Anthropic announced a new AI agent called Claude Duet. The tool is aimed at professionals and small‑business owners and is being released as a research preview. Users can download a standalone app for iOS or Android, or access it through Claude on the web. Claude Duet runs on Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 model and includes a built‑in browser and a virtual machine to complete tasks across connected apps.
What Claude Duet can do
Each morning the agent sends a short brief of the most important items from the user’s apps. Throughout the day it monitors those apps and only alerts the user when something needs attention. It can schedule meetings, build dashboards, generate financial or sales forecasts, prototype ideas, and even create simple web apps. Before taking major actions—such as sending a payment or deleting data—it asks the user for approval. A dedicated safety classifier is meant to block requests that involve the most sensitive data, like credit‑card numbers.
How to get access
Claude Duet is still labeled an early version, and Anthropic warns it may misread threads or misjudge urgency. It is also less capable at personal errands like booking tickets. To try it, users must join a waitlist and be a Pro or Max subscriber in the United States.
Why it matters
For small business owners, Claude Duet could automate routine admin work and surface urgent items without constant manual checking. However, because it is an early preview, users should expect occasional mistakes and limited personal‑task capability.
