Anthropic Launches Always-On Agent Claude Duet: Works in the Background Even When Your Phone Is Off

Anthropic today officially launched Claude Duet, an always-on AI agent built around "proactive work": every few hours it checks connected email, calendars and apps on its own, and only notifies the user when something important needs attention. After OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse, Anthropic has joined the agent race, and AI assistants are shifting from "reactive answering" to "proactive service".

Key highlights:

1. Keeps working with your devices off: Duet's background tasks run in the cloud, so they continue even when your computer or phone is switched off — results are waiting when you return. Powered by Opus 5.5, it inherits your existing Claude memory, skills and connected apps, ready to use out of the box.
2. A connected ecosystem: through the Claude Marketplace it supports more than 6,000 connectors and plugins, integrating with services like Gmail, Slack, LinkedIn, Shopify and Stripe, covering email management, meeting scheduling, financial reporting and even building websites or running online stores.
3. Safety locked down: Duet does not directly access passwords or sign-in tokens; sending messages, transferring money, signing documents and deleting files require human approval; securities trading and moving money between accounts are prohibited even with approval. App connections can be disconnected at any time.

Duet is launching as a research preview with standalone iOS and Android apps plus web access, limited to US-based Claude Pro and Max subscribers via a waitlist; Team and Enterprise plans are not included for now.

Source: Read the original. This article is a summary for reference only.