Most people use Claude like a search engine.
They open a chat, paste something in, get an answer, and close the tab.
That's maybe 10% of what it can actually do.
This infographic breaks down the 8 ways to use Claude โ and honestly, even I learned a couple things from it:
๐น Chat โ The starting point (turn on Extended Thinking + Search every time)
๐น Cowork โ Reads your files and creates real documents right into your folder
๐น Projects โ Save instructions once, every new chat remembers them
๐น Artifacts โ Build interactive tools (calculators, trackers, planners) inside the chat
๐น Excel Add-in โ Reads your actual formulas and cell references, not flattened text
๐น Connectors โ Link Slack, Google Drive, Notion, Gamma + 50 other tools
๐น Plugins โ One-click skill packs with /commands for sales, marketing, legal, data
๐น Skills โ Reusable instruction packs that make Claude better at specific tasks
The money line at the bottom: claude.com/download โ Get Pro ($20/mo) โ Open Cowork โ Pick a folder โ Go.
If you're only chatting with Claude, you're leaving a lot on the table.