectors and check which services you've connected.
- Access to check
- On Team and Enterprise an owner enables each connector first, then you sign in to it yourself. A connector can change data in that service, so say read only when that's all you need.
- Bring this
- The project, the service to search, a date range and the question.
Try this in Claude
Search [connected service] for [project or question]. Return source links, conflicting records and anything you couldn't reach. Read only: don't post, send or change anything. Separate the current agreed decision from proposals.Why this request helps: A connector adds access and sometimes actions. Stating the read-only job keeps the two apart.
Check before using it: Open the records it cites and check their status, date and audience.
If this route is missing: Upload an export of the records and note the date it was taken.
Work inside Word, Excel or PowerPoint with the Claude add-in Claude for Microsoft 365 → Word, Excel or PowerPoint
Change the real document, workbook or deck in a way you can review.
- Where to start
- Open the document, workbook or deck, then Home › Add-ins (Windows) or Tools › Add-ins (Mac) › Claude. Select the passage, range or slide first.
- Access to check
- Claude for Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. Install Claude for Microsoft 365 from Microsoft AppSource or ask IT to deploy it. Runs in Microsoft 365 on the web, Windows and Mac; not in Office 2016 or 2019, or on iPad.
- Bring this
- A practice copy of the file and the exact passage, range or slide to change.
Try this in Claude
In tracked changes mode, revise only this selected passage for [reader]. Keep dates, conditions and commitments as written and leave the surrounding styles unchanged. Explain each change so I can accept or reject it in Word.Why this request helps: Working in the open file means the change lands where you can review it: as tracked changes, cell edits or one slide.
Check before using it: Review each tracked change before accepting it, click the cells Excel reports as changed, and confirm the other slides are untouched.
If this route is missing: Paste the passage into a Claude chat and apply the checked revision yourself.
Keep a recurring project’s context together Claude → Projects
Stop re-explaining the same job every week.
- Where to start
- Create a project, add the instructions and reference files that don't change, and start each new task in a fresh chat inside it.
- Access to check
- Projects are on every plan; Free accounts can have up to five. Sharing a project needs Team or Enterprise. A new version of Projects is in beta for some Pro and Max users in Claude Code.
- Bring this
- Stable formatting and review instructions, plus fresh sources for each task.
Try this in Claude
For this project, use [format] and keep missing facts and proposal status visible. Treat the sources I add to each chat as current, and earlier outputs only as format examples. Before each new brief, list any missing or conflicting sources.Why this request helps: A project should keep the method handy without making an old conclusion look current.
Check before using it: Check the project instructions and the dates of its files before each recurring task.
If this route is missing: Keep the method in a document and paste it into a new chat with fresh sources.
Prepare several files for one job Claude → Cowork
Hand over a larger preparation job with outputs you can review.
- Where to start
- Start a Cowork task, connect only the folder or sources the job needs, and name the files you want back.
- Access to check
- Cowork runs on Pro and Max, and on Team (web and mobile in beta); on Enterprise an admin enables it. Local folders work only through the desktop app.
- Bring this
- A small set of sources, the output files you want and the point where Claude should stop and ask.
Try this in Claude
Prepare [named files] from these sources. First confirm the sources and the outputs you'll create. Keep the originals unchanged and list missing information. Don't send, publish, book or change shared records, and stop if the task needs a new source.Why this request helps: A multi-step job needs a clear source set, named outputs and a stop point, not an instruction to handle everything.
Check before using it: Open every file it produced, compare the key figures with the sources and review any action it took separately.
If this route is missing: Do one small file task in an ordinary chat.
Know what you have
Claude: the feature map
Use this map to tell a reply, a file and an action in another app apart. What you see depends on your plan and your organisation's settings.
| Feature | Useful for | Where | Access / limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation | Explanations, critiques and drafts | New chat | Any plan |
| File creation | Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files | Any chat, once turned on | Settings › Capabilities › Code execution and file creation (owners set it on Team and Enterprise) |
| Artifacts | A document, table or small tool beside the chat | Panel beside the chat; Artifacts tab | Same setting as files. Starts private; viewers need a Claude account |
| Connectors | Searching and acting in other work services | Customize › Connectors | Owner enables on Team and Enterprise; you sign in yourself |
| Office add-in | Edits inside Word, Excel and PowerPoint | Home › Add-ins (Windows) or Tools › Add-ins (Mac) | Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise; Microsoft 365 on web, Windows or Mac |
| Projects | Instructions and files for recurring work | Projects in the sidebar | Every plan; Free up to five; sharing on Team and Enterprise |
| Cowork | Multi-step jobs across several files | Cowork on desktop, web or mobile | Pro, Max, Team; Enterprise if enabled. Local folders need the desktop app |
Find out what your account can use
- Check which account you're signed in to before adding work files.
- For files and Artifacts, open Settings › Capabilities and check that Code execution and file creation is on. On Team and Enterprise, an owner controls it.
- For connectors, open Customize › Connectors. On Team and Enterprise, ask the owner which connectors are enabled, then sign in only to the ones you need.
- For the Office add-in, check with IT whether Claude for Microsoft 365 is deployed or whether you can install it from AppSource.
If a feature is missing, you can still paste the material into an ordinary chat. Check what kind of result you got before promising anyone a finished file.
Ask your administrator:
Which Claude account and workspace should I use for work? Please confirm whether file creation, Artifact sharing, connectors and the Claude for Microsoft 365 add-in are on for my account, which information I can use, and who approves new access. I'd like to try [specific task] with the access we already have.What you'll make
a three-option cost comparison in Claude, first as an Artifact you can check beside the chat, then as a downloadable Excel file whose totals are working formulas.
What you'll need
a Claude account on any plan, including Free, with Code execution and file creation turned on, three quotes or price lists, and about 15 minutes. The fictional quotes in step 2 work if you’d rather not paste real supplier prices yet.
Example result.
| Option | 24-month cost |
|---|---|
| Machine loan with service plan | £1,690 |
| Buy outright | £1,810 |
| Lease | £2,040 |
1. Turn on files and Artifacts
Claude can give you four different kinds of result, and most beginner confusion comes from mixing them up. A conversation returns an answer or draft in the chat. An Artifact opens in its own panel beside the chat: a document, table or small interactive tool you can revise and share as a link. A file is a Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF download. A connector lets Claude reach another service, such as your drive or calendar, and sometimes change things there.
Files and Artifacts both depend on one setting. On Free, Pro and Max, go to Settings › Capabilities and turn on Code execution and file creation. On Team and Enterprise, an owner controls it in Organization settings › Capabilities; it’s on by default for Team.
One thing Claude doesn’t do is generate photos or illustrations. It can make charts and diagrams, but for images use ChatGPT or your design tool.
Why this works: with the setting off, a request for a spreadsheet can only come back as a table in the chat, however much it looks like the real thing.
What you should see: the Code execution and file creation toggle switched on, or a note that your organisation manages it.
2. Ask for the comparison as an Artifact
Open a new chat and paste this. The quotes are fictional; swap in your own when you’re ready.
Create an Artifact that compares these three coffee machine quotes over 24 months for a 30-person office.
Show each option's one-off cost, monthly cost and 24-month total in one table, cheapest first.
Under the table, show the arithmetic for each total on one line.
Don't add costs the quotes don't mention.
Quote A (lease): £85 a month, servicing included, no installation fee.
Quote B (buy outright): £1,450 one-off, servicing £180 a year.
Quote C (machine loan): £250 installation, then £60 a month for the service plan.Why this works: naming the Artifact gets you a panel you can revise and share, rather than a table lost in the scroll. The arithmetic lines let you check each total in seconds instead of trusting it.
What you should see: a panel to the right of the chat with three rows (C at £1,690, B at £1,810, A at £2,040) and a line of working under each.
3. Check the totals against the quotes
Read each working line against its quote, not against the table. Lease: 85 × 24 = £2,040. Buying: £1,450 plus two years of servicing at £180 = £1,810. Loan: £250 plus 60 × 24 = £1,690. Then look for anything extra. A comparison that quietly adds coffee beans or VAT is answering a different question.
Why this works: a neat table makes every number look equally certain. The working shows where each one came from.
What you should see: three working lines that match the quotes exactly, and a ranking that follows the totals.
4. Share the Artifact, or decide you need a file
Artifacts start private. To share one, open it, click Share, choose an option under Who has access and copy the link. On Pro and Max the choices are Only you or Anyone with the link. On Team and Enterprise you can invite people, open it to everyone in your organisation, or use Anyone with the link if an owner has allowed external sharing. Anyone opening it needs a Claude account, and you can’t change sharing in the mobile apps.
Legacy chat Artifacts use a different route. If the button says Publish, Free, Pro and Max users can publish a public link that people can view without a Claude account. This is separate from the current paid-plan Share options above.
Why this works: a link is fine for a colleague who uses Claude. A finance colleague who wants to change a price and forward the numbers needs a file.
What you should see: a link, and a clear answer to “can the person I’m sending this to open it?”
Check the result
- Each total matches its working line, and each working line matches the quote.
- The ranking follows the totals.
- No cost appears that isn’t in a quote.
- You have the output the next person needs: a link they can open, or a file they can edit.
The usual failure: you ask for “a spreadsheet” and get something that only looks like one: a table in the chat or in an Artifact, with no file. To spot it, look for a downloadable .xlsx in the conversation. If there isn’t one, or the totals are typed numbers that don’t change when you change a price, you have a picture of a spreadsheet.
That's a table, not a file. Create a downloadable .xlsx with one row per quote and columns for one-off cost, monthly cost, months and total.
Make every total a formula that uses the cells in its row, so changing a price or the number of months updates it.
Tell me which cells contain formulas.Worked example: the spreadsheet that wasn’t a file
Fictional example. Hannah runs the office for a 30-person architecture practice. Facilities forwarded three quotes for the kitchen coffee machine, and her finance colleague asked for “a spreadsheet by Friday”.
Fwd: coffee machine quotes
Supplier A: lease, £85/month all-in, 24-month minimum term
Supplier B: buy outright £1,450, plus service contract £180/yr
Supplier C: machine on loan, £250 install, £60 pcm service planWeak: “Can you make a spreadsheet comparing these?” Claude replied “Here’s your spreadsheet” above this table:
Option 24-month total
Machine loan £1,690
Buy outright £1,810
Lease £2,040There was no .xlsx in the conversation to download. Hannah used the repair prompt from Check the result, and this time a file appeared with a Download button:
coffee-machine-quotes.xlsx
A B: One-off C: Monthly D: Months E: Total
2 Lease 0 85 24 =B2+C2*D2 2,040
3 Buy outright 1,450 15 24 =B3+C3*D3 1,810
4 Machine loan 250 60 24 =B4+C4*D4 1,690- The numbers were right; the format was wrong. The first answer would have passed a glance. It failed the real test, which was whether finance could open it and change a price.
- Claude turned £180 a year into £15 a month so one formula works on every row. Check conversions like that: 15 × 24 = £360, the same two years of servicing as in the quote.
- Hannah tested the formulas before sending. Changing D2 to 36 moved the lease total to £3,060. If nothing had moved, the totals would have been typed numbers.
Task kit for this job: Download (ZIP) · Reusable instructions
Go deeper
Add one control so the comparison answers "what if?"
An Artifact can be a small interactive tool. Ask for one control, not a dashboard:
Add a slider to this Artifact for contract length, from 12 to 48 months. Update every total and the ranking as it moves, and keep the arithmetic lines visible.Check one setting by hand. At 48 months the order flips: buying outright costs £2,170, the loan £3,130 and the lease £4,080. That’s exactly the kind of turn one 24-month table hides, and a good reason to ask the question before signing a four-year term.
Know when to add a connector, a project or Cowork
Add a capability only when the job needs what it brings. A connector reaches a work service. Find them under Customize › Connectors, or in a chat under + › Connectors › Manage connectors. On Team and Enterprise an owner enables each connector first, and you still sign in to it yourself. Connecting can let Claude change data in that service, so say “read only” in the request when that’s all you need.
A project keeps instructions and files together for recurring work. Cowork handles multi-step jobs across several files; on the desktop app it can work in folders you connect.
The detailed routes: files, docs and slides, Artifacts, sharing an Artifact and connector review. If the job turns into changing software, read Codex versus Claude Code.