Personal Computer from Perplexity can make a Mac an always-on AI operator

After a slow roll-out Perplexity’s Personal Computer feature is more widely available to let users make a persistent agent that can access files, apps, and tasks across a user’s Mac.

The release expands beyond an earlier limited preview and reaches Perplexity Max subscribers and waitlisted users through the company’s Mac app. Personal Computer connects to local folders, native macOS apps, and the browser, giving the AI the ability to read, write, and act on data stored on the machine.

Perplexity is moving beyond the typical chatbot model by running in the background and carrying out multi-step tasks.

The feature builds on Perplexity’s existing agent system, which breaks a request into smaller jobs and assigns them to different sub-agents. Running locally shifts how the system works, since those agents can now interact with real files and apps instead of staying inside a browser.

Personal Computer can search folders, rename or modify files, and work inside apps like Mail, Calendar, and Messages. A task started on an iPhone can move to the Mac and continue there, with two-factor authentication required for sensitive actions.

More control, and more risk

Perplexity keeps the system active and turns the Mac into a host for ongoing processes that can resume without relaunching. The setup treats the computer as a system that carries tasks forward, not just a tool for opening and closing apps.