Anthropic Launches Claude Duet Proactive AI Assistant Preview

Anthropic Launches Claude Duet: A Proactive AI Assistant for US Pro and Max Users (Waitlist Only, No Extra Cost)

Anthropic has released a new app called Claude Duet, currently available as a research preview (early beta).

Unlike standard interactions with Claude—where you must open a chat window to initiate work—Duet takes the opposite approach by proactively reaching out to you. It sends a morning briefing highlighting urgent items from your connected email, calendar, and accounting software. Throughout the day, it monitors these sources and only messages you when necessary. Tasks assigned to it are executed on its own cloud-based computer, continuing even if your phone or laptop is powered off, with notifications sent upon completion.

This category of "proactive" AI assistants has seen four major entrants in just over two months: xAI’s Grok Bot launched in August, followed by Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots in September. Duet is the latest addition.

[Eligibility and Pricing]

Access is currently limited to US-based Pro and Max subscribers via a waitlist; Team and Enterprise plans are not yet supported. During the preview period, there is no separate fee. Usage shares the quota of your existing Claude subscription, though background checks count toward usage. Resource-intensive tasks, such as building financial models or creating slide decks, consume more credits.

Anthropic states that Duet checks your accounts every few hours to conserve quota. The trade-off is that messages arriving between checks may be missed.

For comparison:

• Muse: Most features are free, also limited to the US.
• Dots: Offered for free to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium users.
• Grok Bot: Included in X’s bundled subscriptions starting with the $30/month Premium tier.

[Capabilities and Differentiation]

According to Anthropic, Duet is designed primarily for professionals and small business owners, with core features focused on work productivity. It can identify missed messages in Gmail and Slack and draft replies, check QuickBooks and Stripe for unpaid invoices and generate payment reminders, prepare payroll in Gusto, build data dashboards, and create sales forecasts. It supports over 6,000 connectors and plugins.

In one test case, a real estate agent found that Duet independently detected a scheduling conflict for a property viewing on their calendar without being prompted.

The other assistants have different focuses:

• Muse: Leans toward lifestyle applications, such as converting saved recipe videos into shopping lists or helping sell a car. It also integrates directly with WhatsApp.
• Dots: Integrated within ChatGPT, but also accessible via Slack and Microsoft Teams, making it suitable for companies already using ChatGPT across their workforce.
• Grok Bot: Allows users to create multiple bots with specialized roles (e.g., one for hiring, one for expense reports), coordinated by a "Chief of Staff" bot.

If you already use Claude, setting up Duet requires minimal effort: it inherits memories, skills, and connected apps directly from your Claude account. Duet is a standalone app available on iOS and Android. On desktop, it is