Anthropic beefs up Claude's free tier as OpenAI prepares to stuff ads into ChatGPT's (www.engadget.com)

Anthropic has announced significant upgrades to the free tier of its AI chatbot, Claude, in a strategic move to attract users amid OpenAI's plans to introduce ads in ChatGPT. The enhancements enable free users to create and edit various file types, including Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs, powered by Sonnet 4.5. Additionally, the introduction of Connectors allows users to link Claude to popular third-party services like Canva, Slack, Notion, Zapier, and PayPal, while Skills feature enables Claude to perform tasks based on custom instructions. These updates are crucial for the AI/ML community, as they showcase Anthropic's commitment to providing a robust, user-friendly experience without the distraction of ads. By promoting Claude as an ad-free alternative, Anthropic positions itself as a competitive force in the evolving landscape of AI chatbots. The upgrades also reflect a broader trend in the industry where companies are focusing on enhancing user engagement through rich interactions and integrations, potentially shifting the market dynamics as developers prioritize user experience over monetization through advertisements.