Model and work both stay on the Mac
Perplexity announced on its official X account on Oct. 20 (Oct. 21 Japan time) that "Computer," its AI agent that works on a computer on the user's behalf, can now run entirely on a Mac. Unlike the previous approach, the AI model, task planning and reasoning, and file processing all run on the device. Programs and tools are run in an environment isolated from everything else.
Computer can use Mac apps directly, working across Notes, Messages, Mail, Keynote and Numbers. Perplexity said tasks can be completed without sending personal data to the cloud. The model used on the device is "Qwen 3.6" from China's Alibaba or the company's own "PPLX Pro," which is Qwen 3.6 with additional training.
Paid plans only, 36GB or more of memory recommended
It is available to subscribers of the paid "Pro" and "Max" plans and the business "Enterprise" plan, who select the "fully local" mode in the Mac app. It works on Macs with Apple's in-house designed chips, and 36GB or more of memory is recommended to run it fully locally. Macs with 24GB of memory can use a mode that combines high-performance cloud models with the on-device model.
Latest information and browsers require the cloud
Even when running only on the device, tasks that look up the latest information, operate a browser or use cloud-connected apps require a connection to the cloud. The user grants permission each time and can decide when to spend usage credits. For difficult problems, it can also call on more than 15 external high-performance models.
The claim that data is not sent out is the company's own, and there has been no outside verification yet. The company has also not provided speed or performance figures.
