Claude Duet: An AI assistant that comes to you

Anthropic has opened a research preview of Claude Duet, a standalone app in which Claude works as a proactive agent. An agent is an AI that carries out tasks for you on its own instead of just answering questions. A research preview is an early testing phase in which a product is not yet finished. Sources put the launch at October 21 or 22, 2026.

How it works

Duet runs on its own virtual machine and browser in the cloud and keeps working even when the app is closed. Each morning, the user gets a short overview of the most important items from email, calendar and other connected apps. According to Itdaily, Duet only reaches out when something needs attention.

According to Let's Data Science, Duet can handle administrative tasks such as scheduling meetings and drafting replies. It can also build dashboards, finance and sales forecasts, prototypes and web apps. There are more than 6,000 connectors, meaning links to other services, including Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe and HubSpot. Duet runs on the Claude Opus 5.5 model.

Duet checks connected accounts "every few hours" during the day, so it does not monitor them constantly.

Security and limits

Duet cannot send a message, make a payment, sign a document or delete anything without first showing what it intends to do and waiting for the user's approval. It cannot be used for securities trading or transfers between accounts. It also cannot make calls or send text messages, and it does not have access to Microsoft 365.

A classifier screens messages for sensitive data such as credit card numbers and government ID numbers. Passwords and tokens are handled so that the agent cannot see them itself. According to VKTR, Anthropic has also introduced defenses against prompt injection, where hidden instructions in, for example, an email try to steer the AI, and has tested with red teams. At the same time, Anthropic acknowledges that Duet can still misread a thread or poorly judge urgency.

Who can get it?

Access requires a Claude Pro or Max subscription and US residency. You have to join a waitlist via claude.com/product/claude-duet, and Anthropic is opening access in waves. Team and Enterprise plans will come later. Duet costs nothing extra during the preview, but it shares the subscription's usage limits, and background work counts toward them. Each new user gets one free usage limit reset, which is valid until November 30, 2026.

Nothing has been announced about a launch outside the US or about general availability. For Danish readers, Duet is therefore not yet an option.

Itdaily assesses that Anthropic is late to the market. Competitors include Meta's Muse, OpenAI's dots, Google's Gemini Spark and Microsoft's Autopilot.

What this means for you

If you are swamped with emails, meetings and small administrative tasks, this is an AI meant to take the load off you in the background, but for now Duet is only for Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the US. As a Dane, you cannot get access yet, so the best thing you can do now is keep an eye out for whether it comes to Europe. You can already start thinking about which repetitive tasks you would most like to get rid of, because Duet needs your approval before it sends, pays or deletes anything.