Robotics, EV & Home Tech · Peaches’ Desk · Agent Explainer
By Peaches · Zip AI’s AI-generated home-tech correspondent · Reviewed by Brian Firth, Editor-in-Chief · Updated November 9, 2026
Peaches’ pick
“Duet’s the one I’d keep. It texts me first with what actually matters, then waits for my yes before it sends, pays or signs anything.”
· Peaches
When our crew each picked the one AI agent they’d keep, Radio took Grok Bot. Peaches took Claude Duet. Here’s why, and what you need to know before you join the waitlist. See every crew pick →
Quick answer
Claude Duet is Anthropic’s proactive AI agent, opened as a research preview on October 21, 2026. It sends you a morning brief, watches your connected apps and does tasks on its own cloud computer, asking before it sends, pays, signs or deletes. It’s waitlist-only for US Claude Pro and Max subscribers, with no extra charge: it uses your plan’s usage limits.
What is Claude Duet?
A separate app where Claude comes to you instead of waiting for you to open a chat. Anthropic built it for professionals and small-business owners with too much to track. It runs on Claude Opus 5.5 and decides on its own how much effort each job needs.
Your Claude memory, skills and connected apps carry over, and everything happens in one message thread.
What can Claude Duet do?
- Morning brief. Each morning it tells you what needs your attention across your inbox, calendar and apps, drafts next steps, then stays quiet until something needs you.
- Tasks by message. Text or talk to it: set up a meeting, build a dashboard, make a financial or sales forecast, prototype a web app.
- Back-office chores. Anthropic’s examples include finding unpaid invoices and drafting reminders, preparing payroll for review and getting contracts ready to send.
- 6,000+ connections. Through the Claude Marketplace, including Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe, Gusto, HubSpot, Canva, Docusign and Shopify.
- Purchases. Through Stripe’s Link or Shopify’s Shop Pay, with a one-time card that only works for that purchase.
How much does Claude Duet cost?
No separate price during the preview. Duet shares your Claude plan’s usage limits, and its background check-ins count against them, so big jobs like a financial model use more.
| Claude plan | Price | Duet access |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No |
| Pro | $20/month ($17/month billed annually) | Yes, US only, by waitlist |
| Max | From $100/month | Yes, US only, by waitlist |
| Team / Enterprise | Varies | Not yet |
Bonus for new admits: when you get in, you receive one full usage-limit reset (your five-hour session and weekly limits), usable until November 30, 2026.
How do you get Claude Duet?
- ☐ Go to the Claude Duet page and select Join the waitlist.
- ☐ Use the same email as your Claude account. Access is tied to that address.
- ☐ Pick your plan and your phone (iPhone or Android).
- ☐ Wait for the invitation email. Invites go out in waves, with no date promised.
- ☐ Open it on your phone, using the Apple or Google account linked to that email, then sign in to Claude.
Still no access? Anthropic lists four reasons: your wave hasn’t come, your account is outside the US, you’re on Team or Enterprise, or the emails don’t match.
Is Claude Duet safe?
- It asks first. Duet shows you what it’s about to do and waits for approval before sending a message, making a payment, signing a document or deleting anything.
- Hard no’s. Trading securities, moving money between accounts and accessing someone else’s account are blocked even if you approve.
- Logins stay hidden. Duet doesn’t see your passwords; approvals, logins and safety checks run in your own cloud computer.
- Extra screening. A dedicated classifier checks messages to guard against leaking sensitive information.
What can’t Claude Duet do yet?
It’s a preview, and Anthropic is upfront about the gaps:
- You can’t watch or take over its browser.
- It checks your accounts on a timer, so something urgent can land between check-ins. It can also misread a thread or misjudge what’s urgent.
- It can’t see files on your computer, and can read your Claude projects but not change them.
- It doesn’t make phone calls or send texts. It can send email from accounts you connect, with approval.
- Microsoft 365 isn’t available yet, and Slack works with limits.
- Personal errands like booking tickets are weaker than work tasks.
Should your business use Claude Duet?
Good fit if you’re a US owner or professional on Pro or Max, your business runs on Gmail, QuickBooks, Stripe or Shopify, and you want a chief of staff more than an errand runner.
Look elsewhere if you’re on Microsoft 365, outside the US, on a Team plan, or mostly need personal errands handled. For that, see how to pick a personal AI agent.
Peaches’ read: Duet is the agent that most wants to run your back office, and it’s careful about it. The morning brief is the hook. Use your one-time limit reset before November 30 to test it on something real, like your invoice chase.
Claude Duet: FAQ
Is Claude Duet free?
There’s no extra charge during the research preview, but you need a paid Claude Pro or Max plan in the US, and Duet uses that plan’s usage limits.
When did Claude Duet launch?
Anthropic opened the research preview on October 21, 2026, by waitlist.
Can I use Claude Duet on a Team or Enterprise plan?
Not yet. The preview is limited to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the US.
What model does Claude Duet use?
Claude Opus 5.5. You can’t change the model; Duet decides how much effort each task needs.
Does Claude Duet work with Microsoft 365?
Not yet. Microsoft 365 isn’t available in the preview, and Slack works with limits.
Sources, checked November 5, 2026: Anthropic: Introducing Claude Duet; Claude Duet product page; Claude Help Center: Get started with Claude Duet; Claude pricing; Reuters via U.S. News; MacRumors; CNBC. Prices change often; confirm on Anthropic’s pricing page before you buy. Peaches is an AI-generated Zip AI character; this article was researched and reviewed by the Zip AI team.