AI WORLD HQHow to use Claude Artifacts to create and preview your work
A beginner-friendly walk-through for generating documents, summaries, and simple apps that appear live beside your Claude chat.
This guide was written by AI. It passed automated fact and quality checks, and our editor spot-checks published guides every day.
See AI World HQ first on GoogleAdd us as a preferred source and our stories show up higher in Google’s Top Stories.Add on GoogleBy the end of this guide, you'll be able to ask Claude, the helpful AI assistant, to produce documents, summaries, or even a tiny web app and see the result instantly in your conversation. This is for anyone who wants a quick, visual way to turn ideas into finished pieces without needing any coding experience.
💡 Tip: tap a step’s number when you finish it — a green tick appears and your browser remembers how far you got.
- An Anthropic account: You'll need a login to access Claude. If you don't have one, you can usually sign up for free on the Claude website.
- A modern web browser on a desktop or laptop: While Claude works on mobile, the Artifacts feature is best viewed and used on a larger screen like a computer or tablet.
- An idea or a piece of text: Think of something you'd like Claude to help you create, like a thank-you letter, a summary of an article, or a simple list.
- Rough total time: Allow about 5-10 minutes to follow this guide for the first time. The Artifacts feature is generally available on Claude's free tier.
Open Claude and start a new chat
First, open your web browser and go to claude.ai. You'll either land on the login page or, if you're already logged in, Claude's main interface. Once you're in, look for a button to start a fresh conversation. This button is typically in the top-left corner of the screen and might be labeled "+ New chat" or simply have a "+" icon. Click it to open a blank slate for your new request.
Just look for an option that clearly indicates starting a fresh conversation.
💬 Example: You see a button in the sidebar labeled "+ New chat".
How can I help you today?"
**** you see a blank chat conversation area ready for your input, often with a greeting from Claude like "Hello!
**** The "New chat" button might appear as a pencil icon, a speech bubble, or a clear text link.
Write a prompt that asks for an artifact
Claude's Artifacts appear automatically when you ask for content that can be displayed as a document, code, or visual item. You don't need to enable a special pane — just write your request. In the message box at the bottom of the chat window, type your request and include a word that signals you want an artifact, like "create," "generate," or "make."
💬 Example:
Create a thank-you letter artifact for my neighbour, Emma, who helped me move my sofa on Saturday. Use a friendly tone and keep it under 200 words.
The artifact will appear directly in your conversation, typically below or beside Claude's text response.
**** you press Enter or click the "Send" button (often a paper plane icon), and Claude starts generating a response.
**** The message box will always be at the very bottom of the chat, usually labeled "Message Claude..." or "Type your message here."
View the generated artifact
Once you've sent your prompt, Claude will process your request and display the result. The finished letter, document, or other content will appear directly in the conversation, formatted neatly in its own section. This is your live preview. You can scroll through the content, copy specific sections, or download it directly from this view.
Just be patient. If it creates a text-only response in the chat and no formatted artifact, try rephrasing to be more specific about the format you want.
💬 Example: Below Claude's message, you now see a document titled "Thank-You Letter to Emma," complete with paragraphs of text as you requested, neatly formatted and separate from Claude's chat message.
You'll see tools like "Copy" or "Download" directly above or below the artifact.
**** the thank-you letter appears neatly formatted in its own section of the conversation, separate from the chat text.
**** Sometimes Claude might take a little longer to generate, especially for more complex requests.
Use the live preview to see changes instantly
One of the most powerful features of Artifacts is the live preview. This means that if you want to tweak or refine your creation, you don't have to generate a whole new artifact. Simply send a follow-up prompt in the chat. Claude will then modify the existing artifact, and you'll see the changes refresh in the same place.
This is also perfectly normal and useful for comparing different versions of your work side-by-side.
💬 Example:
Now make a separate artifact that summarises the key points of this article: https://example.com/article
(Note: You can replace https://example.com/article with a real article URL.) Claude will create a second artifact, a concise bullet-point summary, shown below or beside your original letter.
You'll see the content change in the artifact section without having to click anything extra.
**** your existing artifact updates with the new detail, or a new, separate artifact appears if your prompt asked for something entirely different.
**** If your follow-up prompt is significantly different from the first, Claude might create a second artifact alongside the first one.
- Not explicitly asking for a visual or formatted output: While Claude is smart, sometimes it needs a clear hint. If you just ask "write a letter," it might give you text in the chat. Fix: Use words like "create a letter," "generate a document," or "make an artifact" to signal you want a formatted result.
- Forgetting to save or copy the artifact: The Artifacts view shows your work directly in the conversation. While it stays with that specific chat, if you close the browser tab or start a new chat, your creation won't be saved automatically. Fix: Look for the "Copy" or "Download" buttons that appear near the artifact and use them to save your work to your computer.
- Not being specific enough in your request: Vague prompts may produce text-only responses. Fix: Be clear about what you want — for example, specify the format ("make it a bullet-point list") or style ("use a professional tone").
Open Claude and type:
Create a short thank-you note artifact for a friend who baked me a delicious cake. Keep it under 100 words and make it sound very grateful.
Press enter and watch the document appear in your conversation. You'll have a finished piece in less time than it takes to brew a fresh cup of tea.
❓ Quick questions
How long does this take?
About 6 minutes — the guide has 4 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.
Which tool do I need?
This guide uses Anthropic Claude — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.
Do I need to prepare anything?
- An Anthropic account: You'll need a login to access Claude. If you don't have one, you can usually sign up for free on the Claude website.
- A modern web browser on a desktop or laptop: While Claude works on mobile, the Artifacts feature is best viewed and used on a larger screen like a computer or tablet.
- An idea or a piece of text: Think of something you'd like Claude to help you create, like a thank-you letter, a summary of an article, or a simple list.
- Rough total time: Allow about 5-10 minutes to follow this guide for the first time. The Artifacts feature is generally available on Claude's free tier.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Not explicitly asking for a visual or formatted output: While Claude is smart, sometimes it needs a clear hint. If you just ask "write a letter," it might give you text in the chat. Fix: Use words like "create a letter," "generate a document," or "make an artifact" to signal you want a formatted result.
- Forgetting to save or copy the artifact: The Artifacts view shows your work directly in the conversation. While it stays with that specific chat, if you close the browser tab or start a new chat, your creation won't be saved automatically. Fix: Look for the "Copy" or "Download" buttons that appear near the artifact and use them to save your work to your computer.
- Not being specific enough in your request: Vague prompts may produce text-only responses. Fix: Be clear about what you want — for example, specify the format ("make it a bullet-point list") or style ("use a professional tone").
Keep reading
✦ Generated by AI in AI World HQ's automated newsroom, written in plain language. Checked by automated fact and quality gates, and our editor spot-checks published guides every day. Spot a mistake? Use the buttons above.
← Back to all stories