Perplexity is turning the Mac mini into a persistent AI worker. The company's new Personal Computer product, announced March 11, runs continuously on a Mac mini connected to both local apps and Perplexity's cloud servers. It's an extension of Perplexity Computer, the multi-model orchestration system the company launched in late February, now with direct access to a user's files, sessions, and desktop applications.
The pitch: give it an objective, walk away, come back to results. CEO Aravind Srinivas described it as "a persistent digital proxy of you" in the announcement. The system connects to Gmail, Slack, GitHub, Notion, and Salesforce, per Digital Trends, and can monitor triggers and execute tasks across all of them. Sensitive actions still require user approval, everything is logged, and there's a kill switch.
The obvious comparison is OpenClaw, the open-source local AI agent that sparked a wave of Mac mini purchases in AI circles. Perplexity's version differs in one key way: it routes AI processing through Perplexity's servers rather than running models locally, using up to 20 models in parallel. Whether that's a feature or a privacy concern depends on your perspective.
Access requires a Perplexity Max subscription at $200/month and a spot on the waitlist. Subscribers get 10,000 monthly credits for computational tasks, though Perplexity hasn't published how fast different tasks burn through them. An enterprise version with compliance features and SSO is also coming. No timeline on broader availability.
Bottom Line
Personal Computer requires a $200/month Max subscription and waitlist access, with no published credit-consumption rates for tasks.
Quick Facts
- Price: $200/month (Perplexity Max subscription required)
- Platform: Mac mini only at launch
- Credits: 10,000 monthly credits included (consumption rates unpublished)
- Models: Up to 20 models orchestrated in parallel
- Access: Waitlist only, no general availability date announced
