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Claude for WordTutorialsOpen Claude for Word

Draft and edit Word docs with Claude for Word

Install Claude for Word, then draft new sections and edit text as tracked changes inside Microsoft Word, without switching apps, in 15 minutes.

By Recaply EditorsBeginner15 min6 stepsUpdated

A hand writes with a pencil on a sheet of paper under a desk lamp, with a small note clipped beside it

What you need

The add-in doesn't run in Word 2016 or 2019 with a one-time license, or in Word on iPad or Android.

  1. Step 1: Install the add-in

    3 min

    One add-in, Claude for Microsoft 365, brings Claude into Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

    1. Go to claude.com/claude-for-microsoft-365 and click Install for Microsoft 365.
    2. On the Microsoft AppSource page that opens, select Get it now and follow the prompts.

    You should see the install finish with no error, and Claude for Microsoft 365 ready to open in Word.

    Your work account blocks the install?

    Your Microsoft 365 admin may have turned off the Office Store. Ask them to deploy the add-in from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

  2. Step 2: Open Claude in Word and sign in

    2 min

    Claude works in a sidebar next to your document and uses your Claude plan.

    1. Open your document in Word.
    2. On Windows, go to Home > Add-ins. On a Mac, go to Tools > Add-ins. Then pick Claude.
    3. Sign in with your Claude account.

    You should see the Claude sidebar beside your document, ready for your first request.

    Claude isn't in the Add-ins list?

    Check your Word version. Windows needs Microsoft 365 Version 2205 or later, and Mac needs 16.61 or later. Update Word, then restart it.

    Only use the add-in on documents you trust. A file from outside can hide instructions in its text or comments.

  3. Step 3: Set your house style once

    2 min

    Saved instructions apply to every chat in Word, so you don't repeat your style rules.

    1. In the sidebar, open Settings.
    2. Paste the text below into the Instructions field and change it to fit your team.
    Your instructions
    Write in plain English for [YOUR AUDIENCE]. Keep sentences short. Use the document's existing heading, list and table styles. Use US spelling. If you're unsure about a fact or number, flag it instead of guessing.

    You should see your instructions saved in the add-in's settings.

    Instructions you set in Word apply only to Word, not to Excel or PowerPoint.

  4. Step 4: Edit a passage as tracked changes

    3 min

    Tracked changes let you check each edit before it becomes part of the document.

    1. Select the passage you want to improve.
    2. Paste the prompt below into the sidebar and send it.
    Your prompt
    Rewrite the selected text to be clearer and about 30% shorter. Keep the meaning, the defined terms and the numbering. Make the edits as tracked changes.

    You should see Claude's edits in the document as tracked changes, with old text struck through and new text added.

    The edits came in without tracking?

    Undo them with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on a Mac. Then ask again and end your prompt with "Make the edits as tracked changes."

    Claude edits only the text you selected and keeps the styles, numbering and formatting around it.

  5. Step 5: Accept or reject each edit

    2 min

    Nothing Claude suggests is final until you accept it.

    1. Click a tracked change to open its card, then accept or reject it.
    2. To step through every change, go to Review > Tracking and use Next.

    You should see the passage with only the edits you accepted, and no markup left.

    You accepted an edit by mistake?

    Press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Cmd+Z on a Mac to undo it. Then review that change again.

  6. Step 6: Draft a new section in your template

    3 min

    New text comes out in your document's own heading and paragraph styles, so it matches the rest.

    1. Paste the prompt below into the sidebar, with your own details.
    2. Read the draft, then reply with any changes you want.
    Your prompt
    Draft a 300-word executive summary for [YOUR PROPOSAL] and place it after the title page. Use the document's heading and paragraph styles. Take the key numbers from the sections that follow, and tell me any number you couldn't find.

    You should see a new section that matches your template's fonts and headings.

    The draft reads too generic?

    Say exactly what's wrong, such as "Paragraph 2 is too vague. Use the customer count from section 3." Claude reworks only that part.

You get

A Word document drafted and edited with Claude, where you approved every change as a tracked revision

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