File types in ChatGPT and Claude: Supported uploads, analysis capabilities, and new automation features

ChatGPT and Claude have expanded file compatibility and analysis options for every user need.

The ecosystem of AI assistants has shifted dramatically in 2025. ChatGPT and Claude, two of the most widely used platforms, are now capable of processing a diverse array of files that would have seemed impossible just a short time ago. Gone are the days when uploads were restricted to simple text files or short PDFs; both platforms now enable users to upload, analyze, and act upon business documents, spreadsheets, presentations, code scripts, and images—often in a single seamless workflow. This fundamental shift has allowed users in every industry, from finance and legal to education and software development, to integrate AI more deeply into their day-to-day processes.

At the same time, the competitive landscape has ensured rapid improvement in both capability and user experience. Model releases are frequent and are often accompanied by tangible gains—larger context windows, more intelligent automation, greater file size limits, and expanded model selection for power users. As of August 2025, ChatGPT and Claude are not only able to understand and summarize massive data sets, but can even automate multi-step processes involving those files, bringing a new level of productivity to organizations that embrace these tools.

ChatGPT now supports nearly all major file types and delivers advanced code-based analysis.

Users can upload, analyze, and automate with documents, spreadsheets, images, and code—directly in chat.

With the introduction of GPT-4o and the expansion of the o-series, ChatGPT has reached a level of file versatility unmatched by any prior version. Supported file types include PDF documents, Microsoft Word files (DOCX), plain text (TXT), markdown (MD), rich text (RTF), and open document formats (ODT and EPUB). For spreadsheet work, users can upload both CSV and Excel formats (XLS, XLSX), and for presentations, both PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX) and related files are fully supported. Beyond office documents, ChatGPT excels at handling code and data files—ranging from Python scripts (PY), JavaScript (JS), and Jupyter notebooks (IPYNB), to HTML, CSS, XML, YAML, SQL, and JSON. The platform’s image capabilities now extend to PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, and WEBP files, with integrated OCR and basic image analysis features.

One of ChatGPT’s defining strengths is its integrated Python code interpreter, often referred to as the “sandbox.” This environment allows the AI to process uploaded files in ways that would be impossible with simple language models: extracting tables from complex PDFs, cleaning or transforming data within spreadsheets, generating charts and visualizations, or even parsing code and running statistical analyses on the fly. The sandbox is not limited to simple tasks; users can upload a compressed ZIP archive (under the 512 MB per-file limit) and instruct ChatGPT to unpack, search, and analyze its contents as part of a single conversation. This is a crucial advantage for users who routinely deal with data pipelines, financial records, or technical research, as the process of extracting, cleaning, and interpreting information can now be conducted entirely within the AI interface.

The sheer scale of what’s possible is further amplified by a 128,000-token context window, available on all major ChatGPT models. This allows the AI to “see” and reason over hundreds of pages at once, making it feasible to summarize entire books, analyze full annual reports, or compare large collections of contracts or legal documents. All of these tasks are performed with a conversational interface that can chain multiple steps together, ensuring that context is never lost across even the most complex workflows.

New ChatGPT models and tiers deliver more automation, speed, and agentic features.

Pro and enterprise plans unlock deeper reasoning, multi-step workflows, and fully autonomous agents.

2025 has been a landmark year for the ChatGPT product line, with a proliferation of new models and enhanced tiers that directly benefit users with advanced workloads. GPT-4o remains the default engine for most users, offering multimodal input and output, fast response times, and the broadest compatibility across devices. However, those seeking even greater capabilities can now choose from a suite of specialized models: GPT-4o Pro (available to professional and enterprise users), GPT-4.1 (focused on code precision), GPT-4.5 (featuring expanded world knowledge and lower hallucination rates), o3 and o3-pro (designed for reasoning and long-form stepwise analysis), and the highly efficient o4-mini and o4-mini-high models.

All of these models retain the generous 512 MB per-file upload limit and support for 20 files per chat. More importantly, they introduce or extend “agentic” capabilities—features that transform ChatGPT from a passive respondent into an active participant in digital workflows. Agent Mode, for instance, empowers the AI to perform a series of actions across external sites and applications: retrieving files from cloud storage, completing and submitting web forms, running Python scripts on the fly, and even sending emails or filling databases with processed data. These multi-step workflows are designed to minimize human intervention while maintaining transparency and user approval at every step.

Professional and enterprise users benefit not only from greater speed and throughput but also from higher reliability and safety guardrails. The Pro tier unlocks increased quotas, the ability to chain more complex actions, and higher daily message caps—making it the ideal choice for organizations with heavy document or data processing needs. Furthermore, the new model picker allows users to switch seamlessly between engines optimized for speed, reasoning depth, or encyclopedic coverage, ensuring that every workflow can be tailored to its precise requirements.

Claude 4 introduces image uploads and agentic reasoning for deep document and data work.

Sonnet 4 and Opus 4 models extend file compatibility and context for complex analysis.

Anthropic’s Claude models have rapidly evolved to meet the demands of professional and research users. The introduction of Claude 4 in May 2025 brought major advances to both the free and paid tiers. Users on claude.ai now access Claude Sonnet 4 by default, while those on the new Claude Max subscription (as well as API developers) can take advantage of Claude Opus 4, the flagship model designed for high-volume, high-complexity workloads.

Claude’s file compatibility is robust, covering PDF, DOCX, CSV, XLSX, TXT, HTML, MD, RTF, EPUB, JSON, and ODT formats. A significant milestone in 2025 is the support for image uploads—JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WEBP—which opens the door to true multimodal document understanding within the web interface. Users can drop images directly into the chat and ask Claude to extract text, summarize diagrams, or interpret visual content alongside traditional text documents. File size limits are set at 30 MB per file (20 files per chat) in the browser, but the API increases this ceiling to 500 MB per file, making Claude a top choice for parsing full-length books, academic datasets, or even scanned legal archives.

One of Claude’s defining strengths is its enormous context window, which can extend up to 200,000 tokens for Opus 4 users. This capacity allows Claude to handle extremely long or dense documents—scientific literature, legal case files, or technical manuals—with accuracy and continuity that would overwhelm most other models. While Claude does not execute code in the chat interface, Opus 4 introduces “extended thinking” with agentic tool use, enabling it to call APIs, fetch data, or perform multi-step logical reasoning. For power users and developers, Anthropic provides Claude Code, a command-line tool that enables the model to run shell commands, automate repository management, and orchestrate complex workflows that bridge chat-based AI and local computing environments.

Comparing file handling in ChatGPT and Claude: parity, differences, and professional implications.

A close look at features, formats, and automation options across both platforms.

The gap between ChatGPT and Claude in terms of file handling has narrowed considerably, but each still maintains unique strengths that cater to different professional audiences. ChatGPT leads in Python-based analysis, agentic automation, and sheer per-file size (512 MB vs. Claude’s 30 MB UI/500 MB API limits). Its sandboxed code execution means that users can not only read and summarize files but also transform, visualize, or even automate their content in ways that are simply not possible with most LLMs. The ability to switch between models (GPT-4o, o3, o3-pro, 4.1, 4.5, etc.) ensures that speed, reasoning, and breadth are always at a user’s fingertips.

Claude, on the other hand, excels in context and continuity, handling documents of unprecedented length and complexity. Its new support for image files and agentic API integrations gives it a distinct edge for research, legal, and technical domains where reasoning across entire books or cross-referencing multiple massive files is required. The platform’s emphasis on privacy, data locality, and robust developer tools (via Claude Code) further reinforce its appeal for enterprise integration and bespoke AI workflows.

A detailed feature comparison makes these nuances clear:

Feature / File Type	ChatGPT (GPT-4o & o-series)	Claude 4 (Sonnet/Opus)
Text & Office docs	PDF, DOCX, TXT, HTML, EPUB, RTF, ODT	Same list
Spreadsheets	CSV, XLS/XLSX (Python analysis)	CSV, XLSX (read and summarize)
Presentations	PPT, PPTX	Reads text only, not officially listed
Code & Data files	PY, JS, JSON, YAML, XML, SQL, IPYNB	Reads as text (no execution)
Images (OCR/vision)	PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF	JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP
Archives (ZIP)	Unpack text, up to 512 MB	Not in UI
Code execution	Yes (Python sandbox)	No in UI, yes via Claude Code (CLI)
Agentic tools	Yes (Agent Mode in Pro/Enterprise)	Yes (Opus 4 “extended thinking”)
File size limit	512 MB (web/app)	30 MB (UI), 500 MB (API)
Context window	128k tokens (all major models)	Up to 200k tokens (Opus 4)

Both platforms also support ZIP files and archives, though ChatGPT’s sandbox provides more flexibility in unpacking and analyzing their contents. ChatGPT’s support for code execution in the web and app interface sets it apart for users who need instant analysis or custom calculations. Claude’s unrivaled document length and new agentic reasoning make it the go-to solution for users who prioritize context depth and document scale.

Technical considerations for deploying file analysis and automation with ChatGPT and Claude

File size, context window, and processing methods define the boundaries of each platform.

ChatGPT supports per-file uploads of up to 512 MB through both its web and mobile interfaces, with a cap of 20 files per conversation and a maximum combined token input of 2 million tokens for text files. This allows for substantial bulk document handling, but extremely long files may still be truncated to fit within the context window—currently 128,000 tokens for all major models. The platform’s Python sandbox means any text-based file can be parsed, transformed, visualized, or combined with other data sources, while basic OCR allows for image-to-text workflows. Presentations and zipped archives can also be processed, provided their contents are compatible and the total size does not exceed upload limits.

Claude 4, via its Sonnet and Opus variants, accepts up to 30 MB per file (20 files per chat) in the web interface, and up to 500 MB per file via the API. Its context window can reach up to 200,000 tokens for Opus 4, making it highly effective for very large documents, such as full books or extended research papers. Although Claude does not natively execute code in the chat UI, Opus 4 offers “extended thinking”, enabling multi-step logical reasoning and the use of external tools and APIs. Developers requiring full automation or local code execution can use Claude Code to connect the model to their infrastructure for shell commands and repository automation.

Security, API integration, and model selection matter for production workflows.

Both platforms emphasize data privacy and user control, with enterprise options offering granular controls over file retention, data locality, and compliance. OpenAI and Anthropic each provide APIs with similar file-type support, allowing integration with third-party systems or custom applications. In production settings, model selection is key: ChatGPT’s o-series and Pro variants are optimal for workflows that require code execution, agentic automation, or rapid switching between reasoning strategies, while Claude’s Opus 4 model is best suited for maximum context depth, multimodal document reasoning, and integration with developer pipelines.

Understanding these technical boundaries—file size caps, context limitations, code execution abilities, and integration routes—is crucial for designing robust, scalable AI workflows in 2025. Organizations deploying these tools should evaluate both their typical file formats and their required degree of automation to choose the right combination of models, interfaces, and developer tools for their needs.

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