Perplexity introduced a competitor to OpenAI — Personal Computer - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

# Perplexity Introduces a Competitor to OpenClaw — Personal Computer

Perplexity has launched a local AI agent called Personal Computer — it operates 24/7 and retains “memory” between sessions, similar to OpenClaw.

The “general-purpose digital employee” interacts with users through the same interfaces. The tool creates and executes workflows and can work for hours.

The first version of the product — Perplexity Computer — was released in February 2026, and on March 11, the company announced an updated AI assistant version.

The company positions the service as a separate computer because it offers “high-precision AI search, an orchestration system of 20 advanced models, and agent-based internet access.”

“Personal Computer runs on a dedicated Mac mini, which can operate around the clock, connected to your local applications and Perplexity’s secure servers,” the startup’s blog states.

The company calls the solution a “digital representative of the user,” enabling remote management of work tools and files from any device.

Personal Computer operates in a secure environment with protective mechanisms. Critical operations require manual confirmation, and an emergency shutdown mechanism is in place in case of failures.

Computer for Businesses

Perplexity conducted research based on metrics from McKinsey, Harvard, MIT, and BCG. The results showed that Perplexity Computer:

• saved internal teams $1.6 million;
• handled a workload equivalent to 3.25 years in just four weeks.

The company also offers the Computer for Enterprise service. It easily integrates into corporate infrastructure and supports hundreds of popular platforms, including Snowflake, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

Clients can customize the neural network for their own business processes. For example, employees can interact with LLMs in Slack via direct messages or a shared channel to write code, create dashboards, presentations, build financial models, and perform other tasks. Asynchronous workflow execution is also supported.

Ecosystem Updates

Perplexity announced updates to its other products:

• Comet has been adapted for enterprise environments — administrators can decide where and how the assistant operates, set permissions for the entire browser or specific domains, and approve more active operation;
• The Perplexity platform is expanding with four APIs: Search, Agent, Embeddings, Sandbox;
• Computer now has access to data from Statista, CB Insights, PitchBook;
• Perplexity Finance has been updated — a data and analytics layer for Computer, Deep Research, and Search, along with a dedicated dashboard for real-time market and news tracking. The service now supports over 40 financial instruments in real time.

The entire Perplexity ecosystem is unified under the brand — Computer. The initiative aims to integrate artificial intelligence into all levels of work — from personal tasks to enterprise software and financial analytics.

Recall that in February, Samsung added Perplexity as the second system AI agent in its new S26 smartphones.