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The Claude Chat Interface
After logging in on the web or in the app, one of the first products you are likely to use in Claude is Claude Chat. Claude Chat is the conversational interface most people start with, and it is designed for back-and-forth conversation: drafting, analyzing, brainstorming, summarizing, answering questions, and working through problems in real time.
Chat is available on any device and accessible through the web, desktop app, and mobile and can:
- Sync your conversations, projects, memory, and preferences across devices when you are signed in
- Support file uploads, web search, connectors, artifacts, and Skills
- Screenshot and window share, wherein you can show Claude exactly what is on your screen without describing it
Best for: Everyday tasks, drafting, analysis, research, learning, and any work that benefits from real-time conversation.
- New Chat: Start a new chat with Claude.
- Chats: See a list of your past chats.
- Projects: Access and create Projects. You can also access those that were shared with you.
- Artifacts: Access your Artifacts, yours and those that are shared with you. You can also create a new Artifact.
- User Profile: Here, you can easily access your settings and language settings.
- More Options: This option allows you to add more context to your chats. Here, some things you can do are: add files or photos, take a screenshot of your device, and change search types.
- Change Model: Toggle between models in Claude. You can view what each model is best for here as well. You can also adjust Effort. Higher effort means more thorough responses, but takes longer and uses your limits faster. You can also turn "Thinking" on and off.
- Voice Mode: You can turn Voice Mode on here to communicate with Claude by speaking to it and hearing it talk back to you.
Your First Conversation with Claude
Every interaction with Claude starts with a prompt. The quality of your prompt shapes the quality of the response. A good prompt does three things:
Effective Prompting
| Element |
What it Means |
Example |
| Set the Stage |
Share your role, context, and objectives |
"I am an academic advisor at UNLV working with first-generation students..." |
| Define the Task |
State clearly what you want Claude to do |
"...summarize the key steps for applying to graduate school at at NSHE institution..." |
| Specify Rules |
Give Claude guidance on format, tone, or length |
"...in plain language, under 200 words, as a bulleted list." |
Here is an example prompt that uses all three elements:
"I am the communications coordinator for a UNLV academic department. We are preparing our fall newsletter for faculty and staff. Can you draft a 300-word introduction that highlights our department's research achievements this year? Use a warm, collegial tone and avoid jargon."
- Setting the Stage: Establish your role as a UNLV communications coordinator. Your goal is to add something to a fall newsletter, with faculty and staff as your audience
- Defining the Task: Draft a 300-word introduction
- Specifying Rules: Highlight research achievements, warm tone, no jargon
Chat: Research Mode
A regular conversation with Claude draws on what Claude already knows. Using web search adds the ability to look something up. On the other hand, research mode does something more.
When you enable Research Mode, Claude becomes a systematic investigator. It does not run a single search and report back, bur instead, it conducts multiple searches that build on each other, pursues leads, fills in gaps, and synthesizes findings from across the web and your connected tools into a comprehensive report.
Think of it as the difference between asking a colleague a quick question and asking them to spend an afternoon digging into a topic and coming back with a thorough briefing.
Research Mode in Action
| Step |
What Claude Does |
| #1: Planning the Approach |
Extended thinking activates automatically. Claude breaks down your request, identifies what information it needs, and plans how to investigate different angles. |
| #2: Conducting Multiple Searches |
Claude runs many searches that build on each other -- not just one query. It decides what to look for next based on what it finds. |
| #3: Synthesizing Findings |
Claude pulls together information from multiple sources -- including the web and any connected tools -- into a unified, structured response. |
| #4: The Deliverable, with Citations |
The final report includes citations so you can verify sources and dig deeper where needed. |
Most research reports complete in 5 to 15 minutes. Complex investigations may take up to 45 minutes ... work that would typically require hours of manual research.
When to Use Research Mode
Research mode is powerful, but it is not always the right tool. Here is how to choose:
When To Use Research Mode
| Use Research Mode When... |
Consider Something Else When... |
| You need a comprehensive report from multiple sources. |
You need a quick specific fact. Use Web Search instead. |
| You are doing competitive or comparative analysis. |
You need deep reasoning on a problem without external data. Use Extended Thinking instead. |
| You want synthesis across web sources and your connected tools. |
The answer comes from a single source you already have. |
| You need citations you can verify. |
Speed matters more than comprehensiveness. |
| The task would take hours of manual research. |
You need a simple conversational answer. |