guides/claude-duet.md

what is Claude Duet? Anthropic's personal agent, for devs

updated 2026-10-21 · prices checked on vendor pages

quick answer: Claude Duet is Anthropic's new personal agent, announced on october 21, 2026 as a research preview. it runs on Claude Opus 5.5, sends you a morning brief, keeps an eye on your connected apps, and does bigger jobs in the background on its own cloud computer with a browser, asking you first before it sends, pays, signs or deletes anything. right now it's waitlist only, for Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the US. it costs nothing extra, but it draws on the same usage limits as the rest of Claude, Claude Code included.

we haven't got our hands on it yet, so the facts below come from Anthropic's own pages and launch coverage, and our score comes from testers who have used it, all linked as we go. anything that's only been reported, not confirmed by Anthropic, is marked as such.

Claude Duet at a glance

what does Claude Duet actually do?

the pitch is a Claude that comes to you, rather than sitting there waiting for you to open a chat. per Anthropic's help page:

• morning brief. each morning it looks across your email and calendar, picks what needs you, and can start on the first steps, like drafting replies for you to check.
• it watches your apps. it checks your connected accounts every few hours and messages you when something needs you. you can tell it what you want to hear about and how often.
• bigger jobs in the background. hand it a task in one message and it works out which apps to use. results come back as files you can review: a research brief, a financial model, a deck or a dashboard.
• its own computer. it has a cloud virtual machine with its own browser, for sites that don't have a connector. you can't watch that browser or take it over yet.
• your Claude comes with it. memory, skills and connected apps carry over from your Claude account, and it can search your past Claude chats.
• it asks first. before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything, it shows you exactly what it's about to do and waits. some things are off limits even with your OK, like trading securities or moving money between accounts.

on the safety side, Anthropic says it never directly sees your passwords or sign-in tokens, and a new classifier blocks it from sharing the strictest tier of information, such as card numbers and government ID (announcement). purchases go through Stripe's Link or Shopify's Shop Pay with a one-time card, and you approve each one.

it's aimed at professionals and small business owners, not at devs specifically. more on what that means for you below.

how do you get Claude Duet? (the waitlist)

you need three things: a Claude Pro or Max plan, a Claude account in the US, and an invite off the waitlist. the steps, from Anthropic's help page:

1. go to the Claude Duet page and hit "join the waitlist".
2. use the same email as your Claude account. access is tied to that address.
3. pick your plan and your phone (iPhone or Android), then submit.
4. when your invite email lands, open it on your phone and follow the setup steps, using the Apple or Google account linked to that same email.
5. open Claude Duet and sign in with your Claude account.

invites go out in waves and joining doesn't promise a date. no invite yet? the usual reasons are an email that doesn't match your Claude account, being outside the US, or being on a Team or Enterprise plan.

Claude Duet pricing: is it free, and which plan do you need?

it isn't free, and there's no separate Claude Duet subscription either. during the research preview it's included with Pro and Max at no extra cost. prices from claude.com/pricing and Anthropic's Max plan help page, checked october 21, 2026:

Engadget reports that Pro subscribers will get it at general availability too, which is the big difference from ChatGPT dots, where the first dot needs ChatGPT Pro. Anthropic hasn't announced a general availability date or any price beyond the preview, so treat later pricing as unknown.

does Claude Duet share your Claude Code limits?

yes. Anthropic's help page says it uses your plan's usage limits, including the five-hour session and weekly limits, at the same rate as chats in Claude. and the pricing page says Claude chat and Claude Code draw from one pool. so it's one pot: Duet, chat and Claude Code all eat from it.

the bit to watch is the background work. the morning brief, the check-ins and the bigger jobs all count, even when you're not looking at it. Anthropic's answer is to check your accounts every few hours rather than nonstop, precisely so it doesn't eat your limits. bigger jobs, like a financial model or a deck, take more model turns.

one small sweetener: when you're let in, you get one full limit reset (both the five-hour and weekly limits), usable until november 30, 2026.

Claude Duet for developers

officially, Anthropic says the build team uses it to schedule user interviews, help with prototypes and even ship code, and that you can hand it jobs like prototyping and building web apps. it can read your work in Claude but can't change it, and it can't see the files on your computer.

reported, not confirmed by Anthropic: VentureBeast.Tech's first look says Claude Duet is the renamed "Claude Loop" preview, and that it can see your recent cloud Claude Code sessions (titles, status and what each one is waiting on), message them or stop them, and manage scheduled Claude Code Routines. the same first look says it couldn't see a Claude Code session running locally through Remote Control. if that holds up, you'd get one thread on your phone for keeping an eye on long cloud runs. if it doesn't, it's an inbox and calendar agent with a decent model behind it.

Claude Duet vs ChatGPT dots vs Meta Muse vs Gemini Spark vs Grok Bot

all five are always-on agents that work in the background on a machine that isn't yours. the differences are mostly who's allowed in, what it costs and whose usage pool it eats.

sources: OpenAI on dots, Meta on Muse and Muse plans, Google's Gemini Spark updates, Google AI plans and the X Subscription pricing for Grok Bot.

the short version: Muse is the only one with a free way in. Duet and Spark start around $20 a month on plans you might already pay for, Grok Bot starts at $30 and dots needs the $100 ChatGPT Pro. Duet and Grok Bot both share a pool with a coding tool (Claude Code and Cursor), so heavy coders feel the pinch either way. and Duet is the only one of the five you can't use today unless the waitlist picks you.

our score: 6.0/10, and how we got there

we score every tool on the same five things, with the same rough weights (how we score). we haven't tested Duet ourselves yet, so "does the job" leans on people who have: every's two-week vibe check, lenny's newsletter's test on real work, VentureBeast.Tech's first look and a hands-on video from an early-access tester. new launches with no track record score cautiously, and where a call could go either way, we round down.

that works out at a touch over 6, which we round down to 6.0 while it's a waitlist-only preview. for comparison, ChatGPT dots sit at 7.0 and Grok Bot at 8.0. Meta Muse and Gemini Spark aren't on our board, so they have no numptr score to compare.

what Claude Duet can't do yet

straight from Anthropic's limitations list:

• no model picker. it's Opus 5.5, and it decides how much effort a job needs.
• you can't watch or take over its browser.
• it checks at intervals, so something urgent can land between checks.
• it can't see all your projects or the files on your computer.
• no phone calls and no texts to other people. it can send email from your connected accounts, with your approval.
• some connectors, Slack for one, work with limits, and Microsoft 365 isn't there yet.
• it can misread a thread or get wrong what's urgent. Anthropic says personal errands like booking tickets aren't as strong as work jobs.

the numptr take, for devs who live in Claude Code

if you're already on Max and you hit your weekly limit most weeks, be careful. Duet is "free" the way a second mouth at the table is free: it eats from the same plate as your Claude Code sessions, and it eats when you're not looking. join the waitlist, by all means, but set it to tell you about less, not more, until you've seen what the check-ins cost you in /usage.

if you've got headroom on Pro or Max, it's a no-brainer to try. it costs nothing extra, the limit reset on entry softens the first week, and having Opus 5.5 triage your inbox and calendar beats doing it yourself between builds.

what it isn't is a coding tool. for the repo, Claude Code is still #1 in our coding agents for a reason. for handing Claude a folder of real files on your own machine, Claude Cowork (#3 in personal agents) does that and Duet doesn't. and if you want an always-on agent with full access to your own box, OpenClaw (#1, 9.0/10) is free and doesn't touch your Claude limits at all, though you pay for the model.

the reported Claude Code session control is the bit we're most curious about. poking a cloud run from your phone on the way to the pub would be properly useful. we'll test it ourselves once we're in, and move the score if it earns it. the full personal agents ranking has the rest of the field.

sorting out your plan first? see Claude Code pricing. weighing the other always-on agents? see Grok Bot vs OpenClaw and what is OpenClaw.

faq

what is Claude Duet?

Claude Duet is Anthropic's personal agent, announced on october 21, 2026 as a research preview. it runs on Claude Opus 5.5, sends a morning brief, watches your connected apps, does bigger tasks in the background on its own cloud computer with a browser, and asks before it sends, pays, signs or deletes anything.

how do i get Claude Duet?

join the waitlist on the Claude Duet page with the email on your Claude account. you need a Claude Pro or Max plan and a US account. invites go out in waves, and you set it up on your phone from the invite email.

is Claude Duet free?

no. there's no free plan for it. during the research preview it's included with Claude Pro ($20/mo, or $17/mo billed annually) and Max ($100 or $200/mo) at no extra cost. Anthropic hasn't announced pricing after the preview.

which Claude plan do i need for Claude Duet?

pro or Max, in the US. Free, Team and Enterprise plans can't use it yet. Anthropic says Team and Enterprise will get it later.

does Claude Duet share usage limits with Claude Code?

yes. it uses your plan's five-hour and weekly limits at the same rate as Claude chats, and Claude Code draws from the same pool. its background work, like the morning brief and check-ins, counts too. you get one full limit reset when you're let in, usable until november 30, 2026.

is Claude Duet available outside the US?

not yet. during the research preview it's US only, on iOS, Android and claude.ai. Anthropic hasn't given a date for other countries.

how is Claude Duet different from ChatGPT dots, Meta Muse, Gemini Spark and Grok Bot?

all five are always-on agents that work in the background. Duet comes with Claude Pro and Max but is waitlist only for now. ChatGPT dots need ChatGPT Pro from $100/mo. Meta Muse has a free tier with paid plans at $20 and $100/mo. Gemini Spark comes with Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo in the US) and Ultra. Grok Bot comes with the X Subscription Premium ($30/mo) and up, and shares a weekly pool with Grok and Cursor.

can Claude Duet manage my Claude Code sessions?

reportedly, for cloud sessions. one outlet's first look says it can see, message and stop your recent cloud Claude Code sessions and manage Routines, but not sessions running on your own machine. Anthropic hasn't confirmed this in its announcement, and it can't see files on your computer.

is Claude Duet the same as Claude Loop?

reportedly, yes. VentureBeast.Tech says the "Claude Loop" preview was renamed Claude Duet on october 20, 2026. Anthropic's announcement doesn't mention the old name. it's also nothing to do with the /loop command in Claude Code.

tools in this guide

• Claude Duet
• Claude Code
• Claude Cowork
• Claude
• ChatGPT dots
• Grok Bot
• OpenClaw

sources

checked 2026-10-21

• Anthropic announcement: https://claude.com/resources/articles/claude-duet
• Claude Duet product page: https://claude.com/product/claude-duet
• Anthropic help, get started with Claude Duet: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17631495-get-started-with-claude-duet
• Claude plans and pricing: https://claude.com/pricing
• Claude Max plan help page: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11049741-what-is-the-max-plan
• Stripe on Link and Stripe MCP in Claude Duet: https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/anthropic-and-stripe
• The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1015843/anthropic-claude-duet-ai-agent
• Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/2293646/claude-duet-is-anthropics-answer-to-meta-muse-and-openai-dots/
• 9to5Mac: https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/21/anthropic-takes-on-chatgpt-dots-and-meta-muse-with-claude-duet/
• VentureBeast.Tech first look (reported claims): https://venturebeast.tech/articles/claude-duet-first-look
• OpenAI dots: https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots/
• Meta Muse: https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/
• Muse plans: https://www.meta.com/help/subscriptions/1021145227643680/
• Gemini Spark updates: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/17171264?hl=en
• Google AI plans: https://gemini.google/subscriptions/
• Grok Bot on the X Subscription: https://docs.x.ai/x-subscription/pricing

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