Claude Duet Lets Anthropic’s AI Handle Your Business Tasks Without Being Asked
Anthropic has launched a new app called Claude Duet that can work through your to-do list, watch your connected accounts, and finish tasks on its own without you giving step-by-step orders.
What this means for you
If you run a small business or juggle a busy job, this app wants to take some of that load off your plate. You will still need a little patience though, because right now it is only a research preview and you have to join a waitlist to try it.
This site exists to explain news like this in plain words, because nobody should need a dictionary just to understand what a new AI tool actually does. Here is the simple version.
Claude Duet runs on a version of Anthropic's AI called Claude Opus 5.5. You can use it through iOS, Android, or the claude.ai website. It comes bundled with Pro and Max subscriptions, using the same usage limits those plans already have.
Anthropic says the point of the app is not just to follow commands. It is built to use judgment about when to handle something itself and when to stop and ask you first. The goal is to free up your time for the parts of work that really need your attention.
How it works while you're away
Claude Duet gets its own virtual computer and browser. That means it can keep working on a project even after you have closed the app and walked away.
You could hand it a task before leaving your desk and come back later to find it finished, or find a request asking for your approval on something.
Its job list is long. It can schedule meetings, build financial forecasts, put together dashboards, prototype new products, and even build web applications. It also checks your connected accounts every few hours and sends you a notice when something needs your eyes on it.
That check-in schedule is on purpose. Constant checking would burn through your subscription limits fast, so you can tell it what kinds of updates matter to you and how often you want to hear from it.
Two Anthropic employees shared how they use it. Boris Cherny, who leads the Claude Code team, talks through his mental to-do list with the app during walks. Chelsea Larsson, who leads model and product behavior design, hands off her tasks before spending time with her kids, and the app prepares a report for her by evening.
Plugged into your business tools
Claude Duet connects to more than 6,000 tools and plugins through what Anthropic calls the Claude Marketplace. That covers things like communication, finance, hiring, marketing, and online stores.
Here are some of the things it can do with those connections
- Find unanswered emails in Gmail and draft replies for you.
- Spot unpaid invoices in QuickBooks or Stripe.
- Prepare payroll details using Gusto.
- Draft job postings for LinkedIn.
- Put together agreements in DocuSign.
- Build marketing campaigns in Canva.
- Manage online stores through Shopify, with a better storefront editor planned later.
Anthropic also says it supports payments through Stripe's Link wallet and Shopify's Shop Pay. A connection to saved 1Password logins is planned for later.
You stay in control
Letting software touch your business accounts raises a fair worry about control. Anthropic says Claude Duet has to show you what it plans to do before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document, or deletes anything.
Some actions are off limits no matter what, including trading securities or moving money between accounts. You can also disconnect any app from Claude Duet whenever you want.
Anthropic has also built in protections against hidden instructions that bad actors might slip into online content. A special filter and system rules stop it from sharing things like credit card numbers or government ID numbers. It will only share health or personal finance details if you clearly say it is okay.
The company says it has run outside security tests and adversarial exercises on the system, and Claude Duet is part of its public bug bounty program, where outside researchers can report security flaws.
For now, this is a test to see if an AI assistant can really tell the difference between tasks it is safe to finish on its own and decisions that still need a real person to decide.
If you want to try it, the simplest next step is to join the Claude Duet waitlist through your Pro or Max account and see when you get access.
Source: Interesting Engineering
