Anthropic Introduces Claude Duet, Targeting Professional Automation
The new agent is designed to handle professional and small business tasks like creating dashboards and briefings, rather than personal errands or booking tickets.
By Xiaoyu Wang ·
Anthropic is entering a crowded field of AI assistants with a new product named Claude Duet, positioning it as a tool for professionals and small businesses rather than a personal assistant for everyday errands. The company explicitly distinguishes Duet from agents that handle tasks like booking tickets or running errands, stating its focus is on automating and managing professional workflows.
The market for AI agents is expanding rapidly, with new offerings launching frequently. Duet is designed to compete with other agents such as Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot, and Fo. Many of these competitors are also targeting business use cases; for example, OpenAI's Dots integrates with professional tools, and Meta has released a version of Muse for small businesses with connections to other applications.
Duet's functionality centers on creating daily briefings, generating dashboards, and suggesting actions based on user data. It can perform tasks in the background using a virtual machine, returning to the user for approval when necessary. The company states that Duet proactively delivers recommendations while monitoring ongoing tasks.
The agent is built on the Claude Opus 5.5 model and can connect to over 6,000 connectors and plug-ins available in the Claude Marketplace. For transactions, Duet can make online purchases on a user's behalf through Stripe's Link digital wallet or Shopify's Shop Pay. Anthropic noted that sensitive steps, including payments, require user approval.
Regarding financial transactions, the company specified that Duet will not trade securities or move money between accounts. To address security, Anthropic released a new classifier to check messages and prevent sensitive information from leaking; by default, the agent will decline requests for credit card numbers and government identification.
Claude Duet is available as an app on iOS and Android, and on the web through Claude.ai for Pro and Max customers in a research preview. Access requires joining a waitlist. The launch comes as Anthropic seeks to gain user attention in a competitive market where personal and productivity-based assistants are being released constantly.
The company's stated goal is to help users automate tasks and manage professional workflows, a focus that differentiates it from agents designed for personal tasks. Anthropic is offering Duet to users who join a waitlist for the research preview, which is available on iOS, Android, and the web for Pro and Max customers.
Source: TechCrunch
