Anthropic is adding a new feature to its Claude AI assistant that will give users more control over how the chatbot responds to different writing tasks. The new custom styles are available to all Claude AI users, enabling anyone to train it to match their own communication style or select from preset options to quickly adjust the tone and level of detail it provides.

This update aims to personalize the chatbot’s replies and make them feel more natural or appropriate for specific applications, such as writing detailed technical documents or professional emails.

Three preset styles are available: Formal for “clear and polished” text, Concise for shorter and more direct responses, and Explanatory for educational replies that need to include additional detail. If these don’t suit your requirements, Claude can also generate custom styles that are trained to mimic other writing mannerisms. Anthropic says users need to upload “sample content that reflects your preferred way of communicating” to the chatbot, and then instruct it on how to match the writing style.

“You might want in-depth explanations when you’re learning something new, or quick, straight-to-the-point answers when you’re in a hurry,” Claude’s Product leader Scott White said in the announcement. “You might prefer Claude to be more formal in some contexts, or use a friendly, conversational tone in others. The great thing is, you can now set these preferences once and have every interaction feel just right for you.”

It’s a welcome update that may make it less obvious when you’re using Claude to write different kinds of text, but the feature is not unique to Anthropic’s chatbot. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini have similar features that allow users to tailor responses based on their personal style of writing, for example, and Gemini can quickly adjust the tone or detail of Gmail drafts. The Writing Tools feature in Apple Intelligence also provides similar style presets.