Claude just made two of its best features free — here’s how to use Projects and Artifacts

As more ChatGPT users migrate to Claude, Anthropic appears to be making the switch easier. Less than a week ago, the company quietly made Memory free, a move designed to help new users transition more smoothly from ChatGPT to Claude.

But some users may not be aware that two of the most powerful tools are also free for everyone. Previously limited to paying subscribers, Projects and Artifacts turn Claude from a simple chatbot into something closer to a real workspace — one that can organize information, build documents and even create interactive tools. Here’s what changed and how to use these features.

What just changed — and why it matters

AI companies have been carefully balancing what they give away for free versus what they reserve for paid plans. Anthropic’s latest update signals a shift toward making Claude more accessible as competition with OpenAI and Google intensifies.

With the expanded free tier, Claude users now get access to:

• Projects to organize conversations and documents into dedicated workspaces
• Artifacts to preview code, documents and apps in a live side panel
• Web search for current information
• A 200,000-token context window (roughly 500 pages of text)
• File uploads of up to 20 files per chat

That’s a surprisingly powerful toolkit — especially for a free plan. But the real upgrardes are Projects and Artifacts.

What is Projects — and why it matters

Before Projects, every Claude conversation started from scratch. You had to re-explain your work, your writing style or the context of your task each time you started a new chat. But, similar to ChatGPT Projects, Claude Projects solve that problem. If you have been using Projects within ChatGPT, the core features are almost identical.

The biggest differences I've found is that Claude is far more integrated for document analysis. If you're working on content-heavy projects like writing a novel or deep research, you may find Claude to be a better support. Unlike ChatGPT, Claude does not provide image generation within the chat, so you will need to generate those elsewhere such as Gemini's Nano Banana 2 and upload.

Claude remembers the context of what you’re working on when you create a Project. You can upload documents, set instructions and keep all related conversations together.

I use Claude Projects for different parts of my life. I have Projects for work, Projects for my side hustles, Projects for research and I even have one for personal tasks.

It's a great way to stay organized while keeping the context inside each workspace so you don't have to repeat yourself.

How to use Claude Projects

• Click Projects in Claude’s sidebar
• Create a new Project and give it a name
• Upload documents like resumes, notes, briefs or style guides
• Add instructions explaining what Claude should know

From that point forward, every conversation inside that Project automatically uses that context. For example, for my AI pizza brand, Crusted, I use Projects as a "Brand Book," so the tone and information stays the same. I can change, edit or even rename the Project at any time.

What are Artifacts — and why they’re a game changer

If you’ve used ChatGPT Canvas, to write or code, than you'll probably appreciate the benefits of Artifacts. This feature allows users to create standalone outputs that appear in a live preview panel next to the chat.

Instead of just reading raw code or instructions, you can actually see the result. This allows you to make changes in real-time without starting over.

Within Artifcats, Claude can generate:

• Web pages
• Formatted reports
• Dashboards
• Visualizations
• Interactive tools

The Artifact updates in real time as you ask Claude to revise it. For people who aren’t programmers, this makes a huge difference. You don’t need to copy code into another program or environment just to see what it does. Everything happens directly inside Claude.

How to use Claude Artifacts

Ask Claude to build something visual or interactive — for example:

• A dashboard
• Calculator
• Formatted report
• Small web page

If the output benefits from a preview, Claude will automatically open it as an Artifact in the side panel.

5 ways to use these features right now

These tools aren’t just experimental AI features — they’re designed for everyday work. Whether you're organizing a job search, managing finances or turning messy notes into something useful, Projects and Artifacts make Claude feel less like a chatbot and more like a real productivity workspace.

Here are five practical ways to start using them today.

1. Build a job search command center: Create a “Job Search” Project, upload your resume and notes about target companies. Claude can generate tailored cover letters, outreach messages and interview prep using your background.

2. Create a personal finance tracker: Upload a spreadsheet or spending data, then ask Claude to build an Artifact with a visual budget dashboard or spending breakdown you can actually interact with.

3. Run a content workflow: Writers and creators can store their brand voice, audience profile and past work in a Project so Claude produces content that already matches their style.

4. Build a research hub: Upload PDFs, articles and notes into a Project and ask Claude to create an Artifact that turns everything into a structured report or briefing.

5. Turn meeting notes into action plans: Paste meeting notes into a Project and ask Claude to generate an Artifact with action items, timelines or project summaries ready to share.

Bottom line

Knowing Claude is giving away some of their most powerful features for free, may make you wonder, what's the catch? Well, there are still a few limitations. Free tier users are limited to Claude Sonnet, while paid subscribers can use Claude Opus, Anthropic’s most powerful model.

For most everyday tasks Sonnet is more than capable, but advanced coding or complex analysis may still benefit from Opus. Another limitation: Claude Code, the company’s developer tool, is still restricted to paid plans.

However, with these features, plus Memory, Claude’s free tier is significantly more capable of tackling your toughest projects. These updates have turned Claude into something closer to a real productivity workspace rather than just a chatbot.

If you haven’t tried these features yet, it’s worth opening a Project and experimenting — you may find Claude suddenly feels far more useful. Give them a try and let me know in the comments what you think.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• Timothée Chalamet says 'no one cares' about opera — but AI may prove him wrong
• I can text Claude like a personal assistant now — this iPhone shortcut made it possible
• I built a library of 'thinking prompts' for Claude — these are the ones I use most