In Python, what characterizes a class method?

A class method is characterized by taking the class as its first parameter, typically designated as cls. This allows the method to operate on the class itself rather than on instances of the class. Class methods are defined using the @classmethod decorator, and they can be called on the class without needing to instantiate an object. This is particularly useful for factory methods or methods that need to modify class-level data, providing an interface that is independent of instance-level data.

The other choices describe characteristics of methods but do not accurately define a class method's behavior. A method that can only be called from an instance refers to instance methods, while one bound to an instance describes an instance variable rather than class-level functionality. Lastly, methods that specialize in handling exceptions pertain to error handling techniques, which is unrelated to the concept of class methods in Python.