Claude Duet is a new app that Anthropic began offering as a research preview on October 21, 2026. Claude works as a "proactive agent": it tells you important things before you ask, carries out the tasks you give it, keeps working while you're away, and checks with you before it does anything on your behalf. Based on Anthropic's announcement and the help documentation (confirmed October 22, 2026), this article covers what it can do, who can use it and at what cost, how safety works, what it can't do yet, its availability outside the US, and how it compares with ChatGPT's dot.

What it does

Claude that acts on its own

A daily morning brief, check-ins every few hours, and execution of the tasks you assign. It runs in the cloud, so it keeps going even when you close your device.

Who can use it

US Pro and Max only

Invitations go out from the waitlist in order. Not available outside the US. Team and Enterprise plans are planned for later.

Safety

Confirms before sending or paying

Before sending, paying, signing, or deleting, it shows you the details and waits for approval. It never approves stock trades or money transfers.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Claude Duet?

Regular Claude only starts working once you talk to it. Claude Duet works the other way around: it is an app where Claude reaches out to you and says "please look at this." You send a request by text or voice, the way you would message a person. It works inside the apps you've connected and comes back to you only when a decision needs your judgment.

Anthropic says it built the app mainly for specialists and small business owners who have more work than they can keep up with. The model is Claude Opus 5.5, and the design focuses on judging what is urgent, what can wait, and when to check with you first.

The name Duet is an English word meaning a performance by two people. The app is available for iPhone and Android, and in a browser at claude.ai. For now, it is a separate app from the Claude app.

Source: Introducing Claude Duet (Anthropic, October 21, 2026).

2. What It Can Do

Morning briefEvery morning it reviews your connected apps, such as email and calendar, and sends a short summary of the most important items. It can also take first steps, such as drafting replies.
Daytime check-insIt checks your apps every few hours and sends you a message only when action is needed. You can also specify what it should tell you about and how often.
Assigned tasksFrom routine work like scheduling meetings to dashboards, financial and sales forecasts, prototypes, and web apps. Duet decides which apps to use and how much effort to put in.
Deliverables and progressLarger outputs (research summaries, financial models, slides, dashboards, and so on) come back as files and appear in the "Make" tab. Work in progress appears in the "Tasks" tab.
Runs in the cloudIt has its own virtual machine and browser, so it keeps working even when your phone or PC is turned off. For sites with no connection, it operates them in that browser.
Carries over your Claude settingsYour Claude account's memory, skills, and connectors (links to external apps) are available from the start. It can also search your past chats for context.

The apps you can connect are the more than 6,000 connectors and plugins in the Claude marketplace. The announcement gives these examples:

  • Find messages you missed in Gmail and Slack and help draft replies
  • Check unpaid invoices in QuickBooks or Stripe and draft reminder emails
  • Prepare and run payroll in Gusto (including hours worked, bonuses, and expense reimbursements)
  • Draft a job posting, and publish it on LinkedIn once you have edited and approved it
  • Help prepare contracts and send them through Docusign for review and signature
  • Draft follow-up emails based on HubSpot contact records and deal history
  • Set up, design, and run a Shopify store

Conversations are grouped into one main thread, and you can create separate channels for different topics (memory is shared across all channels). Progress on ongoing work is reported in the "Tasks" tab, so the main thread only gets a message when a task is finished or when a decision is needed. Duet may suggest that something is done, but only you can mark a task as complete.

For examples of requests, the help documentation gives "Clear the emails I don't need to read from my inbox," "Check unpaid invoices in Stripe and draft a reminder email for my approval," and "Prepare a summary of this company before the 2 p.m. meeting."

Sources: Introducing Claude Duet · Get started with Claude Duet (Claude Help).

Early users' examples

Anthropic's announcement describes examples from small business owners and others who used the app early. In each case, Duet noticed something before it was asked to.

Real estate brokerWhile receiving a morning summary, the broker was alerted without asking that a property viewing on the calendar had been scheduled for the wrong day.
Brand strategistBefore a call with a prospective client, Duet checked the calendar and prepared a summary of the client. It noticed the call was just before a flight departure and suggested moving the time.
Restaurant owner (about 110 employees)Used it for accounting, customer service, and promotions, and moved forward with processing invoices for each location. The owner says it means not having to keep many tabs open.

Anthropic also says its own staff use Duet in ways like speaking their to-do list into it during a walk, handing over their to-do list before leaving work and receiving a summary in the evening.

3. Who Can Use It, Pricing, and Usage Limits

ItemDetails (as of October 22, 2026)
Who can use itUS Pro and Max users only (join the waitlist and receive invitations in order)
Who cannot use itAnyone outside the US, and Team and Enterprise users (support planned for later)
PricingIncluded in Pro and Max during the research preview, with no extra charge
Usage limitsShared with other uses of Claude (5-hour and weekly limits). Morning briefs and check-ins also count toward the limits.
When invitedYou get a one-time full reset of your 5-hour and weekly limits (through November 30, 2026)
AppsiPhone and Android apps, and claude.ai

Usage limits work differently than in ordinary chats. Anthropic explains that running check-ins nonstop would quickly use up your limit, so it is designed around check-ins every few hours. Large tasks like financial models and slides use more of your limit because they involve more steps and background work. You may reach your limit sooner than you would with chat alone.

To join the waitlist, enter your name, email address, plan, and phone type on the product page. Invitations are tied to that email address, so register with the same address as your Claude account, and use your phone with an Apple or Google account that uses the same address.

Sources: Get started with Claude Duet · Claude Duet (product page).

4. How Safety Works

An agent that reads your email and sends messages on your behalf must constantly decide where information should go. Anthropic says Claude Duet includes the following safeguards.

Approval required for important actionsBefore sending a message, making a payment, signing a document, or deleting something, it shows what it plans to do and waits for approval. If you can't approve right away, it finishes other work and brings the approval request back later.
Never approves theseBuying or selling stocks or other assets, transferring money between accounts, or accessing other people's accounts.
Does not see passwordsLogin information is handled in the same way as Claude Managed Agents, and Duet itself never sees passwords or tokens. If a site asks for a password, you enter it in a separate input field on your own device, and it goes directly to the browser.
Automatic checks on each actionTo prevent actions you didn't request, the same judgment system as Claude Code's auto mode checks each action individually.
Defense against manipulative instructionsInstructions hidden in emails or web pages (prompt injection) are treated as information to read, not commands to follow. However, no defense is complete, so important actions still require approval.
Preventing leaks of sensitive informationA dedicated judgment system refuses requests to send information such as credit card numbers or ID details to outside parties. Health and financial information is only shared when you clearly instruct it to be.
Purchases use disposable cardsPayments go through Stripe's Link or Shopify Shop Pay, using a card number that can only be used for that single purchase. Your real card number is never shared.

You can disconnect any connected app at any time. Once disconnected, Duet can no longer see that app from that point on, but what it learned during earlier conversations stays in memory. If you don't want your past chats searched, you can turn off Settings > Memory > Search and reference chats in Claude. The same setting applies in Claude.

When it presents numbers or summaries, it also notes which emails, files, or spreadsheets the information came from. The app has undergone internal red-team testing and penetration testing by an outside firm, and it is also eligible for Anthropic's public bug bounty program.

Sources: Introducing Claude Duet · Get started with Claude Duet · How to use Link by Stripe with Claude Duet.

5. What It Can't Do Yet

Choosing a modelFixed to Claude Opus 5.5. Duet also decides how much to think before responding.
Watching or taking over workYou can't watch it work in the cloud browser or take over its actions partway through.
Immediate awarenessCheck-ins happen at fixed intervals, so urgent messages that arrive between check-ins won't be noticed until the next one.
Phone calls and SMSIt doesn't make phone calls or send SMS messages to other people. With your approval, it can send email from connected accounts.
Files on your PCIt can't see files on your local PC or all of your Claude projects. It can read your work in Claude but can't change it.
Some integrationsSlack and some other apps have limited features. Microsoft 365 is not yet supported.
Personal errandsIt is built mainly for work, and it isn't very good at personal tasks such as booking tickets.

Anthropic acknowledges that Duet can misread a thread or misjudge how urgent something is. Check drafts and approval requests carefully before you approve them. Upcoming plans include the ability to sign in to sites using login information stored in 1Password (if you grant permission), and a screen for previewing the design of a Shopify store.

6. Can You Use It Outside the US?

As of October 22, 2026, it cannot be used outside the US. The help documentation states that it "is available only in the United States during the research preview." Invitations are sent to the email address registered on the waitlist, and regional conditions also apply. Anthropic has not announced when it will be offered outside the US.

Users outside the US can prepare on the Claude side now. Duet carries over your Claude account's memory, skills, and connectors as they are, so the settings you set up in Claude will work from the start when availability expands. For how to create skills, see What Are Claude Skills (Agent Skills)?, and for delegating work within Claude, see What Is Claude Cowork?

7. How It Differs from ChatGPT's dot

OpenAI offers "dot," a continuous agent with a similar concept, in ChatGPT. Press reports position Claude Duet as a rival to dot and to Meta's Muse. Based on what the official announcements show, the comparison is as follows. (For dot, the details were confirmed on October 6, 2026 in What Is ChatGPT dot?)

Point of comparisonClaude DuetChatGPT's dot
ModelClaude Opus 5.5GPT-6 Astra
Plans that can use itPro and Max (US only, invitation-based)Pro and Business Premium (Pro excludes the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland)
UsageShared with the Claude limit, and background check-ins also use itConversations with dot don't count toward the ChatGPT limit (deeper work has a quota within your plan)
Where it runsIts own virtual machine and browserIts own cloud computer and browser

The biggest difference for users outside the US is whether you can use it right now. dot can be used on Pro if the conditions are met, but Claude Duet is currently available only to invited users in the US.

Sources: Introducing Claude Duet · CNBC (October 21, 2026) · For dot, see the source for article 232 (OpenAI help documentation).

Summary

  • Claude Duet is an agent app in which Claude reaches out on its own and takes action. The research preview began on October 21, 2026.
  • It handles a daily morning brief, check-ins every few hours, and assigned tasks in the cloud, and keeps working even when you close your device.
  • Only invited US Pro and Max users can use it, at no extra charge. Usage limits are shared with Claude.
  • It always asks for approval before sending, paying, signing, or deleting, and it never approves stock trades or money transfers.
  • It is not yet available outside the US. Setting up your Claude memory, skills, and connectors now means they will carry over when the app becomes available to you.

FAQ

Q. Is there a way to use it outside the US?

A. Not as of October 22, 2026. The help documentation says it is available only in the US during the research preview. Anthropic has not announced when it will be offered elsewhere.

Q. Can I use it on the free plan?

A. No. It is available to Pro and Max users, and it is included at no extra charge during the research preview.

Q. Will it send emails or make purchases without my permission?

A. Before sending a message, making a payment, signing a document, or deleting something, it shows you what it plans to do and waits for approval. It never approves stock trades or money transfers between accounts. However, Anthropic also says no defense is complete, so check the content before you approve.

Q. How is it different from Claude Code or Cowork?

A. Claude Duet is closer to a work assistant: it monitors your email, calendar, and business apps and reaches out to you on its own. It is a separate app from Claude and carries over your Claude memory, skills, and connectors. For how to choose between Claude's options, see Differences Between Claude Chat, Cowork, and Code.

Sources