Anthropic opens research preview of Claude Duet, a proactive agent built on Opus 5.5

Anthropic has opened a research preview of Claude Duet, a new app in which Claude works as a proactive agent: it surfaces what needs attention, completes tasks it is given, keeps working when the user steps away and asks before acting on their behalf. It is aimed at professionals and small business owners, runs on iOS, Android and claude.ai, and is available by waitlist, starting with US Pro and Max subscribers, within their existing usage limits.

Duet is built around Claude Opus 5.5. Each morning it sends a short brief on the most important items across connected apps, then checks those accounts every few hours and messages the user only when something needs them. It can take on tasks from scheduling meetings to building dashboards, financial or sales forecasts, prototypes and web apps, using a virtual machine with its own browser so the user's own devices do not need to stay on. It carries over memory, skills and connected apps from the user's Claude account and can draw on more than 6,000 connectors and plugins in the Claude Marketplace, including Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe, Gusto, DocuSign, HubSpot, Canva and Shopify.

Before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything, Duet shows the exact action and waits for approval, and some actions, such as trading securities or moving money between accounts, are off-limits even with approval. Anthropic says Duet never directly sees passwords or sign-in tokens, and that a new dedicated classifier and safety system prompt are designed to block sharing of the most sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and government IDs. Purchases go through Stripe's Link wallet with a virtual card, or Shopify's Shop Pay.

Anthropic calls this an early version that "still might misread a thread or miscalibrate what's urgent," and says it is weaker at personal errands such as booking tickets. The launch puts Anthropic up against similar always-on agents, including Meta's Muse.