Anthropic launches Claude Duet, the AI agent that works on its own and even buys your business supplies

San Francisco — Anthropic on Wednesday introduced Claude Duet, an app in which its artificial intelligence assistant Claude acts as a “proactive agent” for professionals and small business owners: it comes to the user when something needs attention, completes requested tasks and keeps working even when the person steps away from the screen, the company announced.

The system is built around Claude Opus 5.5 and, according to Anthropic, its value lies in judgment: it decides what needs you, what can wait and when to check with you first. It draws on the user’s memory, skills and connected apps for context, keeps running even with the laptop or phone off, and sends notifications when a task is complete or needs review.

One of its most striking features is that Duet can purchase supplies for a business: it uses Link, Stripe’s digital wallet, confirms the item with the user, and Link asks the user to approve the spend; payment goes through a virtual card, so the real card number is never shared. It can also check out at online stores with Shopify’s Shop Pay. The agent waits for approval before sending a message, making a payment, signing a document or deleting anything, and connects with more than 6,000 connectors and plug-ins in the Claude Marketplace, according to the announcement.

Claude Duet has been available since Wednesday by waitlist to Pro and Max subscribers in the United States. The launch lands amid a race for personal AI agents: Meta’s Muse app topped 10 million downloads in the U.S. and Canada in its first 35 days, according to Sensor Tower; OpenAI launched its “dots” agents on Sept. 29; and Instinct, maker of an everyday-life agent, raised $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation in late September.

Photo: PYMNTS

Source: PYMNTS