What is Claude? Anthropic's AI Assistant Simply Explained
Claude is an AI assistant built by Anthropic. Before using AIO Évolution, understanding what Claude is will help you get the most out of this technology.
Claude is not ChatGPT
When people talk about artificial intelligence, most immediately think of ChatGPT. Claude is different. It was built by Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI researchers around a central philosophy: creating an AI that is helpful, harmless and honest.
In practice, this means an assistant that refuses to lie to please you, that expresses its uncertainties clearly, and that is particularly well suited to long, nuanced conversations — making it an ideal foundation for deep introspective exploration.
How does Claude work?
Claude is what is called a large language model (LLM). In plain terms: it was trained on a massive quantity of human text and learned to produce coherent, relevant and contextualised responses.
It is not a database you query. It is not a search engine. It is closer to a conversation partner who has read millions of books, articles and exchanges — and who can discuss with you while holding everything you have said throughout the conversation.
What Claude does well:
- Hold a long, complex conversation without losing the thread
- Analyse, synthesise, reformulate
- Ask quality questions to understand you better
- Adapt to your register and your pace
What Claude does not do:
- Access the internet in real time (without a specific extension)
- Remember your previous conversations by default
- Replace a healthcare professional
The different versions of Claude
Anthropic offers several versions, suited to different needs:
| Version | Use |
|---|---|
| Claude Haiku | Quick responses, simple tasks |
| Claude Sonnet | Balanced performance and speed — the most widely used |
| Claude Opus | Deep reasoning, complex tasks |
AIO Évolution uses the most recent models to guarantee you the best therapeutic experience.
How do you access Claude?
There are several ways to use Claude:
- Claude.ai — The official website. Free with limits, paid for unlimited use.
- Claude Desktop — The native app for Mac and Windows. It offers advanced features such as MCP connectors (more on that shortly).
- Claude Mobile — Available on iOS and Android for conversations on the go.
To use AIO Évolution tools, we recommend Claude Desktop — it's where MCP connectors work best.
Why Claude for therapy and personal development?
Several practical reasons:
Its depth of context. Claude can hold a conversation spanning several hours without "forgetting" what you said at the beginning. This is essential for introspective work.
Its nuance. It does not seek the "positive" answer that will please you. It explores with you, asks questions that move things forward.
Its availability. At 3am, on a Sunday, between appointments — Claude is there. Not to replace a therapist, but to extend, prepare, or integrate therapeutic work.
Now that you know what Claude is, the next step is to understand what MCP connectors are — and why they change everything.