Anthropic Previews Claude Duet, an Agent That Messages You First
It's built for professionals and small business owners, and every send, payment or deletion still needs your approval.
Anthropic opened a research preview of Claude Duet, a separate app where Claude works in the background across your tools and messages you when something needs you.
Juggling a business from your inbox? Anthropic built it for professionals and small business owners.
What it does
Anthropic’s Claude Duet announcement describes a short morning brief on what matters across your apps, then quiet until something needs you.
You can also hand it tasks. Anthropic’s examples:
- scheduling meetings
- building dashboards and sales forecasts
- prototyping and building web apps
Anthropic’s page tells of one early user whose client call sat right before her flight: Duet noticed and offered to move it.
It draws on the Claude Marketplace, with more than 6,000 connectors and plugins. Gmail, Slack, Stripe, HubSpot, Canva and Shopify are among the ones named.
Anthropic says Duet has its own virtual machine and browser, so it doesn’t need your laptop or phone to be on.
Anthropic says it’s designed around Claude Opus 5.5 and carries over the memory, skills and connected apps from your regular Claude account.
Who can get it
Want in? Check these first:
- you’re in the US and on a Claude Pro or Max plan
- you’ve joined the waitlist (Anthropic says it will email you once it’s ready for you)
- you’ll use it on iOS, Android or claude.ai
Anthropic’s announcement mentions only Pro and Max plans for this preview.
During the preview it’s included in those plans. Still, Duet shares your plan’s usage limits, and its background checks every few hours count toward them.
What it asks before doing
Worried about it acting on its own?
Anthropic says Duet shows you what it’s about to do and waits for your approval before it:
- sends a message
- pays for something through Link or Shop Pay
- signs a document on your behalf
- deletes a file, an email or anything else
Some actions are off-limits even with approval, such as moving money between accounts.
Though it acts for you, it never sees your passwords or sign-in tokens directly.
Purchases go through Stripe’s Link and Shopify’s Shop Pay. Anthropic says Link pays with a virtual card, so your real card number isn’t shared.
Why it matters
Duet checks in when something needs you, and for a one-person web business the gap between “I should check Stripe” and actually checking it is where things slip.
But be honest about the limits.
Anthropic admits it can misread a thread or misjudge what’s urgent, and it says personal errands like booking tickets are weaker than work tasks for now. Anthropic also says it can’t yet show you its browser.
So who should join the waitlist? If your work lives in Gmail, Slack and a store dashboard, I’d start it on low-stakes jobs:
- the morning brief across your inbox and calendar
- draft replies you edit before sending
- a weekly sales summary from your store
Then read every approval request before you tap yes.
Treat it like a new assistant. Trust comes later.
Common Questions
Who can use Claude Duet?
Claude Duet is in a research preview for US users on a Claude Pro or Max plan, through a waitlist. Anthropic’s announcement mentions only Pro and Max plans for this preview.
Does Claude Duet cost extra?
It’s included in Pro and Max plans during the preview, but it shares your plan’s usage limits, and the background checks it runs every few hours count toward them. Larger tasks need more model turns and background work.
Can Claude Duet send emails or make payments on its own?
No. It shows you what it’s about to do and waits for your approval before it sends a message, pays for something, signs a document or deletes anything. Some actions, like moving money between accounts, are blocked entirely, even if you approve them.
