Perplexity’s Personal Computer, its answer to OpenClaw and other local AI agents, is now available to all Mac users via its desktop app, the company announced on Thursday.
As a reminder, Personal Computer is an expansion on Perplexity’s general-purpose, multi-model digital worker dubbed, confusingly, Perplexity Computer. “Personal Computer,” meanwhile, is designed to bring those capabilities to your own device. It does so by allowing AI agents access to local files, applications, and connectors, as well as the web, in order to handle the individual user’s personal, multi-step workflows.
Or, as the company describes Personal Computer, it “takes Computer out of the cloud-only world and onto the device where most of your real work already takes place.”
The goal is to capitalize on the growing demand for local AI agents, popularized by OpenClaw, which can perform tasks on users’ behalf. But while OpenClaw presented several security risks because of its elevated permissions, solutions like Personal Computer are meant to offer users a safer AI-enabled computing environment. (Or at least that’s the claim.)
Perplexity’s Personal Computer was introduced last month, but was limited to Perplexity Max subscribers and involved a waitlist. Today, the company says anyone on a Mac can now try the software as part of its new Perplexity Mac app. (Anyone can download the new app, but Personal Computer requires a Pro or Max subscription.)
At launch, the software is able to work with your local files, native Mac apps, and operate on the web. It can also orchestrate tools, files, use over 400 connectors, and leverage your personal context, all within a secure development environment on Perplexity’s servers.
If paired with Perplexity’s AI-powered Comet web browser, it can operate web-based tools without the need for direct connectors.
Designed to run autonomous agents on an always-on device like a Mac Mini, Personal Computer can even be accessed remotely from your iPhone, where you can initiate tasks or approve requests from your device.
Perplexity suggests this can be used for all types of work, like working with spreadsheets, documents, and projects with many different materials. Because the tool can work across apps, agents could do something like compare two files from different apps or pull notes from one app to create a draft in another.
As a result of its general availability, Perplexity says its older Mac app will be deprecated in the weeks ahead so the team can focus on the Personal Computer app.
The new Mac app is available as a direct download only for now; it’s not in the Mac App Store.
Topics
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Sarah Perez
Consumer News Editor
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal. View Bio
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