An Artifact is a live document or small tool Claude builds in a side panel next to the chat. Instead of text buried in the chat, you get something you can edit, ask Claude to change, keep old versions of and reuse later. It suits documents, tables, checklists, simple interactive tools and any draft you will revise more than once.
To use a Claude Artifact, ask Claude to build the thing as an artifact, then refine it by asking for specific changes, which update the same panel and keep the earlier versions for you.
Use it in five steps
- Ask for it as an artifact. Add the words "build this as an artifact" to your request. That tells Claude to open the side panel and put the document or tool there, rather than dropping it inline where it will scroll away.
- Iterate with specific changes. Do not start over. Say "make the second section shorter" or "add a column for the date", and Claude updates the same artifact in place, so your work grows instead of resetting each message.
- Go back to an earlier version when you need to. The artifact keeps its versions. If a change made things worse, you can step back to how it was, so you can experiment freely without losing the good draft you already had.
- Copy or download it when it is done. Once the artifact says what you want, copy it out or download it and use it wherever the work actually lives, your doc, your email, your site. The panel is the workshop; the finished work lives in your doc, email or site.
- Know what it is good for. Reach for an artifact for documents, tables, checklists, and simple tools. Do not use one for anything that needs real live data Claude does not have, like today's prices or your live calendar, because it can only work from what it is given.
The artifact prompt
Paste this into a Claude chat and fill in the brackets. It sets up a clean artifact in one go and tells Claude to check with you before guessing. The brackets are the file, so do not leave them as they are.
Build me an artifact I can edit and keep the versions of. Work in stages, do not jump straight to building. What I want: [WHAT YOU WANT. For example: a weekly meal-plan checklist. Or a simple table comparing three suppliers.] Who it is for: [WHO READS OR USES IT. For example: just me, my small team, or a customer who is not technical.] Stage 1, before you build. Tell me back in one line what you are going to build and who it is for. Then ask me the one or two questions that would actually change it: the sections or columns it needs, how it will be used, anything that must be in it. If you have questions, wait for my answers before you build. Only carry on straight away if nothing is genuinely unclear. Stage 2, build it. - Put it in the artifact panel, not inline in the chat. - Give it a clear title so I can find it again. - Give it a structure that fits the job: the right columns for a table, the right sections for a checklist or plan, and nothing more. - Keep it simple. If a normal person could not follow it at a glance, cut it back. - Never invent a fact, a number, a name, a price or a source. Where I have not given you something, leave a clearly marked gap for me to fill. Stage 3, hand it over. In one line, tell me what someone actually does with it, and list anything I still need to fill in or check before I use it (for example, the real prices, dates or names I have not given you). From then on, when I ask for a change, update this same artifact rather than starting a new one, so I keep the version history.
Where the line is
- An artifact is still generated, so check it. A clean panel makes a draft look finished, but the facts and numbers inside came from Claude. Read any figure, name or claim yourself before you send or publish it.
- Keep interactive ones simple. A small tool with a lot of moving parts can break. When it does, it is faster to ask Claude to rebuild it plainly than to nurse a broken one, so keep the ambition modest.
A couple of quick questions
What is a Claude Artifact?
An Artifact is a live document or small tool Claude builds in a side panel next to the chat. You can edit it, ask for changes, keep versions, and reuse it, instead of leaving the work as plain text buried in the conversation.
What are Claude Artifacts good for?
Artifacts suit documents, tables, checklists, simple interactive tools, and drafts you plan to revise. They are not the place for anything that needs real live data Claude does not have, like today's prices or your live inbox.
Turn your next draft into an artifact
Pick the next thing you would normally ask Claude to write, a checklist, a table, a first draft, and add "build this as an artifact" to the request. Watch it land in the side panel, ask for one change, and see it update in place instead of scrolling away.
Want the same idea for a whole ongoing piece of work? Read how to set up a Claude Project.