Claude Duet: Department-by-Department Use Cases for Anthropic's Proactive Agent

We read every agent launch with one question: which department does it serve? Anthropic introduced Claude Duet, an agent that works without being asked. Facts first, then use cases.

What is Claude Duet?

On October 21, 2026, Anthropic introduced Claude Duet, a new app where Claude works as a proactive agent. Instead of waiting for you to open a chat, it tells you what needs your attention, completes tasks and keeps working after you put your phone down.

Think of it as an AI chief of staff. It sends a morning brief, checks your connected apps throughout the day and only pings you when a decision truly needs you. It runs on Claude Opus 5.5, chosen for its judgment about what's urgent.

Key features

It asks before it acts

Duet asks for approval before sending messages, making payments, signing documents or deleting files. It never sees your passwords and uses a dedicated system that reviews every message to prevent sensitive data leaks.

Availability

Claude Duet is a research preview with waitlist access for Pro and Max subscribers in the United States, on the web and on iOS and Android apps. There's no separate price; it draws on your plan's usage limits, including background checks.

The proactive-agent race

Duet puts Anthropic head to head with OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse. The next phase of AI isn't answering questions; it's anticipating needs and taking action, with humans approving what matters.

What it means for your business

Duet's features map to specific departments:

At Manus we design agents by department: one agent per area, with its tasks, its rules and a human owner who approves.

Which department do you want to automate first? Message us on WhatsApp and we'll show you the use case.

Sources