Anthropic launches proactive AI agent Claude Duet, which can handle tasks in the background and seek approval before key actions
Anthropic launches proactive AI agent Claude Duet, which every morning compiles a briefing of important matters from connected apps, checks accounts every few hours during the day, and notifies users only when attention is needed. Duet has its own virtual machine and browser, and can handle tasks such as scheduling meetings, organizing emails, building dashboards, forecasting sales data, and building web apps, and calls more than 6,000 connectors and plugins through Claude Marketplace. When it involves sending messages, making payments, signing documents, or deleting content, it first shows the proposed action and waits for approval; securities trading and transfers between accounts are not executed even with approval. The product is currently available as a research preview, requires application through a waitlist, is first aimed at Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States, offers standalone iOS and Android apps and a web version, and shares usage quotas with existing plans.
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The original text sets out boundaries including autonomous background execution, approval before key actions, and shared usage quotas, so readers can judge the applicable scope of such proactive agents.
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Every morning, Duet puts together a short briefing that summarizes the important items across connected apps; during the day, it checks the relevant accounts every few hours and only sends a notification when something needs the user's attention. Users can also tell it what they want it to watch and how often to remind them. All interactions take place in one continuous conversation, with support for text and voice, and it can draw on the memories, skills, and connected apps already in the user's Claude account.
Users can hand it everything from everyday chores like scheduling meetings and organizing email to complex tasks such as building dashboards, forecasting sales or financial data, making prototypes, and building web apps. Duet has its own virtual machine and browser, so the user's computer or phone doesn't need to stay on; it sends a notification when a task is done or needs the user's review. It can also call on more than 6,000 connectors and plugins through Claude Marketplace, for example to find Gmail or Slack messages, handle unpaid invoices in QuickBooks or Stripe, and prepare payroll or contracts.
For important actions such as sending messages, making payments, signing documents, or deleting content, Duet first shows exactly what it plans to do and waits for the user's approval; some actions won't be carried out even with approval, such as securities trading and transfers between accounts. Anthropic says Duet never directly sees users' passwords or login tokens, and it has added extra classification and leak-prevention mechanisms for sensitive information; the most sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and government ID documents, is blocked, and health or personal financial information is only sent when the user explicitly asks for it.
Claude Duet is currently available as a research preview, requiring an application through a waitlist, starting with Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the United States. It offers standalone iOS and Android apps and a web version, and usage counts against the user's existing Claude plan; background checks also count toward usage, and complex tasks consume more. At this stage it runs separately from the main Claude app, it may still misjudge how urgent an email or item is, and life tasks such as personal travel are not yet as mature as work tasks; users also cannot currently watch its browser activity as it happens.