What happened
Anthropic opened a test of Claude Duet, a new app where Claude works on its own. Each morning it sends a short brief from your email and calendar, and it can draft replies. It asks before it sends, pays or deletes anything. For now it is US only, by waitlist, on Pro and Max plans.
Source: Anthropic, 2026-10-21. This is our short summary. Read the source for the full story.
How a contractor could use it
Connect your email and calendar. Ask for one list each morning: new leads, quotes with no answer, unpaid bills and today's jobs. Let it draft the replies, then you read and send.
Added 2026-10-22. Check any tool's price and terms on its own site before you use it.
Try this prompt
Copy it into Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT. Fill in the parts in [brackets].
Each morning, look at my email and calendar. Give me a short list: new leads to call back, quotes waiting on an answer, invoices not paid yet, and today's jobs with the address. Draft a reply for each new lead, but do not send anything. My business: [name], [trade], [service area].
Want it set up for you? We can do it.
More Office ideas.
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Idea for contractors
Build a job budget dashboard in Claude or ChatGPT with ProNovos
ProNovos said on Oct 30 that you can now hook Claude or ChatGPT up to your ProNovos account. You ask about your jobs and money in plain words, and it builds dashboards, trackers and what-if views from your live numbers.
View prompt
Show me every active job with billed to date next to budget. Flag any job over 90% of budget. For each flagged job, add one short note on what to check first. Do not change any data.
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Idea for contractors
Make a job checklist file right in the Gemini app
Google said on Oct 29 that the Gemini app can now make files right in the chat. You can see a PDF, doc, sheet or slide deck, fix it by typing or by asking Gemini, then open it in Google Docs, Sheets or Slides or save it. It is for all Gemini app users. PDFs work on the phone too. Other files work on the web.
View prompt
Make a one page PDF checklist for starting a [job type] job. Sections: before we leave the shop, when we get there, before work starts, and before we leave for the day. Short lines with check boxes. Leave space at the top for the job name, address and date.
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Idea for contractors
Build a supplier list in Sheets with Gemini and check sources
Google said on Oct 28 that Fill with Gemini in Google Sheets now shows the web sources it used right in each cell. It can also fill up to 3,000 cells in one go. It is rolling out on some paid Workspace and Google AI plans.
View prompt
For each business name in column A, fill in its street address, phone number, open hours and the main things it sells. They are all near [city, state]. If you can not find something, write Not found. Do not guess.