Claude Duet: Anthropic's Assistant That Messages You First

Most AI assistants wait for you to type. Claude Duet comes to you first. Anthropic announced the app on 21 October 2026, early on 22 October in Bangkok, and describes it as "a proactive agent": Claude tells you what needs your attention, does the tasks you hand it, keeps working while you are away and checks with you before it acts for you. It is aimed at professionals and small business owners, according to Anthropic's announcement.

Duet is a separate app from the main Claude app, and for now it is a research preview, an early test version, open only to paying subscribers in the United States through a waitlist.

A normal day with Duet

Each morning Duet reads your email and calendar, picks out what needs you and can make a start, for example by drafting replies for you to review, Anthropic says. Through the day it checks your connected accounts every few hours rather than all the time, because constant checking would use up your plan's limits; Anthropic admits something urgent can arrive between checks.

The part that makes Duet different from a chat window is where it runs. It has its own computer in the cloud, with its own web browser, so your phone or laptop can be switched off while it works, the help centre says. It can also take on bigger jobs: dashboards, sales or financial forecasts, slide decks, research briefs and simple web apps. Finished files land in a "Make" tab, work in progress sits in a "Tasks" tab, and only you can mark a task done.

Duet connects to the apps in Claude's marketplace. Anthropic names Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe, Gusto, Docusign, HubSpot, Calendly, LinkedIn, Canva and Shopify among them; for a website with no connector, it uses its own browser. Microsoft 365 is not supported yet, and Duet does not make phone calls or send text messages to other people. It carries over your existing Claude memory, skills and connected apps.

It can also buy things, through Link (Stripe's digital wallet) or Shop Pay (Shopify's), using a one-time card that works for that purchase only.

What it asks before doing

Duet asks before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything. The approval card shows the action, where it is going, the content and every recipient, according to Anthropic's safety article. A separate automated check, which runs outside the AI model, tests whether the action matches what you asked for, so instructions hidden on a web page cannot talk it into something else.

Some actions are off limits even with approval: trading securities, moving money between accounts and using someone else's account. Paying or sending money, deleting an order and creating an account always need a fresh approval; a "don't ask me again" setting cannot cover them.

Duet also screens every outgoing message for sensitive information. Passwords, full card and bank numbers and government ID numbers are never shared. Health and money details need consent, and your own request counts as consent. The AI model never sees your passwords: you type them into a form inside the app, and they go encrypted to the separate browser machine.

Anthropic is frank about the limits. Prompt injection, instructions hidden in an email or web page to trick the agent, cannot be fully prevented, the help centre says. Duet may misread a thread or misjudge what is urgent, it is weaker at personal errands such as booking tickets, and you cannot watch or take over its browser.

Who can use it, and what it costs

During the preview Duet is open by waitlist to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States only, with invitations sent in waves. Team and Enterprise plans are not included yet. There is no extra charge, but Duet uses the same five-hour and weekly usage limits as chat, background work included, so heavy users may hit them sooner. Pro costs US$20 a month (US$17 a month billed yearly) and Max starts at US$100 a month, according to Claude's pricing page. Anthropic has not said what Duet will cost after the preview, Fortune reported.

Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5, released on 22 September 2026, and users cannot pick a different model. It works on iOS, Android and the web at claude.ai; there is no desktop app.

What early testers say

Dan Shipper of Every, who had two weeks of early access from Anthropic, called it the first personal agent he would call a professional tool, but found its email drafts weaker than OpenAI's rival and said scheduled runs could not reach his own custom connectors. Claire Vo, writing in Lenny's Newsletter, found it very polished but said it never nudged her, so she forgot to use it; she also noted slow responses and no desktop or multi-user support.

A crowded race to the always-on assistant

Duet arrives after several rivals. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Pulse, a daily feed of update cards, in September 2025, and showed its Dots agent with its own cloud computer at DevDay on 29 September 2026. Google announced Gemini Spark, a round-the-clock agent that asks before spending money or sending emails, in May 2026. Microsoft's always-on agent, first called Scout and renamed Autopilot, works inside companies' Microsoft 365. Meta's free Muse assistant had been set up by more than 10 million people in the US and Canada by 21 October, Mark Zuckerberg told analysts, CNBC and Fortune reported.

Fortune suggested Duet is partly defensive, a way to keep Claude subscribers from switching to rival assistants, and noted that background checks eat into plan limits.

What it means in Thailand

Duet is not available in Thailand: the help centre says the preview is US only, and Anthropic has given no date for other countries. Thai Claude subscribers cannot join the waitlist for now.

The idea is still worth understanding before it arrives, because every big AI company is building the same thing: an assistant that reads your inbox and accounts and acts on them. Three habits will matter whichever one you use. Connect only the accounts you need. Keep approvals on for anything that sends, pays or deletes, and read the card before you tap. And treat a mistake as possible, since Anthropic itself says hidden instructions in an email cannot be fully stopped.

What to watch next

When Duet opens outside the United States, including Thailand; what it will cost after the preview; and when Team and Enterprise plans get access.

FAQ

What is Claude Duet?

A separate app from Anthropic in which Claude works as a proactive agent: it briefs you each morning, checks your connected accounts every few hours, does tasks on its own cloud computer and asks before it acts for you.

Can I use Claude Duet in Thailand?

Not yet. During the research preview it is open only to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States, through a waitlist, and Anthropic has not given a date for other countries.

How much does Claude Duet cost?

There is no extra charge during the preview for Pro (US$20 a month) and Max (from US$100 a month) subscribers, but Duet counts against the plan's usage limits. Anthropic has not announced a price after the preview.

Does Claude Duet send emails or pay without asking?

No. It asks before it sends a message, pays, signs a document or deletes anything, and it will not trade securities or move money between accounts even if asked.

Sources

• Anthropic: Introducing Claude Duet
• Anthropic: Claude Duet safety, privacy and security
• Claude Help Center: Get started with Claude Duet
• Anthropic: Claude Duet product page
• Claude: Pricing
• Fortune: Anthropic joins Meta and OpenAI's personal AI assistant race with Duet
• Every: Vibe check on Duet, Anthropic's always-on agent
• Lenny's Newsletter: Claude Duet is beautiful