Anthropic launches Claude Duet, a work-focused agent app for professionals and small businesses

Anthropic has entered the crowded AI assistant market with Claude Duet, a new agent app aimed at professionals and small businesses. According to TechCrunch, the launch puts Duet in direct competition with Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot and Fo, all fighting for attention in a category where new products seem to appear weekly.

Built for work, not errands

TechCrunch reports that Anthropic is drawing a deliberate line between Duet and personal agents such as Instinct. The company says Duet is not designed to run errands or book tickets, and unlike some rivals it cannot show users its browser activity as it happens.

Instead, Duet concentrates on workplace productivity. It can compile a daily digest of information, build dashboards, and propose next steps grounded in the user's own data. TechCrunch also notes that Duet pushes recommendations proactively while it keeps watch on tasks in progress.

Like other agents, Duet can work on assignments in the background using its own virtual machine while the user focuses elsewhere, returning to ask for approval when a step requires it.

Under the hood

Duet runs on Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 model and can plug into more than 6,000 connectors and plugins listed in the Claude Marketplace, according to TechCrunch. It can also carry out online purchases on a user's behalf, paying through Stripe's Link digital wallet or Shopify's Shop Pay.

That purchasing capability comes with firm limits. Anthropic says sensitive actions such as payments need explicit user approval, and Duet will not trade securities or move money between accounts.

Guardrails against data leaks

Alongside the app, Anthropic released a new classifier that inspects every message in an effort to stop sensitive information from escaping, TechCrunch reports. By default, the agent refuses requests for credit card numbers or government identification.

Availability

Claude Duet is available as an app on iOS and Android, and on the web through Claude.ai, for Pro and Max customers as a research preview. TechCrunch notes that anyone wanting to try it must first join a waitlist.

Why it matters

The launch arrives as the industry shifts from chat-based assistants toward agents that can act on a user's behalf. TechCrunch observes that many of Anthropic's rivals are chasing the same business audience: Meta has released a small-business version of Muse with ties to other apps, while OpenAI's Dots carries a professional slant through integrations with workplace tools.

Duet's work-first positioning — background execution, dashboards, briefings and carefully gated purchasing — is Anthropic's attempt to stand apart in a market where undifferentiated assistants launch constantly. The combination of approval checkpoints, a leak-prevention classifier and a waitlisted research preview also signals that Anthropic is rolling out its most autonomous consumer-facing product cautiously, prioritising trust as agents gain the ability to take real-world actions like spending money.