Anthropic wants its AI to stop waiting for you to ask. The company has launched “Claude Duet,” a proactive, always-on AI agent now in research preview for U.S. Pro and Max subscribers via a waitlist, announced October 21.
The key difference from a chatbot: Duet runs on its own cloud computer, so it keeps working even after you close the app. It can send you a morning brief, monitor connected apps like Gmail, Slack, Stripe and QuickBooks, and take on tasks by text or voice — powered by the new Claude Opus 5.5 model, with standalone iOS and Android apps.
Anthropic stresses the guardrails: Duet asks permission before sending messages, making payments or deleting anything. Activity counts toward existing plan limits, though the company warns that background work can burn through usage faster than expected.
The launch lands squarely in the middle of an AI-agent arms race, answering Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots with Anthropic’s own vision: less prompting, more delegating.
If the preview delivers, Duet could mark the moment AI assistants graduate from answering questions to quietly running the background of your workday — and raising a whole new set of questions about what we hand over.
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Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.