TL;DR: The “What,” The “Pro,” and The “Con”
This is the C-suite briefing on Claude, the AI from Anthropic.
- The “What-Is-It”: In plain English, Claude is a “Generative AI” or “Brain,” just like its main competitor, ChatGPT. Its identity, however, is built on two differentiators: data security and a massive “context window” (i.e., it can “read” very long documents).
- The C-Suite “Pro” (The Opportunity): It’s the “Secure Brain” for your private company data. You can’t (and shouldn’t) paste a 200-page legal contract or financial report into ChatGPT. You can upload it to Claude to be summarized and analyzed securely.
- The C-Suite “Con” (The Risk): “More secure” does not mean “more factual.” It is still a “Brain,” not a “Researcher.” It has no real-time web access and will still “hallucinate” if you ask it a question that’s not in the document you provided.
What is Claude? The “Plain English” Definition
You’ve heard of ChatGPT. But your legal and HR teams are (or should be) terrified of it. The “dirty secret” of the AI revolution is that employees everywhere are “copy-pasting” sensitive, proprietary, and confidential company data straight into a public AI tool.
This is a massive, company-ending data breach in progress.
Claude was built to be the answer to this problem.
It’s a direct competitor to ChatGPT, so it’s also a “Generative AI” or “Brain.” It can draft, summarize, and brainstorm. But its entire brand is built on two C-suite-level features.
1. A “Security-First” Model
Claude’s parent company, Anthropic, was founded with a “safety-first” mission. This is less of a technical feature and more of a business-case feature. They are positioning themselves as the “safer,” “more-ethical” AI, making them an easier choice for risk-averse industries like law, finance, and healthcare.
2. A “Massive Context Window”
This is the real killer feature for leaders.
A “context window” is just the tech-speak for “how much the AI can read at one time.” Standard ChatGPT has a small window—it can’t “read” more than a few thousand words.
Claude has a massive context window. This means you can upload a 100-page board report, a 50-page legal contract, or a 200-page financial spreadsheet… and the AI can “read” and understand all of it.
The C-Suite “Pro”: The AI for Your Private Data
This is the C-suite opportunity and the entire business case for Claude.
You would never paste your company’s P&L into ChatGPT. But you can upload it to a secure instance of Claude and ask:
- “Read this 200-page financial report and summarize the top 5 areas of risk and opportunity in Q3.”
- “Analyze this 50-page legal contract and highlight any non-standard clauses related to liability.”
- “Read this 100-page HR review and identify the top 3 themes of employee feedback.”
It’s the “Generative AI” for your internal, long-form, sensitive documents.
The C-Suite “Con”: “More Secure” Doesn’t Mean “More Factual”
This is the “Anti-Hype” reality check. It’s still an AI.
Claude is a “Brain,” not a “Researcher.” It has no connection to the real-time internet. If you ask it “What’s the top news today?” it will fail.
And it will “hallucinate.” If you ask it a question outside the context of the document you gave it, it will revert to its “plausibility engine” and invent an answer, just like ChatGPT.
“More secure” does not mean “more factual.” It’s just a “confidently wrong” AI inside a more secure “wrapper.” It still requires a “human-in-the-loop” and a “guardrail.”
The New Strategy: The Right “Brain” for the Right Job
“Strategy First, Tools Second.” You don’t need one “Brain.” You need a policy.
- Use ChatGPT for: Low-security, public-facing creative tasks. (e.g., “Brainstorm 10 blog post ideas.”)
- Use Claude for: High-security, private-facing analytical tasks. (e.g., “Summarize this internal 50-page report.”)
- Use Perplexity for: High-fact, public-facing research tasks. (e.g., “What are the citable facts on my competitor?”)
If you don’t have a policy that tells your team which tool to use for which job, you are 100% exposed to data breaches and “brand-killing mistakes.”
Related Links
- Watch Episode 48 and the rest of Brains, Bots n’ Business:
- What Are Sandbots?
- Watch all episodes of Brains, Bots n’ Business
- Book your AI policy consult
