Overview
- Perplexity, which began rolling out the Mac feature Thursday, is granting access to Max subscribers and prioritized waitlist users through the Perplexity Mac app.
- The assistant links to local folders, native macOS apps, and the browser to read, write, and take actions across files and services on a user's machine.
- It can run as an always-on agent on any Mac with macOS 14 or later, with Perplexity recommending a Mac mini for 24/7 tasks and remote starts from an iPhone with two-factor checks.
- Perplexity says actions happen in a secure sandbox with audit logs, reversibility, and a kill switch, yet reporters warn of real privacy risk from broad always-on access.
- Access sits behind the $200-per-month Max tier while the $20 Pro plan lacks it, a price that coverage suggests could curb broad testing as rivals pursue similar computer-control tools.