Research preview · 2026
Claude Duet: Anthropic's proactive AI agent
Claude Duet works in the background on your behalf — monitoring your connected apps, running multi-step tasks on a cloud machine even while your devices are off, and bringing you a morning brief of what needs a decision. This is an independent guide to what Duet is, how to get it, and how to use it safely.
What is Claude Duet?
Claude Duet is Anthropic's proactive agent — a version of Claude that does work before you ask. Where a chatbot waits for a prompt, Duet watches the accounts you connect, decides what is worth acting on, and runs the task end to end, pausing only when it needs your approval. It is the natural evolution of Claude Cowork, which merged into the main Claude experience in September 2026 alongside Docs, Slides, and Design.
Because it runs in the cloud, Duet keeps working across your devices and after you close your laptop — then hands you a brief of what it did and what still needs a decision.
How Claude Duet works
Runs in the background
Tasks execute on a cloud virtual machine, so they continue even when your laptop and phone are off. Nothing has to stay open.
Monitors your connected apps
Duet watches the accounts you link — email, calendar, finance, support — and surfaces what is urgent instead of waiting to be asked.
Delivers a morning brief
Each day Duet compiles a brief from your connected tools, flags items that need attention, and proposes next steps you can approve.
Asks before it acts
Duet requests approval before sending messages, making payments, or signing documents — you stay in control of anything consequential.
What you can use Claude Duet for
- • Triage your inbox and draft replies for approval overnight
- • Compile a morning brief across email, calendar, and your key tools
- • Watch support queues and prepare responses or escalations
- • Keep finance and bookkeeping tidy with QuickBooks, Stripe, and Gusto
- • Monitor orders and inventory in Shopify and flag anything unusual
- • Prepare documents for signature and route them once you approve
How to get Claude Duet
Duet is launching as a research preview. Here is what you need:
- • A Pro or Max plan. Duet is included with paid Claude plans during the preview; it is not on the free tier.
- • US availability. Access is opening to US subscribers first via a waitlist.
- • The app. Duet is available as standalone iOS and Android apps and on claude.ai.
Connectors: 6,000+ apps
Duet is only as useful as the tools it can reach. It reportedly supports 6,000+ connectors, including Gmail, Slack, Stripe, QuickBooks, Gusto, Shopify, and DocuSign. Our connector guides walk through setup and the permissions to grant for each.
Is Claude Duet safe?
A proactive agent with access to your accounts raises real questions. Duet is built with guardrails: it asks for approval before sending messages, making payments, or signing anything; trading and inter-account transfers are hard-blocked; and a sensitive-information classifier works to prevent leaks of data like credit-card and government-ID numbers. As with any connected agent, grant the narrowest access that gets the job done and review its proposed actions.
Frequently asked questions
What you need to know about Claude Duet.
- What is Claude Duet?
- Claude Duet is Anthropic's proactive AI agent, launched as a research preview. Unlike a chatbot that waits for prompts, Duet monitors your connected accounts, runs multi-step tasks in the background on a cloud virtual machine, and checks in with a morning brief that flags what needs your attention. It asks for approval before taking consequential actions.
- How is Claude Duet different from Claude Cowork?
- Cowork was Anthropic's agentic desktop mode; in September 2026 it merged into one Claude experience alongside Docs, Slides, and Design. Duet is the next step: a dedicated, always-on agent that works proactively in the background and across devices, rather than a mode you open to run a single task.
- How do I get Claude Duet?
- Duet is rolling out as a research preview to Pro and Max subscribers in the US. You join the waitlist from the Claude app or claude.ai, and it is available as standalone iOS and Android apps as well as on the web. Team and Enterprise plans are not included yet.
- Is Claude Duet free?
- No. Duet is included with paid Claude plans (Pro and Max during the preview) and is not available on the free tier. Standard plan pricing applies; there is no separate Duet fee announced.
- Does Claude Duet keep working when my computer is off?
- Yes. Duet runs on a cloud virtual machine, so scheduled and background tasks continue even when your laptop or phone is closed. You get the results and any approval requests the next time you check in.
- What connectors does Claude Duet support?
- Duet reportedly works with 6,000+ connectors, including Gmail, Slack, Stripe, QuickBooks, Gusto, Shopify, and DocuSign, so it can read and act across the tools you already use. See our connector setup guides for step-by-step instructions.
- Is Claude Duet safe, and can it send money?
- Duet is designed with approvals and hard limits. It asks for your confirmation before sending messages, making payments, or signing documents, and trading and inter-account transfers are hard-blocked. A sensitive-information classifier is used to prevent leaks of data like credit-card and government-ID numbers.
- What model does Claude Duet run on?
- Claude Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5, Anthropic's most capable model, hosted in the cloud so it can work continuously in the background.
Related: Claude Cowork on web · Connectors · Workflows · Safety