Anthropic’s Claude Duet links over 6,000 connectors and plugins

By Amara Osei

Anthropic’s Claude Duet connects to over 6,000 connectors and plugins in the Claude Marketplace, the company said. Anthropic built the work-focused agent on Claude Opus 5.5 and offers it in a research preview for Claude.ai Pro and Max customers.

Anthropic positioned Claude Duet against Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Hark, Instinct, Grok Bot and Fo as it sought more user attention. The company aimed the app at professionals and small businesses seeking help with automating and managing tasks.

The launch came into a market already crowded with personal and productivity assistants, with new products arriving each week. Anthropic’s answer was an agent designed around business workflows rather than personal errands, the company said.

That positioning separates Duet from personal agents such as Instinct, Anthropic said. Duet does not handle errands or book tickets, and it cannot show users its browser use as it happens.

Anthropic said users can ask Duet to build a daily briefing or create dashboards. The agent can also suggest actions based on a user’s data, giving professionals a structured way to review work.

Duet can complete tasks in the background through its own virtual machine while users handle other work. It can return later to ask for approval when a sensitive step requires a decision, Anthropic said.

Anthropic said Duet monitors ongoing tasks and proactively delivers recommendations. The recommendations arrive as work proceeds, allowing the agent to flag suggested actions without waiting for another prompt.

What can Claude Duet buy?

Claude Duet can make online purchases on a user’s behalf through Stripe’s Link digital wallet or Shopify’s Shop Pay. Anthropic said sensitive steps, including payments, require user approval.

Anthropic said Duet will not trade securities or move money between accounts. It also released a new classifier that checks each message to prevent sensitive information from leaking out. By default, Duet turns down requests for credit card numbers and government identification, the company said.

How does Duet fit the agent market?

The launch came as AI companies shifted attention from assistants that respond to agents that can work for users. Anthropic positioned Duet for professionals and small businesses, the two groups the company named as its targets.

Meta’s Muse began as a personal AI assistant, and Meta also released a version for small businesses. That version connects to other apps, broadening Muse beyond its original personal-assistant positioning.

OpenAI positioned Dots toward business use through integrations with professional tools. Anthropic included Dots in the competitive set it used to position Duet.

What does the approval system change?

Duet can operate beyond a chat response, but Anthropic keeps sensitive actions within a user-controlled boundary. Its virtual machine lets work continue in the background; its approval requests bring users back into the process before payment.

The classifier adds a second control by screening every message for sensitive information. Anthropic said the payment approval requirement and the ban on securities trading and account transfers set additional limits.

Who can use the research preview?

Customers can access Claude Duet on iOS and Android, or on the web through Claude.ai. Anthropic limited the research preview to Pro and Max customers, and users must join a waitlist.

Anthropic’s bet is that professionals and small businesses will adopt an agent spanning more than 6,000 connectors while retaining control over payments and sensitive data. Success will depend on whether Duet turns that balance between background work and explicit approval into regular use among Anthropic’s Pro and Max research-preview customers.