Anthropic has entered the crowded field of AI assistants with Claude Duet, a new app that the company describes as an agent for professionals and small businesses. The launch, reported on 2026-10-22, puts Anthropic up against products including Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot and Fo.
The company says Duet is built to automate and manage work tasks. It draws a line between Duet and personal agents such as Instinct: Duet is not good at running errands or booking tickets, and it cannot show users its browser activity as it happens.
What it can do, according to Anthropic, is put together a daily briefing, create dashboards and suggest actions based on a user's data. As with other agents, it can carry out tasks in the background on its own virtual machine while the user does something else, then return to the user if it needs approval.
The release comes as the market moves from simple AI assistants toward agents that act on a user's behalf. Many of Anthropic's competitors are leaning toward business uses. Meta's Muse is a personal assistant, but the company has also released a version for small businesses that connects with other apps. OpenAI's Dots likewise has a business slant, with integration into professional tools.
Anthropic says Duet proactively offers recommendations as it monitors ongoing tasks. It runs on the Claude Opus 5.5 model and can connect to more than 6,000 connectors and plug-ins in the Claude Marketplace. It can also make online purchases for users through Stripe's Link digital wallet or Shopify's Shop Pay.
Sensitive steps, such as payments, will require the user's approval, the company said. Duet will not trade securities or move money between accounts.
Anthropic also introduced a new classifier that checks each message to help stop sensitive information from leaking. By default, the company said, the agent will decline requests that ask for credit card numbers or 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. It is in research preview, and users must join a waitlist to try it.
