Perplexity priced me out of its OpenClaw clone

I desire a private AI assistant. There, I mentioned it. I desire a group of brokers on my pc that take over my system, kind by e mail, decide by my calendar occasions, scour the online for information and developments I care about, craft to-do lists and verify off the gadgets it may do by itself, and set up my day. Go forward and signal me up.

The issue, after all, is getting a private AI assistant that may do all that securely and safely. OpenClaw, the open-source sensation that kicked off the entire private AI craze earlier this yr, is each tough to put in and difficult to regulate, susceptible to nuking inboxes with out discover whereas being a simple goal for hackers. 

Enter Perplexity, which is launching an AI assistant for the Mac that’s designed to easy out the tough edges of OpenClaw. Constructed with transparency in thoughts so you’ll be able to see what it’s doing and confined in a sandbox that acts as a security internet, Perplexity’s Private Pc appears to be like to be OpenClaw for everyone.

Only one downside: Private Pc isn’t priced for everyone.

Extensively out there as of Thursday after weeks of waitlist-only entry, Private Pc isn’t out there without cost Perplexity customers, nor are you able to apply it to Perplexity’s $20-per-month Professional plan. No, you’ll be able to solely entry Private Pc through Perplexity’s Max tier, which prices an eye-popping $200 month-to-month.

I’ll cowl AI for a residing, however I’m not incomes AI-tech-bro bucks and I’ve to pay for my AI subscriptions out of my very own pocket. I refuse to pay greater than $20/month for any single AI service, and I’ve allowed myself three of them going without delay (proper now they’re ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini). As a lot as I’d wish to attempt Private Pc, I received’t pay $200/month for it. (And only for the file, I’m not begging to be comped. I want overlaying my very own bills, thanks.)

After all, Perplexity may merely be setting a sensible worth given what Private Pc does. AI brokers are infamous utilization hogs, spending AI tokens like no tomorrow as they carry out multi-step duties. And if one AI agent can spend a small fortune on AI tokens, think about how a lot injury a group of brokers may do.

Perplexity could be making an attempt to dodge the ire that’s now being directed at Anthropic, with Claude Professional customers immediately blowing by their five-hour utilization allotments when utilizing such agentic AI instruments as Claude Cowork and Claude Code. Sure, $20-a-month Claude Professional customers like me can dabble in Cowork and Claude Code, however you solely get a style (just like how Jeff Probst permits ravenous Survivor contestants solely a nibble of a reward-challenge feast earlier than they battle for the mouth-watering prize).

The onerous fact is that agentic AI performance like coding assistants and private AI agent groups just about require north of $100/month if you wish to get something actual accomplished, or at the least that’s the pricing actuality in need of a breakthrough in AI token effectivity.

For on a regular basis AI customers like me and (most likely) you—individuals who want that cash for groceries, electrical energy, fuel, and Netflix—agentic AI instruments like Perplexity’s Private Pc stay frustratingly out of attain.