Special Edition: Using Claude Code as a non-coder

Claude Code's Popularity with Non-Coders | Claude Code vs Claude.ai | Use Cases for Marketing | Creating Podcast Playlist | Creating a Video

Author

Francois Dufour
January 10, 2026

Claude Code has become super popular among non-coders in Silicon Valley and beyond.

It’s one of the most powerful personal automation tools available, and you don't need to write a single line of code to use it.

I recommend trying it, but even if you don't, it is important to understand the differences with Claude.ai, the chatbot.

Note: You can do similar things with OpenAI’s Codex or Google Antigravity, which I haven't tried yet. But Claude Code seems to be the runaway leader now.

-François

Why write about Claude Code?

Most readers of this newsletter are not coders (hopefully, many of you are now vibe coders).

So, why talk about a tool designed for coders and accessible - initially at least - only via the terminal, i.e., a non-friendly interface if you don't code?

Well, because it's been all the rage in and beyond Silicon Valley.

It’s incredibly powerful, especially when using Anthropic's top-of-the-line model: Opus 4.5.

And it is surprisingly easy to use.

No wonder we see these memes appear:

Check out this video that went viral this week.

The output is stunning for what they claim was the amount of work.

Now get this: Claude does NOT generate images or videos, unlike ChatGPT or Gemini. It can “only” generate code that creates vector graphics, so everything you see in this video was orchestrated by Claude Code, using OTHER TOOLS.

That's the magic.

It is exceptionally good at planning, using tools, iterating, orchestrating, testing, creating and updating multiple files at once and more.

Claude Code vs. Claude.ai: Differences Non-Coders Need to Know

Think of Claude Code as a super analyst and coder working tirelessly for you.

One that can process thousands of files, pull data from any source, and automate repetitive work.

You describe what you need. Claude writes the code and runs it.

You don't need to write code to use it.

Think of it this way: Claude.ai (the chatbot) lives in your browser. Claude Code lives on your computer (note: recently, they also introduced a “Claude Code” tab on the browser and desktop versions for premium subscribers).

That difference unlocks batch processing, automation, and connections to any data source you need.

For instance, I had a bunch of movie scripts in PDF format that I wanted to convert to a Kindle-friendly format. Instead of converting them one by one manually, I gave access to the folder to Claude Code and told it to convert the files. It's identified that the .EPUB format was the right one, wrote a script and converted all the files. Voila. I could not believe how fast and easy it was. And that's basic usage.

It becomes more powerful when you give it access to other services (esp. via APIs), which it will walk you through step by step.

Comparison: Claude.ai vs. Claude Code

Task

Claude.ai (chatbot)

Claude Code

Why the Difference

Single document analysis

Yes

Yes

Both can read uploaded content

Batch process 100+ files

No

Yes

Runs on your computer, not in a browser

Access files on your computer

No (upload only)

Yes

Direct access to your folders and drives

Create reusable instructions

Yes (Projects)

Yes (scripts)

Projects save prompts; Code saves executable scripts

Handle very large datasets

Limited

Yes

Processes files in pieces, not all at once

Generate multiple output files

One at a time

Yes, in bulk

Can write directly to your file system

Connect to external apps

Some (MCP connectors)

Any (APIs)

Connectors are pre-built; Claude Code can call anything

Run tasks without prompting

No

Yes

Scripts execute on command without conversation

Build custom tools

No

Yes

Creates executable files that persist

Requires coding knowledge

No

Minimal

Claude writes the code for you

Claude Code Use Cases for Marketing

Here are some use cases and examples that you can perform with Claude Code that are not doable - or at least challenging - with Claude.ai:

Use Case

What Claude Code Enables

Why Claude Code (Not Claude.ai)

Win/Loss Call Analysis

Process 50+ sales call transcripts from Gong or local recordings. Extract objections, buying triggers, and competitor mentions into one report.

Batch processing of large transcript files

Messaging Consistency Audit

Scan your entire sales enablement folder. Flag where positioning language differs from approved messaging doc.

Cross-references hundreds of local files at once

Multi-Customer Report Generation

Generate customized weekly reports for 10 customers from their respective data folders. One script, 10 outputs.

Batch output to multiple folders and file paths

Feature Comparison Scraper

Visit 8 competitor product pages or docs, extract feature lists and pricing tiers, compile into a single comparison matrix.

Web scraping + structured data extraction + local save

Automated Weekly Report

Create a script that generates your Monday performance report from local data files. Run with one command each week.

Saved scripts that execute without re-prompting

Competitive Price Tracking

Script visits 20 competitor websites monthly, extracts pricing changes, logs to a tracking spreadsheet over time.

Web scraping + local file writing + reusable automation

Campaign Asset Inventory

Point it at your Marketing folder with 500+ files. It catalogs everything: file types, dates, naming issues. Outputs a spreadsheet.

Requires local folder access and batch processing

Marketing Stack Data Pull

Connect to Google Analytics, HubSpot, or Amplitude APIs directly. Pull custom reports without manual CSV exports.

Custom API calls beyond pre-built MCP connectors

Historical Campaign Analysis

Process 3 years of campaign data (too large to upload) to find spend patterns and performance trends.

Handles files that exceed upload limits

Bulk Content Calendar

Generate 90 social posts from your quarterly messaging doc. Save as separate files organized by week and platform.

Creates folder structures with multiple output files

🎙️ Creating highly personalized podcast playlists in Spotify with Claude Code

My friend James Raybould and I hosted an AI workflow fest before the break. More than 65 people tuned in and learned a ton from the presenters I hand-picked.

James took second place with his demo of how he uses Claude Code to:

  1. Identify the right podcasts for a product marketer in AI and

  2. Automatically create just the right playlist in Spotify with the latest episodes.

Here's the recording (6 min). He explains how he does it, and shows the outcome.

📺 My (bad) Biscoff ice cream bar ad

I wanted to see if Claude Code could truly create a video like the Hermes one above. Here is the video that Claude Code created for me while I while watching a documentary on Netflix (Becoming Led Zeppelin!).

I only:

  1. gave it a simple prompt (too simple to create anything interesting),

  2. got my API keys from my ElevenLabs and Google AI Studio (for Veo3 video gen) accounts, plus set up billing in these accounts.

  3. then, all I needed to do was approve Claude’s next steps and answer its questions.

It did all the work. Some details below, including that disturbingly phallic second scene (you’d think that came from Elon’s Grok AI...) 😲

PS: it cost me $25 in Google Veo3 credits

My initial prompt (grayed out at the top) and how Claude Code got started, in the terminal

Final Words

❝

Don’t let the awkwardness of the current Claude Code or its specialization for coding fool you.

Professor Ethan Mollick

Thanks for sharing these highlights with busy marketing execs around you.🙏 

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François | LinkedIn 

I'm a CMO, advisor, and "CMO Wingman". Yes, that's a thing :-). Ask my clients: in this AI era, CMOs need a strategic proactive advisor more than ever. I’m former CMO at Twilio, Augment Code, Apollo GraphQL, Decibel, Udacity and Head of Marketing for LinkedIn Talent Solutions.