Last updated: October 31, 2026
Claude Duet is a new Anthropic app in which Claude, running on Claude Opus 5.5, works as a proactive agent. Opened as a research preview on October 21, 2026, it is available by waitlist to US Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers, uses your existing plan limits, and asks before it sends, pays, signs or deletes anything.
This guide is based on Anthropic’s announcement of Claude Duet, the Claude Duet help center article and Anthropic’s safety, privacy and security overview. If you are still deciding on a plan, see our comparison of Claude Pro vs Max.
Contents
- What is new
- Claude Duet vs the Claude app
- How to get access to Claude Duet
- Pricing and usage limits
- Approvals, privacy and credentials
- Workflows and prompt patterns
- Limitations
- Frequently asked questions
What is new
The Claude release notes list the Claude Duet research preview on October 21, 2026. Anthropic says it built Claude Duet for professionals and small business owners with more on their plates than they can track.
The main changes compared with a normal Claude chat are:
- Proactive briefs. Each morning it reviews your email and calendar and can start first steps, such as drafting replies.
- Background work. It has a virtual machine with its own browser in the cloud, so your laptop or phone does not need to stay on.
- One ongoing thread. You message it by typing or voice; separate topic channels share the same memory.
- Tasks and Make tabs. Tasks shows work in progress; finished files such as decks or dashboards appear in Make.
- Payments. It can pay for approved purchases with Link from Stripe or Shop Pay, using a one-time card each time.
Claude Duet vs the Claude app
Anthropic’s Claude Duet product page explains the difference simply: the Claude app waits for you to open a chat, while Claude Duet comes to you. The table summarizes the official details.
| Feature | Claude app | Claude Duet |
|---|---|---|
| How work starts | You open a chat and work alongside Claude | It sends a morning brief and messages you when something needs you |
| Where it runs | In your chat session | On its own computer in the cloud, after you close the app |
| Account context | Memory, skills and connectors | The same memory, skills and connectors from your Claude account |
| Messaging | Chat sessions you start | One ongoing thread by text or voice |
Duet runs only on Claude Opus 5.5 and is a standalone iOS and Android app, also available at claude.ai on a computer. For Anthropic’s developer agent, see our guide to Claude Code.
How to get access to Claude Duet
You need a Pro, Max or Ultra plan, a Claude account in the US, and an invitation from the waitlist. The help center lists these steps:
- Open the product page for Claude Duet and select “Join the waitlist.”
- Enter your name and email address. If you already use Claude, use the email address on your Claude account.
- Choose your plan and phone type (iPhone or Android). You can also describe what you do and what you would hand off first.
- Select Submit. Anthropic adds people gradually and emails you when it is your turn.
- Open the invitation on your phone and follow the iPhone or Android setup steps, using the Apple or Google account linked to the same email address.
- Sign in to Claude Duet with your Claude account. The app can take a few minutes to become available after you accept.
- Review connected apps in your Claude settings, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack or HubSpot.
If you lack access, check that your waitlist email matches your Claude account and phone account; Team and Enterprise plans are not included yet.
Pricing and usage limits
According to the help center, Claude Duet is included with Pro, Max and Ultra plans at no extra cost during the research preview. Anthropic has not published separate Duet pricing.
It draws on your plan’s usage limits, including any five-hour session limit and weekly limits, at the same rate as chats in Claude. Background work such as the morning brief and check-ins also counts, so you may reach limits sooner. Anthropic says Duet checks accounts every few hours for this reason.
When you are admitted, you get one full limit reset covering both your five-hour session and weekly limits, available until November 30, 2026.
Approvals, privacy and credentials
Anthropic’s safety overview describes several layers of protection:
- Approval cards. Before sending a potentially sensitive message, paying, signing a document or deleting anything, Duet shows the action, destination and content, including every recipient, and waits.
- Separate intent check. An automated check built on the Claude Code auto mode classifier runs outside the working model and assesses whether each action matches your intent.
- Hard limits. Trading securities, moving money between accounts and accessing someone else’s account stay off-limits even with approval. Payments and account creation always need fresh approval.
- Sensitive information classifier. Credentials, full card and bank account numbers and government ID numbers are never shared. Health or financial details are shared only with your explicit consent, and your own request counts as consent.
- Credential isolation. Duet never sees passwords, cookies or sign-in tokens. Password requests by email, text or sites other than claude.ai are not legitimate.
Duet can search your Duet chats and your Claude chats outside projects. To stop that, turn off Search and reference chats in Settings. For how Anthropic handles chat data more broadly, see whether Claude trains on your data.
Workflows and prompt patterns
Anthropic’s examples suggest short, outcome-focused messages work best, because Duet decides which apps and steps to use:
- Inbox triage: “Clear out anything in my inbox that I don’t need to read.”
- Billing follow-up: “Check Stripe for unpaid invoices and draft reminder emails for me to approve.”
- Meeting prep: “Pull together a brief on this company before my 2 pm meeting.”
- Larger builds: ask for a dashboard, forecast or slide deck and review the file in the Make tab.
If you route smaller, high-volume work through the API instead, our Claude Haiku 5.5 guide covers that model. For a comparable approach on the developer side, see Copilot Automations.
Limitations
- You cannot choose a model, and you cannot watch or take over its browser.
- It checks accounts at set intervals, so urgent items can arrive between checks.
- It cannot see files on your computer and cannot change your work in Claude.
- It does not make phone calls or send text messages to other people; with approval it can send email from connected accounts.
- Some connectors, such as Slack, work with limits, and Microsoft 365 is not available yet.
- Anthropic says it may misread a thread or misjudge urgency,, and personal errands are weaker than work tasks.
Frequently asked questions
What is Claude Duet?
Claude Duet is a research preview app from Anthropic in which Claude works as a proactive agent. It sends a morning brief, monitors your connected apps, completes tasks you hand it by message, keeps working in its own cloud computer when you step away, and asks for approval before consequential actions.
Who can use Claude Duet?
During the research preview, Claude Duet is available through a waitlist to Claude Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers with a Claude account in the US. It is not yet available on Team or Enterprise plans, and invitations go out in waves.
How much does Claude Duet cost?
During the research preview, Claude Duet is included with Pro, Max and Ultra plans at no extra cost. It uses your plan’s usage limits, and its background work, such as the morning brief and check-ins, also counts toward those limits.
Which model does Claude Duet use?
Claude Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5. You cannot choose a different model during the research preview; Claude Duet decides how much effort each job needs.
Does Claude Duet see my passwords?
No. Anthropic says Claude Duet never sees your passwords, browser cookies or sign-in tokens. You type passwords into a separate form in the Claude app, which passes them encrypted to the cloud browser, and a proxy outside the agent’s machine adds sign-in tokens for connected apps.
Sources
- Anthropic: Introducing Claude Duet
- Claude Help Center: Get started with Claude Duet
- Anthropic: Claude Duet Safety, Privacy, and Security
- Anthropic: Claude Duet product page
- Claude Help Center: Release notes
Image: Claude logo, by Anthropic, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Placed on a white background and resized. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic. FreeAnswers is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.
