Claude offers several ways to personalize your experience: past chat search, profile preferences, project instructions, and styles. Each serves a different purpose in helping Claude better understand and meet your needs.
Searching past chats
Searching past chats is currently rolling out to users on Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, and will expand to other plans soon.
You can now prompt Claude to search through your previous conversations to find and reference relevant information in new chats. This feature helps you continue discussions seamlessly and retrieve context from past interactions without re-explaining everything.
How it works
When you reference past conversations or need context from previous discussions, Claude can search through your chat history to find relevant information. Simply ask Claude to find what you discussed before, and it will pull together the appropriate context to keep your conversation flowing.
What Claude can search
You can prompt Claude to search conversations within these boundaries:
All chats outside of projects.
Individual project conversations (searches are limited to within each specific project).
To search past chats
Once the ability to search past chats is rolled out to your account, it will be enabled by default. Just ask Claude about your previous conversations naturally to use it, such as:
"What did we discuss about [topic]?"
"Can you find our conversation about [subject]?"
"Let's continue where we left off with [project]"
Can I prevent Claude from searching my past chats?
Yes, navigate to Settings > Profile and find the Preferences section. Switch the toggle next to “Search and reference chats” off:
Can I exclude a specific past chat from searches?
At this time, the only way to ensure a previous chat won’t be included when Claude uses conversation search is to delete it. See How can I delete or rename a conversation? for instructions.
Profile Preferences
Profile preferences are account-wide settings that help Claude understand your general preferences that Claude should consider in responses.
To set your preferences:
Click your initials in the lower left corner.
Select "Settings."
Under "What preferences should Claude consider in responses?", describe your preferences, such as:
Your preferred approaches or methods
Common terms or concepts you use
Typical scenarios you encounter
General communication preferences
Any preferences you add here will be applied to all of your conversations with Claude.
Project Instructions
Project instructions help Claude understand the specific context and requirements for a particular project. These instructions only apply to chats within that project.
Projects are currently available for users on paid Claude plans.
Use project instructions when you want to:
Provide project-specific context
Set guidelines for a particular workflow
Establish requirements for a specific set of tasks
Define roles or perspectives Claude should adopt within the project
Project instructions are particularly useful when you're working on focused tasks or need Claude to maintain consistent context across multiple conversations within the same project.
For detailed information on using projects, see our article on creating and managing projects.
Styles
Styles customize how Claude communicates with you. Unlike profile preferences and project instructions which provide context and guidance, styles focus specifically on how Claude formats and delivers its responses.
Use styles when you want to:
Adjust the tone and format of Claude's responses.
Switch between different communication styles (e.g., concise for quick answers, explanatory for learning).
Create custom communication patterns based on your own writing.
For detailed information on using styles, see our article on configuring and using styles.
Choosing the Right Feature
Use preferences for account-wide settings that affect all your interactions with Claude.
Use project instructions when you need specific guidance or context for a particular project (paid plans only).
Use styles when you want to customize how Claude formats and delivers its responses.
You can use these features independently or in combination to create the most effective experience for your needs.