Why I moved half my AI workflow to Claude

My friends,

Today, I want to share a deep dive into Claude and explain why it's the best AI assistant out there for certain tasks.

When I first started using AI tools and sharing tutorials, I focused mainly on ChatGPT.

It’s the most widely known AI assistant, so it made sense.

But then, something kept happening.

I’d get comments, DMs, and emails asking the same question over and over:

“What about Claude?”

“Claude is actually better at coding!”

At first, I brushed it off. But the more I experimented, the more I realized: Claude is a must-know tool for anyone serious about AI.

So, in this letter, I'm breaking down everything that sets Claude apart—what it's best at, how I use it, and how you can optimize it for your workflow.

Before we dive deeper, I should mention that most of Claude's interesting features are paid features. If you can't find the features I'm discussing in the free version, that's completely normal.

This letter is more about whether to switch from ChatGPT to Claude (if you already have a ChatGPT subscription, since they're similarly priced), or help you choose between the two if you're considering your first AI subscription. While there are other options like Gemini and Mistral AI (very interesting btw), I'll save those for another time.

Let's dive in.

What Claude Does Best

Over the past year, I've been putting ChatGPT and Claude (& Gemini) through their paces, testing them side by side on all sorts of tasks. While I haven't run any formal studies, this hands-on experience has given me a pretty good feel for what each tool does best. Just keep in mind that what I'm sharing here comes from my personal experience, not from an “elaborate research”.

Compared to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, Claude excels at three things:

✅ Handling large amounts of text – Think long PDFs, research papers, or dense reports.

✅ Writing with clarity and structure – Even without custom instructions, Claude’s output is clean and well-organized (less “over-hyped” and “sales-y” like ChatGPT).

✅ Generating interactive outputs – Dashboards, charts, software prototypes, and even real-time code editing inside its Artifacts feature.

I rely on Claude for significant portions of my AI workflow. Not because it outperforms ChatGPT across the board, but because it excels at specific tasks where other AI tools fall short.

Let’s go deeper.

Optimizing Your Claude Settings (What to Enable & Disable)

Before we get into features, let’s set Claude up properly.

📌 What to enable:

• Artifacts (lets Claude create separate workspaces for longer outputs)
• CSV chat suggestions (great for working with structured data)
• Google Drive integration (if you’re on the paid plan, this is a game-changer)
• Analysis tool (helps with data interpretation & visualization)

❌ What to disable:

• Prompt examples (just clutters your workspace)
• LaTeX rendering (unless you’re doing advanced math)

Claude’s default settings are already solid, but these tweaks make it even better. I haven't found much value in the "personal preference prompt" feature, so I stick with Claude's default settings rather than adding general instructions (same for ChatGPT btw).

The Artifacts Feature: Game-Changer for Writing & Code

In my life, I've had three "wow" moments with AI:

• When ChatGPT was first released in November 2022
• When I first tried the podcast feature with NotebookLM
• When I first described an app to Claude and saw my functional "interactive app" appear on my screen within seconds.

This is by far one of the most interesting features of Claude. For many requests, Claude doesn't just spit out words—it opens a separate window, called an Artifact, to display finished work.

This is huge for writing, coding, or anything that requires structured output (I will show you some examples below). By the way, this feature is also available with limited use in the free plan (though you'll hit the limit after a few tries).

Being able to describe an app and get a "functional app" (prototype) in your chatbot window within seconds is one of the things that only Claude can do right now.

📌 Example:

I asked Claude to draft a blog post based on a product design document. Instead of mixing my request and the output together (like ChatGPT does), Claude:

1. Opened a new Artifact window for the blog post.
2. Kept the original chat thread clean, so I could follow the thought process.
3. Allowed me to edit the text in real-time inside the Artifact without losing context.

And it’s not just for writing. Claude can also output code and charts inside Artifacts (see below), making it way easier to tweak and test.

Now if I ask for changes, Claude will apply the changes directly in the artifact.

While this is similar to ChatGPT Canvas (which is more powerful in some ways—you can also add your inputs), Claude handles these interactions more naturally from instructions—you don't need to specify like you do with ChatGPT.

Claude’s Built-in Screenshot Tool

This one is underrated.

Let’s say I’m analyzing sales data (sales, profit, growth for different products). Instead of copy-pasting data, I can screenshot a section of my screen and upload it directly into Claude.

I can take a screenshot simply by selecting a tab in my browser.

Then, I just ask:

Prompt: “Hey Claude, turn this into a clean chart and summarize the key insights.”

I got a very nice interactive graph. I can also download the HTML code, convert it, or embed it wherever I want. Powerful, isn't it?

This is where Claude starts feeling less like a chatbot and more like an AI-powered assistant that can see what you're working on and act accordingly.

You don't need to choose or trigger the artifact window. Claude determines if it's "worth it" directly from your request.

Writing Styles: Does Claude Get Tone Right?

Claude offers preset writing styles, but honestly? I barely use them.

99% of the time, "Normal" works just fine. The custom writing style feature is promising but, in my experience, a bit hit-or-miss. It usually overplays the style. While some users might get it to work with tweaking, I haven't had much success with it.

📌 Example:

I tested Claude by feeding it examples of my old letters and social media posts.

The result? Not impressive. While it technically followed the examples, the writing felt artificial and robotic.

For now, manually adjusting the tone yourself yields better results.

But that's just my experience—you might have better luck with it (let me know if you do)!

Claude Projects: The Best Way to Organize AI Conversations

Projects allow you to separate different tasks into dedicated workspaces with their own memory and context.

The same concept is also available on ChatGPT paid plans (more or less).

Here's a simple way to understand projects: Think of it like having one main folder for a topic. Instead of starting a new conversation every time and uploading the same files over and over, you can keep everything in one place. All your conversations about that topic can access the same files and information automatically. It's much more organized and saves you time.

This can save a tremendous amount of time at work (if you have Claude or ChatGPT available in your company, or if you invest in the paid plan).

📌 Example 1: A client project

• Project: "name of the project"
• Context: I upload documents related to the project by connecting my project drive
• Separate Chats: Within the project, I can create different chat conversations for various needs - like making quotes, tracking progress, answering contract questions, preparing for client meetings, and creating visual content. Think of it as having one organized folder where you keep everything related to your project. Nothing innovative here—it's exactly what it's designed for.

This way, I don’t need to create a new conversation and connect it to the drive for each request.

📌 Example 2: Work (Product Development)

• Project: "Feature Development"
• Context: Upload a technical requirements document.
• Separate Chats: One for sprint planning, one for technical specs, one for release notes.

This setup is great because Claude can keep track of all the technical information while writing different versions of documents based on who needs to read them - whether it's developers, managers, or clients.

Oh, and… this is currently the only way to create custom assistants in Claude (similar to GPTs). Here's how to make a custom assistant in Claude: First, create a new project. Then add any files or information you want the assistant to know about. Finally, write down what you want the assistant to do, and start new chats to work with it.

📝 Important Notes:

• You can add context at the project level (applies to everything in that workspace).
• You can add extra details at the chat level (applies only to that conversation).
• Projects are a paid feature, so consider this when choosing between ChatGPT and Claude. Compare both platforms' project features to determine which better suits your workflow.

Interactive Dashboards: When You Need More Than Just Text

Claude can also turn complex documents into interactive dashboards—no coding required.

📌 Example:

I uploaded PwC's latest CEO survey report (which offers valuable insights about AI) and asked Claude to:

1. Summarize the key concepts.
2. Create an interactive dashboard where I could explore different sections.

The result is amazing! Check this out 👇

For researchers, analysts, or anyone drowning in PDFs—this is a lifesaver.

This is exactly where Claude stands out (and why I'm still paying $19/mo). I'm unable to reproduce this with any other AI tool under the sun (at least with the same speed and accuracy).

Data Analytics & Visualization: Claude Can Actually Think

One of my favorite use cases for Claude is working with messy data.

📌 Example:

I uploaded a CSV file of transaction data and asked Claude:

“Analyze this and find three meaningful insights.”

Claude:

• Cleaned and structured the data.
• Identified customer segments.
• Created a bar chart showing revenue trends.

Then I double-checked Claude's math... and it was spot on. This shows that Claude has reasoning capability and can also correct its own errors.

I can now ask for an interactive dashboard.

Final Thoughts: Is Claude Worth It?

If you're only going to pay for one AI tool, ChatGPT or Gemini are better all-around choices.

However, if your work heavily involves writing, coding, or data analysis, Claude is definitely worth adding to your toolkit.

✔️ Use Claude for: Writing, structured thinking, and interactive outputs.

❌ Stick with ChatGPT/Gemini for: General tasks, creative projects, and brainstorming sessions.

I use both ChatGPT and Claude. Claude has some unique features that make it worth keeping. There are simply some tasks that Claude does better than any other AI tool.

If you found this breakdown helpful, you'll likely enjoy my deep dive on NotebookLM.

Until the next one,

— Charafeddine