Anthropic previews Claude Duet, a proactive assistant that works in the cloud

The October 21 research preview starts with a waitlist for US Pro and Max subscribers and shares their Claude usage limits.

Anthropic opened a research preview of Claude Duet on October 21, presenting it as a proactive assistant for professionals and small business owners. The company says access begins through a waitlist for US Pro and Max subscribers, with activity charged against the same usage limits as the rest of Claude.

Duet uses a virtual machine with its own browser, allowing work to continue when a user’s phone or laptop is off. Anthropic describes morning briefings, checks of connected services and notifications when work is complete or requires attention. These are the company’s stated capabilities, rather than an independent test of every advertised workflow.

Background work still needs clear decisions

The announcement says Duet prepares work independently but asks before consequential actions such as sending messages, paying, signing documents or deleting items. Some activities remain prohibited even with approval. Users can disconnect connected applications.

Anthropic also identifies preview limitations, including possible mistakes in judging urgency and limited support for personal errands. Background checks use plan capacity, so an assistant’s availability depends on more than whether its app is open.

A different rhythm for an assistant

The product’s main change is the direction of the conversation: software can notice a task and contact the user, rather than waiting for a prompt. That can be useful when attention is scarce, but it makes notification quality and permission design central to the experience.

For an early user, a bounded workflow provides a practical starting point. The relevant test is whether the assistant identifies useful work, explains what needs a decision and completes the approved task reliably. A research preview creates an opportunity to assess those questions, not a promise of unattended business management.

Sources

- [Introducing Claude Duet](https://claude.com/resources/articles/claude-duet) — Anthropic

*Image: AI-generated editorial illustration; not a photograph of a documented event or an authentic product screen.*