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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

5 Things To Try In
Claude Right Now

Why so many people and companies are moving their real work into Claude, and how ChatGPT stacks up today.

When I first made this video, ChatGPT couldn’t do most of what’s below. That changed fast. Since July, the ChatGPT desktop app has had Work and Codex, which can use your local files with your permission. So here’s the honest version: five things to try in Claude today, and how ChatGPT compares on each one.

Quick Update

Claude Cowork used to be its own tab. Anthropic is now merging chat and Cowork into one Claude, rolling out to Pro, Max and Ultra first, with Team and Free after. If your message box has no Cowork option, you already have it. Just describe the task in any chat.

Try These 5 Things Today

01

Hand off real desktop work

Give Claude access to a folder on your computer and it works through a multi-step job on its own: reading every file, pulling the numbers and building the finished document. It makes its own to-do list and checks with you before big moves. You need a paid plan and the Claude desktop app, and local folders only work while the app is open.

Folder To Finished Report
You're my analyst. I've connected a folder called [Client Reports] that holds a PDF report for each client. 1. Open every PDF in the folder. 2. From each one, pull: client name, reporting period, revenue, spend, the top 3 metrics the report highlights, and any risk or open issue it mentions. 3. Build one summary document called Client Summary [date].docx in the same folder, with one section per client (sorted A to Z) and a comparison table at the top. 4. Finish with 3 patterns you see across clients and 3 clients I should call first, with one line on why. Rules: don't edit, move or delete any original file. If a number is missing or unclear, write "not found" instead of guessing, and list which file it came from. Show me your plan before you start.

How ChatGPT compares: ChatGPT’s desktop app can now do this too, through Work. In my experience Claude feels more like a collaborator that asks questions and checks in first, while ChatGPT charges ahead faster. I break that down in ChatGPT Work vs Claude Cowork.

02

Send a task from your phone

On Pro, Max and Ultra, new Cowork tasks run on Anthropic’s servers, so you can start one from the Claude app on your phone and it keeps going with your laptop closed. It can use your connected apps like Gmail and Google Drive. The trade-off: it can only reach files on your computer while the desktop app is open (how it works). Dispatch, the older phone-to-desktop feature, is now a limited beta closed to new users.

Meeting Prep From Your Phone
I have a meeting with [person / company] at [time] about [topic]. Get me ready. 1. Search my Gmail for the last 30 days of emails with [person / company domain] and pull out what they asked for, what we promised and anything still open. 2. Check my Google Drive for any doc that mentions [company] and summarize the 3 most relevant ones. 3. Look up any public news about [company] from the last month. Give me a one-page brief: who they are, where things stand, open items, 3 smart questions to ask and one thing to avoid bringing up. Keep it scannable on my phone. Don't send, reply to or change anything.

How ChatGPT compares: ChatGPT’s mobile app has a Remote tab for reaching Codex tasks running on your desktop. Claude’s cloud tasks don’t need your computer on at all, which is why I use it from the car.

03

Build a Claude that already knows your work

A Project holds your files and standing instructions, so every chat inside it starts with your brand guidelines, examples and process already loaded. Click Projects in the sidebar, create one, upload your files, then click Set project instructions and paste the prompt below. Projects are on every plan, and Free gets up to five (details).

Content Strategist Project Instructions
You are my content strategist for [brand / business name]. Who we serve: [audience in one or two sentences] What we sell: [offer] How we sound: [3 to 5 words, e.g. warm, direct, funny, no jargon] Every time I ask for content: 1. Read the brand guidelines and writing examples in this Project's files before you write anything, and match their tone. 2. Write for the platform I name (Instagram, TikTok, email, LinkedIn). If I don't name one, ask. 3. Give me 3 options that take different angles, each with a hook in the first line. 4. Flag anything that goes against the brand guidelines instead of quietly fixing it. Never invent stats, quotes or customer stories. If you need a fact you don't have, ask me. Keep sentences short and skip the corporate filler.

How ChatGPT compares: ChatGPT has Projects too, with files and instructions. This one is a tie, so pick the tool where the rest of your work already lives.

04

Get working apps, not just text

Ask Claude to build something and it makes an artifact right in the chat. Think calculators, dashboards and styled docs you can use, edit and share with a link. Artifacts are on every plan, including Free. If you don’t see them, turn on file creation under Settings, then Capabilities (details).

Interactive Budget Calculator
Build me an interactive monthly budget calculator as an artifact. Inputs: monthly take-home income, plus editable amounts for rent, food, transportation, savings, debt payments and fun money. Let me add or rename categories. Show: - A pie chart that updates live as I change any number - Money left over (green) or over budget (red) - Each category as a percentage of income, with a soft warning if housing is over 30% or savings is under 10% Make it clean and mobile-friendly with big, easy inputs. Start it with sample numbers so it works the second it opens. When it's done, tell me in two lines how to change it.

How ChatGPT compares: ChatGPT can write and run code and show previews in canvas. For me, Claude is still the fastest path from an idea to a working tool I can click and send to someone.

05

Let your apps power the whole task

Connect Gmail, Google Drive, Slack and the rest under Customize (being renamed Plugins, so you may see either), then Connectors. The magic is using them inside one multi-step task. Claude searches the inbox, pulls the doc, cross-checks the two and hands you the finished brief. The Gmail connector is read-only (it can’t send or change email), so Claude writes the drafts and you stay in control.

Weekly Content Brief From Your Apps
You're my content lead. Write next week's content brief. 1. Search my Gmail for emails from [marketing team / names] in the last 7 days. Pull out every campaign, launch, deadline and request. 2. Find the latest brand guidelines doc in my Google Drive (search "[brand guidelines file name]"). 3. Check my [Slack channel] for anything flagged as a priority this week. Then draft a one-page content brief: the 3 priorities, the key message for each, the channels, deadlines and who owns what. Follow the brand guidelines for tone. Save it as Content Brief [date] and link every source email or doc you used. Don't send, reply to or post anything. If two sources disagree, show me both instead of picking one.

How ChatGPT compares: ChatGPT connects to your apps through its Plugins directory and can use them inside Work tasks. Both can do it now. Try the same prompt in each and keep the one whose output you’d actually send.

The Bottom Line

This isn’t about trashing ChatGPT. Both tools now do real work on your files and apps, and whichever is ahead this month can be behind the next. The habit that wins is handing AI a finished outcome instead of a question.

Start with one of the five above this week. My pick is the folder report, because it shows you in ten minutes what AI can take off your plate. Then try the same prompt in ChatGPT and see which output you’d rather send.

New to Cowork? Here’s my complete guide to getting started.