Anthropic unveils Claude Duet, an AI assistant that works on its own [Global AI Briefing]

Anthropic has introduced Claude Duet, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that watches users' work and suggests tasks they may need to do. Users do not have to give it instructions for every task.

With Anthropic entering the AI assistant market after Meta Platforms' Muse and OpenAI's Dots, the global AI market appears to be moving beyond chatbots that answer questions. Companies are now competing to build AI agents that connect to email, calendars, and work apps to carry out real tasks.

On the 22nd (local time), Anthropic announced on its official blog that it would release a research preview of Claude Duet. The AI agent service is built on Claude Opus 5.5, the company's next-level AI model.

The service is designed for professionals and small business owners. It is available to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States who get access through a waitlist. Users can run it in a separate app or on the web.

Claude Duet's main feature is that it can start working on tasks without waiting for users to ask.

For example, every morning it gathers and summarizes important information from connected apps. It then checks for updates every few hours during the day and points out anything that needs attention. It can do simple tasks, such as scheduling meetings, as well as more complex work, such as preparing financial and sales forecasts, building dashboards, and creating web applications. It can keep working on its own virtual computer and browser even when the user is away.

Claude Duet can also connect directly to workplace tools. Through at least 6,000 connectors in the Claude Marketplace, it can check messages in Gmail and Slack and prepare replies for users. It can find unpaid bills in QuickBooks and Stripe and draft payment reminders. It can also help with human resources and payroll, write job advertisements, and prepare electronic contracts. Users can also make business purchases through Stripe's digital wallet Link and Shopify's Shop Pay.

Although Claude Duet can start tasks on its own, it must get the user's approval before taking important actions, such as sending messages, making payments, signing contracts, or deleting files.

Anthropic explained that Claude Duet cannot carry out tasks such as trading stocks or moving money between accounts, even if the user approves. The service was designed so that it cannot directly see passwords, and extra protections have been added to help prevent sensitive information from being exposed. Anthropic also said the assistant may misunderstand how urgent something is or misread conversations. It still has limitations when handling personal bookings.

AI assistants released by major global AI companies each focus on different kinds of tasks.

Meta Platforms' Muse focuses on everyday tasks, such as shopping and managing calendars and email. OpenAI's Dots helps people do their work across several workplace apps. Meta Platforms is targeting its large user base, including Facebook users, and the market for services used by everyday consumers. OpenAI is mainly targeting people during their working hours. Anthropic, by comparison, appears to be focusing on helping professionals and small business owners get more work done.

With Anthropic entering the AI assistant market, competition in the global AI industry is expected to move quickly away from chatbots that answer questions well and toward assistants that do work for people.