Claude Duet enters the race for proactive AI assistants

Anthropic introduces Claude Duet, a proactive AI agent capable of monitoring applications, executing tasks, and asking for approval before taking action.

An assistant that reviews important messages before its user opens an inbox, identifies a scheduling conflict, and continues working while its owner is away. With Claude Duet, Anthropic is moving its conversational assistant toward a more autonomous experience, where AI can initiate notifications and execute tasks across multiple applications. Introduced on October 21, 2026, the standalone application is built around Claude Opus 5.5 and carries over memory, skills, and connected apps from an existing Claude account. It primarily targets professionals and small business owners, although its research preview is currently limited to a waitlist for Pro and Max subscribers in the United States. An Assistant That Decides When to Intervene

The main difference between Claude Duet and a conventional chat assistant is initiative. In a chatbot, users generally need to open a conversation and ask for something. Duet operates differently: each morning, it prepares a brief covering important developments across connected apps, then checks for new events throughout the day and determines which ones warrant attention.

The system can connect information that might not appear problematic in isolation. A meeting may conflict with travel plans, an invoice may need a follow-up, or a professional conversation may contain an unanswered request. Duet attempts to identify these situations without requiring users to inspect their inbox, calendar, and business tools separately.

The behavior relies on Claude Opus 5.5, which Anthropic uses to assess urgency, distinguish what can wait, and determine when human confirmation is required. The company acknowledges that the agent may misunderstand a conversation or misjudge the importance of an event. Deciding what deserves attention remains one of the capabilities it intends to refine during the preview.

Duet does not monitor accounts continuously every second. According to Anthropic, it checks connected services every few hours to limit the amount of subscription usage consumed in the background. Users can also specify which developments they want to hear about and how frequently they should be notified. A Virtual Computer That Keeps Working

Claude Duet is more than an alternative interface for Claude. It has its own cloud-based virtual machine with a browser, allowing it to interact with online services and continue working even when the user's computer or phone is turned off.

A request can be relatively simple: prepare a sales forecast, build a dashboard, arrange interviews, or develop a web application prototype. The agent identifies the necessary steps, selects available applications, and carries out the work within its own environment. It sends a notification when the task is finished or needs review.

The same continuity applies to work involving multiple operations. Preparing a marketing campaign may require retrieving documents, reviewing commercial information, creating visual assets, and drafting content. Rather than treating every operation as an independent conversation, Duet is designed to preserve context and coordinate tools as work progresses.

The application uses one ongoing conversation that supports text and voice. It inherits the memory and skills of the user's existing Claude account, reducing the need to recreate preferences or instructions. Its autonomy remains subject to the capabilities of each connected service and the permissions granted by the user. Gmail, QuickBooks, HubSpot, and Shopify in One Workflow

Anthropic says Duet can use more than 6,000 connectors and plugins in the Claude Marketplace. These integrations connect the agent to communication, finance, customer relationship management, e-commerce, and creative tools, depending on the user's authorization.

Duet can find relevant messages in Gmail and Slack, check unpaid invoices in QuickBooks or Stripe, and prepare reminders. It can use contact and deal history in HubSpot to draft follow-up emails, prepare job postings for LinkedIn, and organize agreements for electronic signature through DocuSign.

Other applications extend into business operations. Anthropic describes preparing payroll through Gusto, including hours, bonuses, and reimbursements, as well as creating marketing campaigns with Canva. Duet can also help set up and manage Shopify stores. A more advanced visual storefront editor, designed to preview changes before publication, is planned for a future update.

Purchasing is another supported workflow. Duet can use Link, Stripe's digital wallet, to buy items for a business after confirmation. Payments use a virtual card so merchants do not receive the user's actual card number. Some purchases can also be completed through Shopify's Shop Pay. Anthropic plans to add access to saved credentials through 1Password, subject to user permission. Preparing Actions Automatically, but Asking Before Acting

Duet distinguishes between preparatory work and actions that directly commit the user. It can read information, analyze a situation, and prepare documents autonomously. However, it must request approval before sending a message, making a payment, signing a document, or deleting information.

The agent presents the proposed action and waits for confirmation. This provides an opportunity to identify incorrect assumptions before they result in consequential operations. It also introduces a consistent approval step across workflows that may involve several connected services.

Some actions remain prohibited even with user approval. Anthropic says Duet cannot trade securities or move money between accounts. These restrictions distinguish permitted administrative activities from financial operations the company considers outside the agent's authorized scope.

Consequently, the agent may be able to prepare most of a process without completing every step independently. For activities requiring frequent confirmations, its practical value will depend on the quality of the preparatory work and the clarity of its