Perplexity launches Portable Computer local AI agent

Perplexity has launched Portable Computer, a new version of its AI agent platform designed to run primarily on a user's own hardware, marking a significant shift toward local processing for complex, multi-step tasks. The announcement was made on August 25, 2026. The new tool is a local-first iteration of Perplexity Computer, an agentic AI assistant that debuted in February 2026. While the original version relies on cloud-based processing, Portable Computer is built to execute its core runtime, including the orchestrator model, subagent models, and the agent harness, directly on the user's machine.