GoKawiilLance Whitney/ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google
Agentic AI is designed to save you time and labor by handling complex, multi-step tasks on your computer with little or no interaction from you. Just describe the mission to your favorite AI, and it should complete the required steps all on its own. Among the companies rolling out their own agentic AIs, Perplexity has been touting its Personal Computer feature built into its desktop apps.
Previously available only for the Mac, Perplexity Personal Computer recently expanded to Windows, supporting both Windows 11 and Windows 10. The only requirement is that you must subscribe to one of Perplexity's paid plans -- Pro, Max, or Enterprise. Beyond that, you'll need to download and install the latest Perplexity app for Windows, which you can grab at the Perplexity Downloads page or the Microsoft Store.
Also: I gave Perplexity's agentic AI 5 complex tasks to run on my Mac - and I'll do it again
Once installed, the Perplexity app can interact with your content in several ways. First, it can access your local files. Second, it can use any native application on your Windows computer. Third, it can connect to and work with files on your cloud-based services such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox.
Beyond typing your request at the prompt, you can also speak it. With Perplexity's voice mode, you're able to carry on a back-and-forth conversation with the AI to flesh out any questions or confusion before it tackles the assigned task.
How to get started
The first time you launch the Perplexity Windows app, you'll be asked if you want the AI to work with your local files. To give Personal Computer access to them, click the button for "Enable local access."
... continue reading