If you've been using Claude regularly, you've probably noticed the "+" icon in the chat bar and may or may not have wondered what it does;

I see the same thing over and over when I look at how solo founders are actually using AI in their businesses.

They've done a lot of the right things. They've probably set up Projects, GPTs, Skills, loaded in some context, added examples of their voice, maybe connected a tool or built a workflow. They're getting decent output. And because of that, they're thinking that's about as far as it goes.

If you’ve used Custom GPTs and you’re trying to figure out if Claude Skills are actually any different, the first instinct is usually: same thing, different platform. Both are AI configurations. Both have instructions. Both do a specific job.

Most people use Claude the same way: open a new chat, explain the context, get the output, copy the output, close the tab. Do it again tomorrow.

The problem isn’t Claude. It’s that you’re doing all the setup work over and over again. Every session, from scratch.

I’ve built more than 40 Custom GPTs and converted every single one to Claude Projects or skills. The first time I did it, I copied the instructions straight across and started chatting. The output was fine. Technically fine. But noticeably flatter than what the GPT had been producing, which is the opposite of what you’re hoping for when you switch platforms.

Most AI advice was written for businesses with teams. Yours probably doesn't. You're the marketing team, the sales team, the customer service team, and the one trying to remember if you replied to that DM from Tuesday. So when you read "how to use Claude for business," most of the use cases don't fit your week. Here's what does: not just faster work, but entire functions running in the background that you couldn't justify hiring for and never had time to build yourself.

I’ve been using Claude alongside ChatGPT for months now. I build products on both platforms. I run my entire blog, my content systems, and a good chunk of my business strategy through Claude. And I can tell you honestly that the first time I used it, I didn’t get it. It felt different from ChatGPT in ways I couldn’t pin down, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

Claude is a genuinely powerful AI tool for business, but it works differently from ChatGPT in ways that matter. The biggest things new users need to know: usage limits run on a rolling window (not a daily reset), Projects and Skills are the features that make Claude transformative for business use, and Claude responds best to longer, more detailed prompts upfront rather than the short back-and-forth style most people learn on ChatGPT.

I remember the first time I opened Claude.

I’d been building on ChatGPT for months. Over 40 custom GPTs. A full product suite. Daily workflows I could run with my eyes closed. ChatGPT was home.

Then I started testing Claude for a writing task, and the output quality stopped me mid-scroll. It sounded like a person wrote it. 

I’ve been running my business on ChatGPT and Claude for months. I build and sell custom GPTs on ChatGPT. I write, strategise, and create content on Claude. I’ve installed Claude Skills that carry my brand voice, my blog structure, and my marketing frameworks across every conversation. And every month inside my community SheScales, I deliver AI toolkits built for both platforms, because my clients deserve options, not ultimatums.

The smartest AI strategy in 2026 isn’t choosing between ChatGPT and Claude. It’s knowing which one to open for which task. Here’s how that plays out in my actual business.