Anthropic has introduced Claude Duet, a new proactive artificial intelligence agent designed to run in the background, manage routine workflows, and execute complex digital tasks without requiring a user’s personal device to stay powered on. Operating via an independent virtual machine and browser, the system is currently available as a research preview through a waitlist, initially targeting Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States.
Duet is structured to function continuously throughout the day. Each morning, the agent compiles a concise briefing summarizing important items across connected applications. During the day, it checks relevant accounts every few hours, sending notifications only when it encounters items requiring user attention. Users can also provide specific instructions regarding what the agent should monitor and how frequently it should send reminders.
All interactions with the agent are consolidated into a single ongoing conversation supporting both text and voice communication. The system retains and utilizes existing memories, skills, and connected applications associated with the user’s Claude account. Capabilities range from basic administrative duties—such as scheduling meetings and organizing emails—to advanced assignments like building dashboards, forecasting sales or financial data, generating prototypes, and constructing web applications.
The agent leverages the Claude Marketplace to access more than 6,000 connectors and plugins. Through these integrations, Duet can locate messages in Gmail or Slack, process unpaid invoices in QuickBooks or Stripe, and prepare payroll documents or contracts.
Safety protocols govern the agent’s autonomous operations. Before executing critical actions—such as sending messages, making payments, signing documents, or deleting content—Duet presents the proposed actions to the user and pauses until receiving approval. Furthermore, certain actions are prohibited outright even if a user attempts to authorize them, including securities transactions and transfers of funds between accounts.
To address data privacy and security concerns, Anthropic stated that Duet does not directly access user passwords or login tokens. The system incorporates additional classification and anti-leakage mechanisms for sensitive information. Under these rules, maximum-sensitivity data such as credit card numbers and government identification documents are intercepted and blocked, while health records and personal financial data are transmitted only when explicitly requested by the user.
Usage quotas for Duet are shared with the user’s existing Claude subscription package, though background checks and complex tasks consume additional allocation. Currently operating as an application separate from the main Claude client, the research preview has notable limitations. The system can still misjudge the urgency of emails or events, its performance handling personal lifestyle tasks like travel planning is less mature than its execution of professional duties, and users are temporarily unable to observe the agent’s browser actions in real time.
