Introduction to Vertex AI

Claude on Google Cloud's Vertex AI

Vertex AI is Google Cloud's unified machine learning platform. Anthropic has partnered with Google Cloud to make Claude models available through Vertex AI, giving GCP customers a native way to access Claude within their existing Google Cloud infrastructure.

Why Use Vertex AI for Claude?

If your infrastructure is on Google Cloud, Vertex AI offers several compelling advantages over calling the Anthropic API directly:

• Google Cloud IAM: Use service accounts and workload identity instead of managing API keys
• GCP billing: Claude usage appears on your GCP invoice alongside other services
• VPC Service Controls: Keep traffic within your GCP network perimeter
• Vertex AI ecosystem: Native integration with BigQuery, Cloud Storage, Dataflow, and other GCP services
• Compliance: GCP's compliance certifications (ISO, SOC, HIPAA BAA) cover Vertex AI

Available Claude Models on Vertex AI

Anthropic's Claude models available on Vertex AI include Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus. Availability varies by region — us-central1, us-east4, europe-west4, and asia-southeast1 are primary regions. New model versions appear on Vertex AI shortly after they're available on the direct API.

Vertex AI vs. Google AI Studio

Google also offers Claude through Google AI Studio, which is designed for individual developers and prototyping. Vertex AI is the enterprise offering with full SLAs, compliance support, and production-grade features. For production applications on GCP, use Vertex AI.