Perplexity PC is now available to everyone on Mac

Perplexity PC, its answer to OpenClaw and other homegrown AI clients, is now available to all Mac users via its desktop app, the company announced Thursday.

As a reminder, the PC is an extension of Perplexity’s general-purpose multi-paradigm digital agent which is confusingly called the Perplexity Computer. Meanwhile, PC is designed to bring these capabilities to your own device. It does this by allowing AI agents to access local files, applications and connectors, as well as the web, in order to handle an individual user’s multi-step personalized workflow.

Or, as the company describes the PC, it “brings the PC out of the cloud-only world and into the device where most of your real work actually happens.”

The goal is to capitalize on the growing demand for local AI agents, made famous by OpenClaw, that can perform tasks on behalf of users. But while OpenClaw poses many security risks due to its elevated permissions, solutions like PC aim to provide a more secure AI-driven computing environment. (Or at least that’s the claim.)

Perplexity’s PC was introduced last month, but was limited to Perplexity Max subscribers and included a waiting list. Today, the company says anyone using a Mac can now try the software as part of the new Perplexity Mac app. (Anyone can download the new app, but PC requires a Pro or Max subscription.)

At launch, the program is able to work with your local files, native Mac apps, and work on the web. It can also format tools and files, use over 400 connectors, and leverage your personal context, all within a secure development environment on Perplexity servers.

If paired with Perplexity’s AI-powered Comet web browser, it can run web-based tools without the need for direct connectors.

Designed to run autonomous agents on an always-on device like a Mac Mini, it can also access your PC remotely from your iPhone, so you can start tasks or approve requests from your device.

Confusion suggests that this can be used in all types of work, such as working with spreadsheets, documents, and projects containing many different materials. Because the tool can work across apps, agents can do something like compare two files from different apps or pull notes from one app to create a draft in another app.

As a result of its general availability, Perplexity says its older Mac app will be retired in the coming weeks so the team can focus on the PC app.

The new Mac app is only available for direct download at the moment; It’s not in the Mac App Store.