✳︎ MY AI GUIDE

The 5 Levels of
Using Claude

Most people never leave Level 1. Here is exactly how to unlock all five, the steps for each, and which plan you actually need.

Level 1 of 5

Which level are you actually on?

Question 1 of 3

How do you mostly use Claude today?

The Ladder

Every level, unlocked

Tap any level to see what it is, the exact steps to unlock it, a prompt to try, and the plan you need.

The smarter search bar

Where almost everyone lives

⌄

✳︎ Free plan

How to unlock

1Stop asking one-line questions. Brief Claude like you would a colleague: what you are doing, what you have tried, and what a good answer looks like.
2Paste the real context (the email, the doc, the error) instead of describing it.
3Ask it to challenge your thinking, not just agree. Same model, far better answers.

Try this prompt

Here is what I am trying to do: [goal]. Here is what I have tried: [attempts]. Act as a sharp second opinion, tell me what I am missing, then give me the strongest next step.

Connect it

Claude works on your real business data

⌄

✳︎ Free to start, Pro for daily use

How to unlock

1In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors.
2Switch on the tools you already use: Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Canva and more.
3Now ask it to work across them, for example find this week's action items from your inbox. It stops being generic the moment it can see your actual work.

Try this prompt

Look through my emails and calendar from this week and pull out every action item and deadline I might have missed. Group them by how urgent they are.

Build skills

Teach it a job once, it repeats it your way

⌄

✳︎ Pro

How to unlock

1Pick one process your team repeats every week: a report, a review checklist, a client email format.
2Describe it to Claude once, in full, and save it as a Skill.
3From then on it runs your way every time, with no re-explaining. Start with one skill, not ten.

Try this prompt

I do this every week: [describe the exact process, inputs and the output you want]. Turn it into a repeatable skill I can trigger with one message, and show me how to run it.

Claude Code and Cowork

Stop typing, start delegating

⌄

✳︎ Pro, Max if you push it hard

How to unlock

1Use Claude Code for anything technical: it opens your files and builds working tools, and you never write the code.
2Use Cowork for everything else: hand it a folder and a goal instead of typing prompts.
3This is the level where you stop doing the task and start reviewing the result.

Try this prompt

Here is the outcome I want: [describe it]. Open the files I have shared, build what is needed, and tell me what you did and what to check.

Hire an employee

Give the finish line, get the finished job

⌄

✳︎ Max

How to unlock

1Give Claude the goal, not the steps: here is the finish line, plan it, do it, check it, come back when it is done.
2Agent teams run in parallel, verify their own work, and report back.
3Honestly, if you are not sure you need this yet, you do not. Get levels 2 to 4 working first.

Try this prompt

Goal: [the finished outcome]. Plan the whole job yourself, do the work, check your own results against the goal, and come back with what is done and anything I need to decide.

Which plan

What you actually need

You do not need the top plan to start. Most people jump two levels on the free tier.

Free

Levels 1 and 2. Ask better, and connect your tools. Enough for most people to feel the difference.

Most useful

Pro

from $20/mo

Levels 1 to 4. Build skills, use Claude Code and Cowork, delegate real work every day.

Max

from $100/mo

All five. Heavy, hands-off agent work where Claude runs whole jobs and checks itself.

Prices are Anthropic’s own published pricing and can change. Start free, upgrade only when a level earns it.

Ready to leave Level 1?

Open Claude, pick the level above the one you are on, and run the prompt. That single step is what actually moves you up.

Start with Claude →

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