WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.559 If you spend any real time working with AI, you 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:06.620 probably know the feeling, that frustration, 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.759 explaining the brand voice, pacing the same template 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:14.279 again, reminding the tool about some rule. Over 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:16.239 and over. Teaching the AI the same things every 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.969 single chat. It's just so inefficient. Yeah, 00:00:19.149 --> 00:00:21.870 and that leads straight to what people call prompt 00:00:21.870 --> 00:00:23.929 fatigue. You're just duplicating effort. And 00:00:23.929 --> 00:00:26.329 honestly, the results, they're never perfectly 00:00:26.329 --> 00:00:28.230 consistent that way. Right. So today, we're going 00:00:28.230 --> 00:00:31.329 to do a deep dive into Claude skills. This is 00:00:31.329 --> 00:00:34.670 Anthropic's big update aimed at fixing that repetition. 00:00:34.850 --> 00:00:37.890 It's about unlocking really complex automated 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:40.450 workflows, finally. OK, so our mission here is 00:00:40.450 --> 00:00:43.679 to figure out how these skills shift -clawed 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.340 from a simple chatbot to something more like 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:49.200 a personalized reusable AI toolkit. We'll define 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.039 what they are, look at the problems they solve, 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:55.340 portability, combination, and walk you through 00:00:55.340 --> 00:00:57.619 maybe four levels from beginner stuff to building 00:00:57.619 --> 00:01:01.039 your own custom automations. Sounds good. Let's 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:04.140 start simple. What is a skill? The best analogy 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:07.780 I've heard is it's like a reusable notebook of 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:09.980 instructions that Claude keeps handy. A notebook 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:11.540 of instructions. OK, that sounds like it builds 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:13.939 in consistency. But how is that really different 00:01:13.939 --> 00:01:16.640 from just adding long custom instructions to 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:20.379 a single project? It's about memory and separation. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:24.219 Think about training a new employee, maybe a 00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:26.560 specialist. You train them once on the rules, 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:29.439 the process, the tools. They don't need a sticky 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:31.359 note every single day reminding them how to do 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.349 their core job or what the the company voices. 00:01:33.629 --> 00:01:36.049 They just know. The old way, you had to say, 00:01:36.450 --> 00:01:38.489 write this email in the brand voice, use this 00:01:38.489 --> 00:01:41.269 template every single time. And you'd get slightly 00:01:41.269 --> 00:01:43.569 different results each time. Exactly. Variance 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:45.609 creeps in. Now you just say, use the marketing 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:49.250 email skill. Done. So the consistency isn't just 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:52.750 for one task and one chat. It's system wide because 00:01:52.750 --> 00:01:54.609 the instructions aren't tied to that specific 00:01:54.609 --> 00:01:57.109 conversation anymore. That's it. The big win 00:01:57.109 --> 00:02:00.239 is you stop repeating yourself. Period. And that 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.019 separation, that detachment, it solves two really 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:08.000 big, really frustrating problems that power users 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:09.560 have been grappling with. Okay, what's the first 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:12.139 one? Instructions weren't portable. Meaning, 00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:15.460 if you built this amazing set of rules inside 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:17.960 a Claude project, like super detailed instructions 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:20.939 for how to draft legal summaries, those rules 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:25.370 were stuck, trapped in that project. So if you 00:02:25.370 --> 00:02:27.590 wanted to do a legal summary in a different context, 00:02:27.770 --> 00:02:30.129 maybe inside a project about client emails. You'd 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:32.229 have to copy and paste the whole block of instructions. 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:35.330 Right. Tens, maybe hundreds of lines of text. 00:02:35.650 --> 00:02:38.419 Copying, pasting. Ugh. That sounds... Brittle. 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:41.060 Yeah. And annoying. It really is. And that's 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.479 where prompt drisht happens. You copy it. Maybe 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:45.379 you misalign or you tweak it slightly because 00:02:45.379 --> 00:02:48.060 it's messy. And suddenly your standard process 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:51.099 isn't standard anymore. Honestly, I still wrestle 00:02:51.099 --> 00:02:54.080 with managing those huge kind of unreadable blocks 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:55.939 of instructions myself sometimes trying to make 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:57.800 sure they're aligned across different places. 00:02:58.020 --> 00:03:00.460 It's a headache. OK, so portability is one. What 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:02.879 was the second big issue? You could really combine 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.860 complex processes. Like you might have one project 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:07.979 for writing blog posts and a totally separate 00:03:07.979 --> 00:03:10.560 one for analyzing market data. Right. They live 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:12.599 in their own little world. You couldn't easily 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:15.020 merge them. You couldn't just tell Claude, OK, 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:17.699 analyze this complex sales data and then write 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:20.000 a blog post about the key findings using the 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.460 blog post rules from that other project. Skills 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:24.879 fix that. They package instructions up as these 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:28.240 reusable things available everywhere, web, API, 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:30.580 desktop, so you can actually combine them. Got 00:03:30.580 --> 00:03:33.939 it. So skills become these modular building blocks. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:36.620 Specialized processes you can stack together 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:39.039 for jobs that need multiple steps. Precisely. 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:41.759 It lets you mix and match specialized processes 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.599 for those harder jobs, like stacking Lego blocks, 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:46.939 you know? Right. One block for data handling, 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:49.240 another for writing style. This is where the 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.090 architecture starts to make more sense. The source 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.270 material had this great kitchen analogy. Can 00:03:54.270 --> 00:03:56.490 we unpack that? Yeah, it really helps make the 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:59.310 technical stuff clearer. So Claude itself, that's 00:03:59.310 --> 00:04:02.030 the chef. The main intelligence, the brain doing 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:05.250 the thinking. Okay, the chef. Skills are the 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:08.810 recipe cards. The reusable standardized instructions. 00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:12.310 Need sourdough bread. The recipe card tells the 00:04:12.310 --> 00:04:14.949 chef exactly how to make it. Same way every time. 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:18.240 OK, Chef. Recipe cards. What are the tools? I 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:20.620 mentioned the Model Context Protocol or MCP. 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:22.500 Right, the MCP. Those are the actual kitchen 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:25.120 tools, the mixer, the oven, the knives. Technically, 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:30.939 the MCP is the layer that lets Claude call out 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:33.500 to external tools and APIs. So it connects the 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:36.199 AI brain to the real world. Exactly. Things like 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.649 search the web, run code. Create a file. It gives 00:04:39.649 --> 00:04:42.110 Claude the ability to do things beyond just talking. 00:04:42.449 --> 00:04:44.670 Got it. And the last piece was projects. Those 00:04:44.670 --> 00:04:46.750 are the kitchen stations. Yep. Your organized 00:04:46.750 --> 00:04:49.610 workspace, the baking station, the sauce station. 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:51.350 It's where you bring together the recipe card 00:04:51.350 --> 00:04:53.910 skills and the tools, MCPs, that you need for 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:55.550 a specific kind of work. It all works together 00:04:55.550 --> 00:04:57.870 in that space. So let's talk about the types 00:04:57.870 --> 00:05:00.410 of skills then. There are three. starting with 00:05:00.410 --> 00:05:02.829 official skills from Anthropic. Yeah, those are 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:04.509 the ready -made ones. Pre -built, you usually 00:05:04.509 --> 00:05:06.610 turn them on in your settings, often by enabling 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:08.930 things like code execution or file creation. 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:11.569 But here's a key warning. Don't just turn them 00:05:11.569 --> 00:05:14.569 all on. If you activate, like, 20 different skills 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:16.810 for summarizing text, Claude might get confused 00:05:16.810 --> 00:05:19.629 about which recipe card to use. Ah, OK. So be 00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:22.370 selective. Definitely. Less is often more. Then 00:05:22.370 --> 00:05:24.490 you have custom skills. These are the ones you 00:05:24.490 --> 00:05:26.629 build for your specific needs. And there's a 00:05:26.629 --> 00:05:28.410 skill creator tool mentioned that helps people 00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:30.519 do this. without needing to be like hardcore 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:33.139 coders. Right. That's the personalization engine. 00:05:33.699 --> 00:05:36.060 That sounds powerful. It really is. And the third 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:38.800 type is community -created skills shared by other 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.959 users. You can grab these, get ideas, but we 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:43.180 need a big flashing warning sign here. Security. 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.819 OK. If I download a skill someone else made, 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:49.800 what's the actual risk? Could it just like burn 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.800 through my credits or leak my data? that's exactly 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.439 the danger. Because skills use those MCP tools, 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:58.540 they can run code, search the web, a badly made 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:02.339 or worse malicious skill could potentially perform 00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:05.180 token poisoning. Meaning it could run really 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:07.120 long expensive tasks in the background without 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:10.779 you realizing burning your usage. Or if it's 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:13.620 poorly designed, it could potentially send sensitive 00:06:13.620 --> 00:06:17.240 data from your chat to some external place. The 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:20.500 rule has to be... Only use community skills from 00:06:20.500 --> 00:06:23.199 sources you absolutely trust, like really trust. 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:25.560 Okay, that's critical. You're essentially giving 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:27.939 it a script to use your account's abilities. 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:30.500 Trust is paramount. All right, before we get 00:06:30.500 --> 00:06:32.120 into the practical levels, there was that one 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:34.800 crucial tip. Just turning on a skill doesn't 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:36.939 mean Claude always remembers to use it. Yes, 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:38.639 this is super important. You need to go into 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:41.220 your main account settings, into the custom instructions, 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:44.660 and add this line. Always consider relevant skills 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:46.920 when responding to my requests. Like a sticky 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.220 note for the chef. Exactly. It's a necessary 00:06:49.220 --> 00:06:51.759 little nudge to remind Claude, hey, check the 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:53.680 recipe cards before you start cooking. Okay. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.360 Essential tip noted. Let's get practical. Level 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:59.019 one. Beginner. Just using a ready -made skill. 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:02.819 No changes. Right. Simple example. The built 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:05.740 -in theme factory skill. Say you need a landing 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:07.560 page for a new product, maybe Creative Coffee. 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:10.180 You just give Claude the content, maybe some 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.180 visual ideas, and ask it to create a landing 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:14.860 page based on this. You don't even have to name 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:17.339 the skill. And Claude just figures out, ah, Theme 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:19.720 Factory is the right tool, applies formatting, 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:22.579 and gives you the page. Yep. No manual template 00:07:22.579 --> 00:07:25.060 stuff needed. Another easy one is the document 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:28.500 creation skill. Ask for an internal FAQ for a 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:32.449 new feature. Boom. Claude uses the skill to format 00:07:32.449 --> 00:07:34.889 it nicely, headings, bolding, structural, because 00:07:34.889 --> 00:07:37.310 the skill defines what a good document looks 00:07:37.310 --> 00:07:39.370 like. OK, that's straightforward. Moving up to 00:07:39.370 --> 00:07:42.930 level two, intermediate. This is about tweaking 00:07:42.930 --> 00:07:45.550 an official skill to make your own branded version. 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:47.810 Let's use that email template example. Yeah, 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:49.750 this is where you start saving serious time. 00:07:50.050 --> 00:07:51.769 You take a sample email, one that's perfectly 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:54.399 on brand for your company, attach it. Then you 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.639 tell Claude, essentially, read the official email 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.259 writer skill, but create a new one called my 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:01.879 brand email. And you reference the original one. 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.120 Yes. That's key. You reference the parent skill, 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:07.420 so you don't have to rewrite all the basic email 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:10.000 logic. But then you add your specific rules, 00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:13.360 use these exact fonts, these brand color hex 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:17.430 codes, and always end with best. the ABC team. 00:08:17.569 --> 00:08:19.269 So you've customized a core function without 00:08:19.269 --> 00:08:21.350 building it from the ground up. You upload that 00:08:21.350 --> 00:08:23.949 new skill file, and now anytime you ask for an 00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:25.790 email. Write an email about our summer sale. 00:08:26.129 --> 00:08:28.490 Cod automatically uses your closing, your formatting, 00:08:28.870 --> 00:08:31.290 every time. It's like having an assistant who's 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:33.730 actually read and memorized the brand style guide. 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:36.590 Intermedia is realizing the official skills are 00:08:36.590 --> 00:08:38.610 just starting points you can build on. All right. 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:41.370 Leading us to the big one, level four, advanced 00:08:41.370 --> 00:08:44.440 combination. automating a whole workflow by chaining 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.000 skills together. The full content creation engine 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:48.799 idea. Okay, this is where the magic happens. 00:08:48.980 --> 00:08:51.860 We need two custom skills first. Step one, build 00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:54.379 an SEO keyword research skill. This one uses 00:08:54.379 --> 00:08:56.940 the web search MCP tool. The instructions tell 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.980 it. Find five good keywords, three related questions 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:02.759 people ask online, and format it all as a clean 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.639 markdown table. Okay, skill one, research. Step 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:10.179 two. Step two, a blog writer skill. This defines 00:09:10.179 --> 00:09:13.320 the output. It must have a TLDR summary at the 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.940 top. It must use those research questions as 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.600 each two headings, and it needs to use a specific 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:21.919 voice, say, friendly and simple. Got it. Research 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:24.519 skill, writing skill. Step three. Step three. 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.840 Create a dedicated project, maybe call it Anne's 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.860 Kitchen Content Studio. Inside that project's 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:33.019 custom instructions, you put the directive. For 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.620 all blog posts and SEO content, always use the 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:37.840 SEO keyword research and blog writer skills. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:40.120 You're telling the chef at the station which 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:42.460 specific recipe cards are mandatory. Okay, the 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:45.080 setup is complete. Now the test. You give Claude 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:47.480 a really simple prompt. Like, create a blog post 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:49.779 about making great chicken foe at home. And what 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:52.320 happens? You watch the chain reaction. The blog 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:54.419 writer skill gets the prompt, knows it needs 00:09:54.419 --> 00:09:57.379 SEO data, so it triggers the SEO keyword research 00:09:57.379 --> 00:10:00.080 skill. Which uses the web search tool. Right. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:03.399 The MCP tool fires, gathers the keywords and 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.279 questions. That data flows back into the blog 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:08.259 writer skill, which then constructs the entire 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:11.759 post TLDR headings from questions, simple voice, 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.279 fully formatted, totally optimized, following 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.799 every single rule we set. Whoa. Okay. Yeah. Imagine 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:21.159 scaling that consistency across like an entire 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:24.059 content calendar or for multiple clients. That 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:26.879 is workflow magic. The consistency is absolutely 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.789 the core value here. And you know, workflow is 00:10:29.789 --> 00:10:31.909 a good candidate for becoming a skill if it meets 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:34.549 certain criteria. Is it repeated often? Does 00:10:34.549 --> 00:10:36.590 it need training? Does it need a consistent format? 00:10:36.750 --> 00:10:38.909 Right, those checks from the source. Do you do 00:10:38.909 --> 00:10:41.090 this task three plus times a month? Would you 00:10:41.090 --> 00:10:43.450 need to train a new person on it? Does the output 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:45.750 have to be consistent every time? If you're hitting 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:48.429 yes on two or more of those, yeah, probably worth 00:10:48.429 --> 00:10:51.049 building a skill. Now, a few hard -won tips from 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:53.549 using these for a while. First, usage limits. 00:10:53.929 --> 00:10:55.929 Especially on Pro plans, skill -changing tools 00:10:55.929 --> 00:10:59.049 can eat tokens. So focus on skilling up your 00:10:59.049 --> 00:11:01.409 most repeated, highest -value workflows first. 00:11:01.669 --> 00:11:03.870 Good practical advice. And there was that creative 00:11:03.870 --> 00:11:07.629 hack, maybe using another AI, like ChatGPT, just 00:11:07.629 --> 00:11:10.730 to draft the skills code structure based on your 00:11:10.730 --> 00:11:13.730 instructions to save your clawed tokens for actually 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:16.129 running the skill. Clever, yeah. Also remember, 00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:18.269 skills are static text files. They don't update 00:11:18.269 --> 00:11:21.009 themselves. If they rely on an external tool, 00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:23.169 like an API, that changes. Your skill might break. 00:11:23.769 --> 00:11:27.080 So build in a fallback. Like what? Like in the 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:30.279 instructions. If the fancy keyword tool API fails, 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.059 just do a standard web search for keywords instead. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:36.899 Plan B. Smart. And the simplicity rule. One skill, 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:39.840 one job. Don't make a monster skill that tries 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:41.820 to do 10 things. Please don't. It'll likely get 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:44.419 confused or fail. And naming. Use clear names. 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:47.519 SEO, blog writer skill. Not my skill too final. 00:11:47.870 --> 00:11:49.809 You'll thank yourself later when you have a dozen 00:11:49.809 --> 00:11:52.009 of these. OK, let's try and pull this all together. 00:11:52.309 --> 00:11:54.690 The big idea seems to be that Claude skills really 00:11:54.690 --> 00:11:57.049 shift Claude from just being a chat interface 00:11:57.049 --> 00:12:00.250 into being this personalized, reusable, portable 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:03.129 AI toolkit that's actually built for real work 00:12:03.129 --> 00:12:05.629 for production. Yeah, that's it. The key thing 00:12:05.629 --> 00:12:08.950 is that ability to mix and match these predefined 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:11.250 quality controlled processes. You set the standard 00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:14.230 once, then reuse it everywhere. It lets you, 00:12:14.409 --> 00:12:17.110 the user, step back and focus on the bigger picture 00:12:17.110 --> 00:12:19.490 of the strategy instead of getting bogged down 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:21.690 in the same repetitive tactile steps again and 00:12:21.690 --> 00:12:24.090 again. You know, the future of how we work with 00:12:24.090 --> 00:12:26.730 these incredibly powerful AI models, it isn't 00:12:26.730 --> 00:12:28.370 just going to be about asking clever questions 00:12:28.370 --> 00:12:30.350 in a chat box. It's really about teaching the 00:12:30.350 --> 00:12:32.750 AI to work exactly the way you work, building 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:35.509 that automated, consistent toolkit piece by piece, 00:12:35.809 --> 00:12:38.889 one solid process at a time. Start simple, build 00:12:38.889 --> 00:12:39.330 slowly.