Claude Duet Guide: How to Get Anthropic’s Proactive Agent, Setup, Limits and Safety (2026)

Claude Duet is Anthropic’s first proactive agent: a separate app where Claude watches your connected apps, sends you a morning brief, and finishes work in the background on its own cloud computer.

It opened as a research preview on 21 October 2026, US only, through a waitlist for Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers. Invites are going out in waves, so many readers are only now getting access.

This guide covers what Duet does, who can get it, how to join and set it up, what it costs in usage, its safety rules, good first tasks, and how it compares with ChatGPT Dots, Perplexity Teammates, Meta Muse and Grok Bot.

What Is Claude Duet?

Regular Claude waits for you to type. Duet flips that: Anthropic describes it as “a new app where Claude works as a proactive agent” that notices what needs doing and offers to do it.

It is aimed at professionals and small businesses rather than personal errands. TechCrunch reports it runs on Claude Opus 5.5.

Everything happens in one ongoing thread. You type or speak requests there, from a two-minute reply to a week-long project, and Duet reports back in the same place.

It already knows you

Duet brings over your Claude memory, skills and connected apps. If Claude already knows your clients, writing style or projects, Duet starts with that context instead of a blank slate.

Who Can Get It: Plans, Countries and Apps

Plan prices are from claude.com/pricing. Anthropic has not given a date for wider rollout or other countries.

Note: Some early coverage says “Pro and Max” only. Anthropic’s own launch article includes Ultra, so Ultra subscribers can join too.

How to Join the Waitlist and Set Up Duet

1. Check your plan. You need an active Pro, Max or Ultra subscription on a US account. Upgrade from your account settings on claude.ai if needed.
2. Join the waitlist. Go to the Claude Duet page at claude.com/product/claude-duet and sign up with your Claude account.
3. Wait for the email. Anthropic emails you when your invite is ready. Invites go out in waves with no promised date.
4. Install the app. Download Claude Duet from the App Store or Google Play, or open it on claude.ai, and sign in with the same Claude account.
5. Review connected apps. Your Claude connectors carry over. Turn off anything Duet should not see before you start; switching an app off in one place switches it off in both.
6. Set your brief. Tell Duet what you want to hear about and how often, for example “only urgent client emails and unpaid invoices over $500”.
7. Give it a first task. Start small and reversible (see the list below), and read the approval cards closely the first few times.

Tip: Fresh Duet users get one full reset of both usage limits, available until 30 November 2026, according to plan comparisons at launch. Save it for a heavy first week instead of burning it on day one.

New to connectors? Our Claude Marketplace guide explains how to add and manage them.

What Duet Can Do

Morning brief and monitoring

• Morning brief: a short daily summary of the most important items across your connected apps.
• Background checks: Duet looks at your accounts every few hours and only messages you when something needs attention.
• Your rules: you decide what counts as important and how often you hear from it.

Background work on its own computer

Duet works on a cloud virtual machine with its own browser. You get a notification when a task is done or needs review, and you can follow progress in a task list and steer it mid-task.

Anthropic lists jobs from admin (scheduling, follow-ups) to bigger projects such as dashboards, sales or financial forecasts, prototypes and simple web apps.

Buying things safely

Duet can shop through Link by Stripe or Shop Pay. With Link, it uses a one-time virtual card locked to that merchant and amount, and you approve in your Link app, so your real card number is never shared.

Coming soon

• 1Password sign-in: approve logins in 1Password without passwords passing through the model.
• Shopify storefront editor: a visual editor for store changes.

10 Good First Tasks

These come from Anthropic’s examples and tester stories. Each one is easy to check before anything leaves your account.

1. Inbox catch-up: “Find Gmail and Slack messages I missed this week that need a reply, and draft answers.”
2. Unpaid invoices: “Check QuickBooks or Stripe for invoices over 14 days late and draft polite reminders.”
3. Calendar conflicts: “Flag clashes between my meetings and travel for the next two weeks.” (A tester had a client call moved before a flight this way.)
4. Wrong-day events: “Compare my calendar with confirmation emails and tell me if anything is booked on the wrong day.”
5. Deal follow-ups: “Draft follow-ups for HubSpot deals with no contact in 10 days.”
6. Payroll prep: “Prepare this month’s payroll in Gusto for my review.”
7. Hiring: “Draft a LinkedIn job post for a part-time designer.” It posts only after you approve.
8. Contracts: “Send the agreement in my Drive to the client through Docusign.” It shows recipients first.
9. Social campaign: “Build three Canva posts for our weekend sale.”
10. Weekly dashboard: “Every Monday, build a sales summary from Stripe and email it to me.”

Usage Limits: What Duet Really Costs

There is no separate Duet fee, but it is not free usage either. Duet draws on the same five-hour and weekly limits as the rest of Claude.

• Background checks count. Monitoring every few hours uses your allowance even when you are not chatting.
• Big jobs cost more. Financial models, decks and long browser tasks take many model turns.
• Pro is tightest. Anthropic warns you may reach limits sooner than with chat alone.

Warning: If you code with Claude Code on the same Pro plan, Duet’s background checks can eat into the same weekly limit. Lower Duet’s check frequency or narrow what it monitors if you hit limits early in the week.

Source: claude.com/pricing (Nov 2026). For more on plans, see our Claude Projects guide.

Safety, Approvals and Privacy

Anthropic published a separate safety, privacy and security article for Duet (updated 23 October). The rules below come from it.

What always needs your approval

Each approval card shows the action, the destination and the full content, including every recipient. A separate check based on the Claude Code auto mode classifier also runs outside the model to judge whether each action matches what you asked.

Sensitive information

• Never shared: passwords and sign-in details, full card and bank numbers, government ID numbers, even if you ask.
• Shared with consent: health and financial details. Your own request counts as consent.
• Blocked messages: Duet may rewrite the message without the sensitive part and ask you to approve the new version.

Passwords and sign-ins

• You type passwords into a form inside the Claude app; it is encrypted for the cloud browser only, and the model never sees it.
• Connector sign-in tokens never enter Duet’s machine; a proxy adds them to requests.
• Website cookies and code stay on the browser machine, though page text and downloads do reach the agent.

Warning: Anthropic says a real Duet password request only appears inside the Claude app or on claude.ai during a sign-in you started. Any “Claude Duet” password request by email, text or another website is a scam.

Your data

• Memory: conversation history and memory persist until you delete history or reset memory.
• Disconnecting an app stops new access at once, but what Duet already learned stays until you reset memory.
• Deleting your account removes everything Duet stored.
• Testing: internal red teams and an outside penetration-testing firm reviewed it; bugs go to Anthropic’s HackerOne bounty.

Duet uses the same connectors as Claude’s finance feature; our Claude Personal Finance guide covers what Claude can see in linked bank accounts.

Duet vs Claude Cowork and Regular Claude

Duet vs ChatGPT Dots vs Perplexity Teammates vs Muse vs Grok Bot

Sources: Anthropic, FelloAI plan comparison (updated 6 Nov 2026), and our guides to ChatGPT Dots, Perplexity Teammates, Meta Muse Spaces and Grok Bot phone calls.

Who should use which

• Small business owner in the US already on Claude: Duet, since there is no extra fee.
• Heavy agent user worried about limits: Dots, because its delegated work sits outside chat limits.
• Teams wanting several agents in Slack: Perplexity Teammates.
• Outside the US or on a budget: Meta Muse or Grok Bot today.

Known Limits and Problems

• Misjudged urgency: Anthropic admits Duet may misread a thread or flag the wrong things.
• Weak at errands: personal tasks like booking tickets are less reliable than work tasks.
• No live browser view: you cannot watch its browser yet.
• Separate app: it lives outside the main Claude app.
• Blocked sites: some large websites block Duet entirely.
• Microsoft 365: not supported yet, per launch comparisons.
• Custom connectors: one early tester (Every’s Dan Shipper) said scheduled runs could not reach his custom connectors and email drafts were weaker than Dots’.
• Approval fatigue: Anthropic itself warns that too many approval cards teach people to tap through them.

My Take

Duet is the most cautious of the new always-on agents, and that is a feature. The hard “never” list, the outside-the-model action check and the one-time Link cards are exactly the guardrails you want before letting an AI near invoices and contracts.

The trade-off is reach. A US-only waitlist, no desktop app and no Microsoft 365 rule out many readers for now, and sharing limits with Claude Code will sting on Pro.

If you get an invite, start with read-and-draft jobs such as inbox catch-up and invoice reminders. Turn on payments and contracts only after a week of checking its judgement. And keep reading those approval cards: the safety design only works if you do.

FAQ

What is Claude Duet?

Claude Duet is a standalone app from Anthropic, launched as a research preview on 21 October 2026, where Claude acts as a proactive agent. It monitors your connected apps, sends a morning brief and completes tasks on its own cloud computer.

How much does Claude Duet cost?

There is no extra charge during the preview. It is included with Claude Pro ($20/month), Max ($100/month) and Ultra ($200/month) and uses those plans’ usage limits.

How do I get Claude Duet?

Join the waitlist on the Claude Duet page with a US Pro, Max or Ultra account. Anthropic emails you when access is ready; then install the iOS or Android app or use claude.ai.

Is Claude Duet available outside the US?

Not yet. The preview is US only, and Anthropic has not announced dates for the UK, EU, India or other countries.

Can Claude Duet spend my money?

Only with your approval every time, using a one-time Link card or Shop Pay. It can never trade securities or move money between accounts, even if you approve.

Does Claude Duet see my passwords?

Anthropic says no. Passwords go through an encrypted in-app form straight to the cloud browser, and sign-in tokens are added by a proxy outside the agent’s machine.

Does Claude Duet work on Mac or Windows?

There is no desktop app. You can use the web version on claude.ai, but it cannot access files on your computer; that is what Claude Cowork is for.

Does Duet use up my Claude limits?

Yes. It shares your five-hour and weekly limits, and its background checks count, so heavy use can hit limits sooner than chat alone.

Sources

• Anthropic: “Introducing Claude Duet” (claude.com, 21 Oct 2026)
• Anthropic: “Claude Duet safety, privacy, and security” (updated 23 Oct 2026)
• Anthropic: claude.com/pricing (Pro, Max, Ultra prices, Nov 2026)
• TechCrunch: “Claude Duet app is Anthropic’s bet on agents” (22 Oct 2026)
• Help Net Security: “Anthropic details what stops Claude Duet from going rogue” (26 Oct 2026)
• FelloAI: “Claude Duet: what it does, who gets it, what it costs” (updated 6 Nov 2026)
• The AI Report: “Anthropic launches proactive AI agent”