Anthropic launches Claude Duet AI agent to manage work in the background: Challenges OpenAI and Meta

Anthropic has introduced Claude Duet, an AI agent designed to help professionals and small business owners manage work across multiple apps without overseeing every step. Unlike a conventional chatbot that waits for a prompt, Duet can identify tasks that need attention, prepare updates and continue working after you leave your devices.

The launch comes as AI companies increasingly focus on agents that can carry out tasks rather than simply answer questions. Claude Duet can help with everything from scheduling meetings and drafting emails to preparing financial forecasts and building web applications. However, the service is currently in a limited research preview, and Anthropic says users remain in control of important decisions, including payments and sending messages.

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Claude Duet works across more than 6,000 connectors

Powered by Claude Opus 5.5, the agent sends you a morning brief covering important updates from connected apps and checks those accounts every few hours. It can flag relevant messages, prepare replies and notify you when a task is complete or requires a decision.

Duet supports more than 6,000 connectors and plugins through the Claude Marketplace. It can find missed Gmail and Slack messages, identify unpaid invoices through QuickBooks or Stripe, prepare payroll in Gusto, draft LinkedIn job posts, prepare agreements through DocuSign and create marketing campaigns in Canva. It can also help manage Shopify stores and draft follow-ups using HubSpot data.

The agent runs on a virtual machine with its own browser, so you don't need to keep your phones or computers on. It also carries over memory, skills and connected apps from their existing Claude accounts.

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Availability, safety and limitations

Claude Duet is available as a standalone app for iOS and Android, as well as on the web. The research preview is limited to US-based Claude Pro and Max subscribers through a waitlist. Team and Enterprise plans are not included, and the agent shares existing Claude usage limits. Background checks and larger tasks count towards those limits.

Anthropic says Duet does not directly see passwords or sign-in tokens. It requires approval before sending messages, making payments, signing documents or deleting files. It prohibits trading securities and moving money between accounts, even with approval. You can also disconnect apps at any time.

The launch places Anthropic in the growing AI-agent market alongside OpenAI and Meta. However, Duet remains an early version, and it can misjudge urgency, miss updates between checks and is less suited to personal errands such as booking tickets.