Anthropic Targets Business Workflow With Claude Duet, Bypassing the Personal Assistant Trend

In a market saturated with weekly launches of productivity tools, Anthropic has positioned its latest offering as a specialized solution for professional workflows rather than a general-purpose personal companion.

The company has unveiled Claude Duet, an AI agent designed to compete with a crowded field of rivals, including Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot, and Fo. Anthropic explicitly targets professionals and small businesses, aiming to assist with task automation and management. To differentiate the product, the company notes that Duet is not optimized for personal errands or ticket booking, and it does not display its browser usage in real-time to the user.

Instead of handling daily chores, Duet focuses on generating daily briefings, constructing data dashboards, and suggesting actions based on existing user data. Similar to other agentic systems, it operates by executing tasks in the background within its own virtual machine. This allows users to continue with their own work while the agent processes requests, returning for approval only when necessary.

This launch reflects a broader industry shift from conversational assistants to agents that can act on a user's behalf. Anthropic’s competitors are increasingly focusing on business applications. For instance, while Meta’s Muse remains a personal assistant, the company has also released a version tailored for small businesses with app integrations. Similarly, OpenAI’s Dots emphasizes professional tool integration.

Powered by the Claude Opus 5.5 model, Duet is built to proactively monitor ongoing tasks and deliver recommendations. It supports connections to over 6,000 connectors and plugins available in the Claude Marketplace. Additionally, the agent can facilitate online purchases on behalf of users by utilizing digital wallet services such as Stripe’s Link or Shopify’s Shop Pay.

While Duet can handle payments, the company has implemented safeguards to ensure user control. Sensitive steps, such as executing a purchase, require explicit user approval. However, the agent is restricted from trading securities or transferring funds between bank accounts. To further protect data, Anthropic has introduced a new classifier that scans each message to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. By default, the system is programmed to decline requests for credit card numbers or government identification documents.

Claude Duet is currently accessible as a mobile app for iOS and Android users, as well as via the web interface on Claude.ai. The service is available in a research preview exclusively for Pro and Max customers. Access is not yet open to all; prospective users must join a waitlist to begin testing the new tool.