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Other ways to work with Claude

📖 Lesson content

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Understand when to use additional Claude products including Claude Code, Claude for Slack, Claude for Excel, and Claude for Chrome

Estimated time: 10 minutes

As we mentioned at the start of this course, Claude is an intelligence. Claude.ai is just one way of working with it.

Claude is also available in several specialized tools designed to meet you where you already work. This lesson introduces four additional ways to work with Claude, each tailored to specific workflows and use cases.

Claude Code

Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that works where you work — in your terminal, IDE, browser, or even in Slack. It understands your codebase, executes commands, and handles entire development workflows through natural language.

When to use Claude Code:

  • You want to build features by describing what you need in plain English, and have Claude write the code, run tests, and create commits
  • You need to debug issues by pasting error messages and having Claude analyze your codebase to identify and fix problems
  • You're navigating an unfamiliar codebase and want to ask questions about how different parts work together
  • You want to automate tedious tasks like fixing lint errors, resolving merge conflicts, or writing release notes
  • You prefer working in your terminal alongside your existing IDE and development tools rather than switching to a separate interface

Claude in Slack

Claude integrates directly with Slack, allowing you to get help in channels and threads or bring Slack context into your Claude conversations.

When to use Claude in Slack:

  • You want to draft responses to messages, summarize lengthy threads, or break down complex discussions without leaving Slack
  • You need to prepare for meetings by having Claude pull together relevant conversations and shared documents from your workspace
  • You're onboarding to a new team and want help understanding ongoing projects by reviewing channel history
  • You want to hand off coding tasks directly from a bug report or feature discussion—just tag @Claude and it can spin up a Claude Code session using the surrounding context
  • You need to quickly get answers about industry trends, technical concepts, or company information during a conversation

Claude for Excel

Claude for Excel brings Claude directly into Microsoft Excel through a sidebar, allowing you to analyze, understand, and modify spreadsheets through conversation.

When to use Claude for Excel:

  • You're working with a complex multi-tab workbook and want to understand how specific formulas or calculation flows work across sheets
  • You need to update assumptions or inputs across your model while preserving formula dependencies and relationships
  • You're debugging spreadsheet errors like #REF!, #VALUE!, or circular references and want Claude to trace them to their source and suggest fixes
  • You want to create new spreadsheets or populate existing templates with data while maintaining proper formula structure
  • You need to quickly build pivot tables or charts to visualize your data

Claude for Chrome

Claude for Chrome is a browser extension that adds Claude as a sidebar in Google Chrome. It can observe what you're working on and take actions directly within your browser.

When to use Claude for Chrome:

  • You want to summarize articles, research papers, or web pages while browsing
  • You need help drafting email responses or managing your inbox
  • You're filling out repetitive forms and want to automate the process
  • You want to test website features or navigate multi-step workflows without manually clicking through each step
  • You need a browsing assistant that maintains context as you move between tabs and tasks. This makes it great for pulling context from niche internal tools, CRMs, or dashboards.

Important note: Claude for Chrome is currently in research preview. Anthropic recommends using it for low-risk tasks on trusted websites. The extension asks for permission before taking high-risk actions like purchasing or sharing personal data, and certain categories of websites (financial services, adult content) are blocked by default.

Summary

Each of these tools extends Claude's capabilities into the specific environments where you work:

ToolBest forWhere it runs
Claude.aiGeneral tasks, research, writing, analysis, file creationWeb, desktop, and mobile apps
Claude CodeSoftware development, codebase navigation, git workflowsTerminal/command line, IDE, or your browser
Claude CoworkComplex, multi-step tasks: research briefs, document creation, file organization, data analysisDesktop (and mobile apps via Dispatch)
Claude/Claude Code in SlackTeam collaboration, meeting prep, quick answers in contextSlack workspace
Claude for ExcelSpreadsheet analysis, financial modeling, formula debuggingMicrosoft Excel sidebar
Claude for PowerpointSlide creation, presentation editing, formatting and designMicrosoft Powerpoint sidebar
Claude for ChromeWeb research, email management, browser automationChrome browser sidebar

What's next

Wrap up with a short recap of this course and a quiz to earn your certificate of completion that you can share on LinkedIn, and with your team.

Feedback

As you progress through the course, we'd love to hear from you about how you are using concepts from the course in your work and any feedback you may have. Share your feedback here.

🎬 Video transcript

Source videos: s-avRazvmLg · tI1uzSJuSxc · 8ZRTSIRWLu4 · IypXvHej9eY

Video s-avRazvmLg: Silent UI demo video — no spoken narration. The lesson body explains what the demo shows.

Video tI1uzSJuSxc: Silent UI demo video — no spoken narration. The lesson body explains what the demo shows.

📜 Click to expand transcript (cleaned + AI-translated) — `8ZRTSIRWLu4`

Introduction to Claude for Excel

This is Claude for Excel. You may be familiar with Claude in other contexts—Claude has a mobile app, a desktop application, the Claude.ai website, and even Claude Code. Now, Claude is also available inside the environment you use most: your Excel workbooks.

Imagine you have just inherited an HR headcount planning model from a colleague. It has multiple tabs and formulas linking everywhere, and you need to get up to speed quickly. Instead of clicking through each sheet trying to piece it together, you can simply ask Claude.

Understanding Workbook Structure and Data Flow

By opening Claude from the upper right and asking, "Walk me through this workbook. What's on each tab and how do they connect?", Claude starts exploring the environment. It doesn't just list the tabs; it explains the data flow.

Claude identifies that the Assumptions tab is where central inputs are managed. These inputs affect the Headcount tab, which feeds into Compensation, and ultimately rolls up into a Summary tab. In seconds, you understand how the entire model works—the kind of analysis you would typically need from the model's creator.

Error Diagnosis and Automated Fixing

During its analysis, Claude can identify issues within the workbook. For example, if there is a #REF! error in the Headcount tab, Claude will flag it.

In this scenario, there is a reference error in cell E15. You can ask Claude: "There's a REF error in cell E15 on the Headcount tab. Can you diagnose and fix this?"

Claude traces the error, understands the broken reference, and offers recommendations. It might suggest replacing the formula with a zero or another specific value. If you tell Claude to "use your best judgment," it can analyze the context and decide to set planned hires to zero. Once applied, the error is fixed, and the correction cascades through the rest of the sheets automatically.

Scenario Modeling and Impact Analysis

Claude excels at scenario modeling. If leadership asks, "What if attrition runs higher than expected this year?", you don't have to manually update cells and hope nothing breaks.

You can simply tell Claude: "Update my plan to assume 15% attrition instead of 10%. Show me what changes." Claude makes the edit on the Assumptions tab and then provides an analysis across all other tabs of what actually changed. Headcount projections and compensation costs recalculate correctly because Claude understands the underlying formula relationships.

Data Visualization and Reporting

Claude can also help visualize data without you having to dig through menus. If you need a visual breakdown of headcount by department and level, you can direct Claude to create a pivot table and a chart on the Summary tab.

Claude will:

  1. Create a pivot table from the headcount data.
  2. Generate a stacked bar chart to accompany it.

You can provide specific directions on formatting, or let Claude build the initial version for you, eliminating formatting headaches.

Adding New Calculations and Formulas

Finally, Claude can add new logic to your model. If you want to calculate the "fully loaded cost" per employee—which doesn't exist in the current version—you can ask Claude to add a column for it.

Claude will:

  • Add the column to the Headcount tab.
  • Write a formula that references the rates on the Assumptions tab.
  • Ensure the model remains maintainable by building actual formulas rather than just pasting static numbers.

Conclusion

Whether you are exploring an unfamiliar model, debugging errors, running scenarios, or building visualizations, Claude works alongside you directly within your spreadsheet. It analyzes your work and operates within your existing frameworks, providing a seamless AI-assisted Excel experience.

📜 Click to expand transcript (cleaned + AI-translated) — `IypXvHej9eY`

Introduction to Claude for Chrome

Claude for Chrome brings the power of Claude 3.5 Sonnet—our state-of-the-art model for computer use—directly to your browser. In this example, Claude is helping with a home renovation. It will organize your renovation budget, which is currently spread across a planning doc and several contractor email exchanges.

Streamlining Workflows and Data Management

Once prompted, Claude gets to work to collect the right context. In this case, it finds all the relevant emails and receipts you requested. Claude uses what it learns and actively works with your spreadsheet, tracking down the missing numbers and updating your budget in real time.

Finally, Claude makes it easy for you to share your plans with your partner by drafting an email for you. You remain in control of the final edits before you send that email.

Safety and Security at its Core

We took many steps to build this product with safety and security at its core. For example, you control what actions Claude can take through granular permissions. We've also implemented protection against prompt injection attacks and added restrictions around what websites Claude can use. Furthermore, the agent always asks for permission before taking sensitive actions, such as making purchases.

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