Anthropic Pushes Claude Duet to Automate Business Tasks

Anthropic is launching a new product, but it is entering a market where its rivals are already established. The company recently introduced Claude Duet, a new application designed to automate and manage tasks. This move places Anthropic in direct competition with a growing field of assistants, including Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot, and Fo. The company aims to gain user attention with this offering.

The application is intended to assist professionals and small businesses with their work. Anthropic makes a clear distinction between Duet and personal assistants. For example, it is not designed to handle personal errands or book tickets. The company also states that users cannot see the browser as the application is using it. Instead, Duet can build daily briefings or create dashboards. It can also suggest actions based on user data.

Duet operates by performing tasks in the background. It uses its own virtual machine to do this while a user handles other things. It can then return to the user if it needs approval for a step. Anthropic says it proactively delivers recommendations while it monitors ongoing tasks. The application is built on the Claude Opus 5.5 model. It can connect to more than 6,000 connectors and plug-ins from the Claude Marketplace.

The application can make online purchases for a user through Stripe's Link digital wallet or Shopify's Shop Pay. Anthropic says sensitive steps like payments require user approval. However, Duet will not trade securities or move money between accounts. The company also released a new classifier to check each message. This is to prevent sensitive information from leaking. By default, the agent will turn down requests asking for credit card numbers and government identification.

Claude Duet is available as an app for iOS and Android. It is also on the web through Claude.ai for Pro and Max customers in a research preview. Users must join a waitlist to try it. The launch arrives as the market shifts to agents that can work on a user's behalf. Many of Anthropic's rivals are also focusing on business use cases. While Meta's Muse is a personal AI assistant, the company released a version for small businesses with connections to other apps. OpenAI's Dots has a business slant as well, with its integration with professional tools.