Claude Duet: Anthropic opens proactive AI agent preview
On Wednesday, October 21, Anthropic opened a waiting list for Claude Duet, a new AI helper that is still being tested. Duet can check the apps a person has connected to it and start working without being asked each time. People in the US who pay for Claude Pro or Max can join the waiting list now. Anthropic says the app is designed for professionals and small business owners.
We are opening an early test of Claude Duet, a new app where Claude can start helping you without waiting for you to ask. It tells you what needs your attention, finishes tasks you give it, and keeps working when you leave. It also asks for your permission before doing things for you. https://t.co/kt8gAbWuX8
— Claude (@claudeai) October 21, 2026
Claude Duet uses Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 AI model. People using phones can get a separate Duet app for iPhone or Android. People using computers can open it through claude.ai.
Every morning, Duet gives users a short list of the most important things waiting for them in their connected accounts. It then keeps checking those services during the day. It only contacts the user when something needs their attention or a decision from them.
People can also give Duet jobs to do. For example, it can arrange meetings or build dashboards that bring together information from dozens of different tools. Anthropic says Duet can also make predictions about money and sales, build early versions of products, and create complete web apps.
Getting started is simple because Duet can use the saved memories, skills, and app connections already in a person's Claude account. Duet does its work on a virtual computer that runs in the cloud and has its own web browser. This means it can keep working even after the person's laptop or phone is turned off.
Duet must ask for permission before it sends an email or message to someone, spends money, signs documents, or deletes information. It first explains what it plans to do and waits for the user to approve it. Some actions are completely forbidden. Duet cannot buy or sell investments such as stocks or move money between accounts, even if the user gives permission. Anthropic says its goal is to keep people in control. The official Claude account on X explained this by saying that the important decisions still belong to the user.
Claude Duet uses what we have learned from years of work on keeping AI agents safe and secure. It never sees your passwords directly. A new safety checker helps stop private information from being shared, and you stay in charge of the important decisions.
We will explain more about how we keep Claude Duet safe soon.
— Claude (@claudeai) October 21, 2026
Duet also has special protection for private information. It uses a new system that checks what kind of information is being shared, along with special safety instructions for the AI. Together, these check every message Duet sends out to look for private information that should not be shared. Anthropic says the system will refuse to send the most sensitive kinds of information, such as government ID numbers and credit card numbers.
Duet never gets direct access to passwords or the special codes used to sign in to accounts. It can only share health information or personal financial details when the account owner clearly tells it to. Anthropic said it would share more information about Duet's safety features within a few days.
Anthropic also admits that Duet is still an early version and has problems. The company warned that the AI might misunderstand a conversation or make a mistake about how urgent something is. Duet is also less capable at personal tasks, such as booking tickets, because it was mainly built to handle work-related jobs.
Duet uses the same usage limits as a person's other Claude tools. Even the checks it makes in the background count toward those limits. To avoid using up those limits too quickly, Duet checks connected services every few hours instead of watching them all the time. Anthropic explained that checking constantly would use up a person's allowance much faster. The Duet help documents warn that an urgent message might arrive between checks.
Users can choose which subjects Duet should tell them about and how often it should contact them. Anthropic is still testing whether Duet can decide when it is the right time to send a message. The company plans to improve this as people testing the app share their experiences.
There is no extra fee to use Duet during this early testing period. Claude Pro costs $20 per month when paid monthly, while Claude Max starts at $100 per month. People with Team or Enterprise accounts cannot use Duet yet. Anthropic is sending invitations to people on the waiting list in groups. Everyone who gets access also receives one complete reset of their Claude usage limits, which they can use until November 30, 2026.
Other companies, including Meta and OpenAI, released similar personal AI helpers before Anthropic introduced Duet. Meta released Muse on September 8, and OpenAI launched dots inside ChatGPT on September 29. Individual users need at least the ChatGPT Pro plan, which costs $100 per month, to get a dot.