Introduction to Claude Research
The report generated by Claude Research on the origin of the first video game contained a direct quote statement from William Higinbotham that appears to combine quotes from two sources not cited in the source list. This highlights the importance of being careful with confabulated quotes in AI, as even outside of Research mode, Claude 3.7 Sonnet tends to invent plausible ones to fit a narrative. A recent study showed that AI search services confabulate sources frequently, and in this case, it appears that the sources Claude Research surfaced, while real, did not always match what is stated in the report.
Evaluating Claude Research
There’s always room for interpretation and variation in detail, of course, but overall, Claude Research did a relatively good job crafting a report on this particular topic. Still, you’d want to dig more deeply into each source and confirm everything if you used it as the basis for serious research. The full Claude-generated result can be read as a text file, saved in markdown format. Sadly, the markdown version does not include the source URLs found in the Claude web interface.
Integrations Feature
Anthropic also announced that it has broadened Claude’s data access capabilities. In addition to web search and Google Workspace integration, Claude can now search any connected application through the company’s new "Integrations" feature. The feature reminds us somewhat of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plugins feature from March 2023 that aimed for similar connections, although the two features work differently under the hood.
How Integrations Work
These Integrations allow Claude to work with remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers across web and desktop applications. The MCP standard, which Anthropic introduced last November, connects AI applications to external tools and data sources. At launch, Claude supports Integrations with 10 services, including Atlassian’s Jira and Confluence, Zapier, Cloudflare, Intercom, Asana, Square, Sentry, PayPal, Linear, and Plaid. The company plans to add more partners like Stripe and GitLab in the future.
Benefits of Integrations
Each integration aims to expand Claude’s functionality in specific ways. The Zapier integration, for instance, reportedly connects thousands of apps through pre-built automation sequences, allowing Claude to automatically pull sales data from HubSpot or prepare meeting briefs based on calendar entries. With Atlassian’s tools, Anthropic says that Claude can collaborate on product development, manage tasks, and create multiple Confluence pages and Jira work items simultaneously.
Availability of Features
Anthropic has made its advanced Research and Integrations features available in beta for users on Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, with Pro plan access coming soon. The company has also expanded its web search feature (introduced in March) to all Claude users on paid plans globally.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Claude Research has shown promising results in generating reports on specific topics, but it’s essential to fact-check and confirm the sources used. The new Integrations feature expands Claude’s capabilities, allowing it to work with various applications and services, making it a more powerful tool for users. As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see more advanced features and improvements in the future.
FAQs
- What is Claude Research?
Claude Research is a feature that generates reports on specific topics using AI technology. - What is the Integrations feature?
The Integrations feature allows Claude to work with remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers across web and desktop applications, connecting to external tools and data sources. - Which services does Claude support through Integrations?
Claude currently supports Integrations with 10 services, including Atlassian’s Jira and Confluence, Zapier, Cloudflare, Intercom, Asana, Square, Sentry, PayPal, Linear, and Plaid. - Is the Research feature available to all users?
The advanced Research and Integrations features are available in beta for users on Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, with Pro plan access coming soon.
