Claude Features Explained: Models, Tools, MCP and More

Claude is more than a chat window. Anthropic has built a set of features that let developers and businesses turn the model into a working system: tool use, connectors, a coding agent, a document workspace and API features for cost and speed. This guide explains each feature in plain language and where it fits.

1. Model tiers: Opus, Sonnet and Haiku

Choose the model for the job. Opus handles the hardest reasoning, Sonnet is the default for most production work, and Haiku serves high-volume, latency-sensitive tasks. A common pattern is to use a fast model for routing and a stronger model only when a request is complex.

2. Tool use (function calling)

Tool use lets Claude call functions you define: look up an order, check inventory, create a support ticket, send a receipt. You describe each tool with a name, purpose and input schema; Claude decides when to call it, you execute it, and Claude uses the result to continue. This is the foundation of every agent — without tools, a model can only talk.

3. Model Context Protocol (MCP)

MCP is an open standard, introduced by Anthropic, that defines how AI applications connect to external systems. An MCP server exposes a system such as a CRM, database or file store as tools and data sources. Build the server once and any MCP-compatible agent can use it. For businesses this ends the cycle of building a separate custom integration for every AI tool.

4. Projects

Projects in the Claude app group related chats together with shared reference material — brand guidelines, product documentation, a style guide — so every conversation starts with the right context. Teams use Projects to standardise how staff use Claude across marketing, support and operations.

5. Artifacts

Artifacts are self-contained outputs such as documents, code, interactive prototypes or diagrams that appear beside the conversation and can be edited and reused. They turn a chat into a workspace for drafting proposals, building small tools and iterating on designs.

6. Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool. It runs in the terminal, your IDE or the desktop app, reads your repository, edits files, runs tests and commits changes under your supervision. Engineering teams use it for refactoring, test generation, bug fixes and onboarding to unfamiliar codebases.

7. Vision and documents

Claude can read images, screenshots, charts and PDFs. Typical business uses include extracting fields from invoices, reviewing scanned forms, interpreting dashboards and checking product photos for quality.

8. Prompt caching

When an application sends the same long context repeatedly — a product catalogue, a policy manual, a system prompt — prompt caching lets the API reuse the processed context, reducing latency and cost on subsequent requests. It is one of the most effective levers for keeping AI running costs predictable at scale.

9. Computer use and browser agents

Claude can operate a computer interface by looking at screenshots and issuing mouse and keyboard actions. This allows agents to work in software that has no API. It is powerful but should run in sandboxed environments with human review for sensitive actions.

How Neonicz uses these features

We combine these features into production systems: MCP servers that expose a client's ERP or CRM, tool-using agents for support and back-office work, and Claude Code workflows that speed up our own engineering. Read more about our agentic AI development services, or start with our guide to what Claude is.