Anthropic expanded Claude's free tier with file creation, connectors, and skills, features previously requiring subscriptions. The move comes two days after OpenAI began showing ads to ChatGPT users without premium plans. Anthropic's strategy positions Claude as an ad-free alternative for users seeking AI assistance without interruptions.

Free Claude users can now generate Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and PDFs directly in conversations using Sonnet 4.5. The new connectors allow integration with third-party services like Slack, Asana, Zapier, Stripe, Canva, Notion, Figma, and WordPress at no cost. Skills provide Claude with domain-specific expertise for various applications.

Anthropic added conversation compaction to the free tier, allowing longer chats through automatic context summarization. However, the company did not increase the free tier cap, meaning free users will still encounter usage limitations. This competitive response reflects the growing AI chat market battle between the two companies.