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Anthropic launches a Claude Opus 5.5-based AI agent application Claude Duet

BlockBeats reported that October 22, Anthropic launched a Claude Opus 5.5-based AI agent application Claude Duet U.S. artificial intelligence company Anthropic October 21, 2026 officially announced the launch of the new AI agent application Claude Duet, and opened a research preview. The application is based on the company’s flagship model released on September 22, 2026 released flagship model Claude Opus 5.5 and is positioned as a proactive digital assistant for professionals and small-business owners, designed to help users manage complex work and handle tasks proactively.

Claude Duet adopts a proactive design: every morning, it sends users a brief summary of important matters from connected applications; throughout the day, it periodically checks relevant applications and proactively sends alerts only when attention is needed. Users can issue instructions via text or voice, covering tasks ranging from administrative work such as scheduling meetings to complex tasks such as building dashboards, preparing financial or sales forecasts, prototyping, and even building Web applications. The application has a dedicated virtual machine and browser in the cloud and can continue working in the background, completing tasks even if the user closes their phone or computer, then notifying the user upon completion.

Safety mechanisms are a core element of its design. Before sensitive actions such as sending messages, making payments, signing documents, or deleting content,Claude Duet it displays the specific content and waits for user approval; certain actions, such as securities trading or transfers between accounts, are prohibited even if approved. It integrates the existing memory, skills, and connected applications of the Claude account, supports more than 6000 connectors and plugins in Claude Marketplace, and can connect with tools including Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe, Gusto, HubSpot, DocuSign, Canva, and Shopify to assist with business use cases such as unpaid-invoice reminders, payroll preparation, and contract drafting.

Currently,Claude Duet is available as a research preview only, limited to U.S.-based Claude Pro and Max subscribers applying through a waitlist, at no additional charge, though usage counts toward existing plan limits (including background checks). It offers standalone iOS and Android applications and is also available on the claude.ai website, remaining separate from the main Claude application for now. Team and Enterprise plans are not yet supported. Anthropic stated that this is its first proactive agent product built around Opus 5.5, emphasizing judgment and resource-allocation capabilities.