A free AI desktop assistant for your PC that does the job, not just the talking

Ask a chatbot how to turn on dark mode and you get a list of steps. Then you do them yourself. That is useful, but you are still the one doing the work.

A desktop AI assistant is a different kind of thing. It lives on your computer, not in a browser tab, and it uses the computer the way you do: it opens a window, presses a button, moves a file. You ask for the result and it does the steps.

Chatbot, voice assistant or desktop assistant?

• A chatbot answers in words. It can explain how, but it cannot reach your files or your settings.
• A voice assistant like the ones built into phones handles quick requests one at a time: a timer, a reminder, a question.
• A desktop assistant does jobs on the computer itself, across the apps you already use, and tells you what it did.

Key is the third kind. It is a free personal assistant that lives on your computer, and you can speak to it or type to it.

What a desktop assistant can do on a PC

These are the sort of requests people give Key on an ordinary day:

• Files. "Find my March bill." "Put this photo on the Desktop." It finds files by what is inside them, not just the name, and reads the document to be sure it has the right one.
• Settings. "Turn the brightness down." "Switch to dark mode." "Make the text bigger." "Mute everything."
• Apps. "Open my timetable." "Join my 4 o'clock meeting." Key opens the real app and presses the real button. There is nothing to connect first.
• The web. "Order the usual." Key fills the checkout in and stops before paying.
• Reminders. Tell it what and when, the way you would tell a friend, and it speaks up when the time comes.
• Your machine. "What's eating my battery?"

Here is a whole job from one sentence:

KeyChat

Empty my Downloads into folders

opened Downloadssorted the files by typemoved them into Documents, Images, Installers and Archives

Done. Your Downloads are in four folders now, and nothing was deleted.

Checked: every file is in its new folder

Speak or type, whichever suits

Voice is handy when your hands are busy or you are across the room. Typing is better somewhere quiet, or when the request is long. In Key the microphone and the chat box are the same assistant with the same result, and you can switch whenever you like. It answers out loud too.

What to check before you install one

Anything that can use your whole computer can also make a mess of it. Before you trust one, look for straight answers to these questions:

1. Can it delete things for good? Key cannot. Anything it removes goes to the Recycle Bin or the Trash, and there is no permanent delete in the program at all.
2. Can it spend your money? Key fills a checkout in completely and then waits. Your yes covers that one payment, on that one site, once.
3. Will it type your passwords? Key will not. A login screen is yours. It tells you what is being asked for and goes no further.
4. Does it check its own work? Key reads the result back before it says done, and when it could not check, it tells you so.
5. Can you see it and stop it? Key shows a small panel while it works, so you can see each step and stop it at any point.

The longer version of this list is in Is it safe to let an AI assistant use your computer?

What it costs and what it runs on

Key is free to download, with no card and no trial. Every feature is in the free version, with nothing held back for a paid one. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, and on any Mac with macOS 11 Big Sur or newer, Intel or Apple Silicon. On a Mac it is one download for both kinds of chip; there is a page about using an AI assistant on a Mac.

Getting started

1. Download Key for Windows or Mac from the button below and run the installer.
2. Sign in when it asks. After that, Key sits quietly at the top of your screen until you need it.
3. Speak to it, or open the chat and type. Start with something small, like "turn the brightness down", and watch what it does.

Related guide: An AI assistant for your Mac that works in your real apps

Related guide: A voice assistant for your PC: say what you want, and it gets done

Related guide: How to free up disk space on Windows 11 without deleting what matters