Short answer: Aside announced Computer Use on 6 November 2026. Its AI browser agent, which already works across your logged-in websites, can now operate desktop apps on Mac and Windows and run in the background across several apps on macOS. Aside says it is 2.7x faster with 65% fewer tokens than Codex in its own internal evals; the changelog lists Computer Use for Max subscribers (USD 200 a month) and experimental accounts.

By Agent Playbox Editorial · Published

Aside Computer Use: an AI browser agent for desktop apps

Key facts

What did Aside launch on 6 November 2026?

Aside is an AI browser for macOS and Windows that describes itself as “a browser rebuilt for people and agents” (aside.com). Its agent signs in and works across your email, dashboards and internal tools using the websites and accounts you already have, rather than relying on integrations.

On 6 November 2026 the company introduced Aside Computer Use with a short line: “80% of work happens on browser, this covers the rest” (@AsideAI on X). The feature lets the same agent step outside the browser window and operate other apps on your computer. It is available on Mac and Windows, and on macOS it can run in the background across multiple apps.

How does Aside Computer Use work?

From tabs to apps

Aside’s changelog first listed the feature on 23 October 2026: you ask the agent to work across desktop apps, mention apps in chat, watch live previews and take over whenever you want. You switch it on in Settings > Agents > Computer Use (Aside changelog). A 1 November update made Mac setup a single permission sheet for Accessibility and Screen Recording, and taught the Windows agent to find closed, minimised and Start-menu apps.

Speed claims, clearly labelled

Aside says Computer Use is 2.7x faster and uses 65% fewer tokens than Codex. The company marks this as based on internal evals (launch post), and we have not seen an independent head-to-head yet, so treat it as a vendor figure worth testing on your own tasks.

How much does Aside cost and who can use Computer Use?

Aside’s pricing page, checked on 9 November 2026, lists Free, Pro at USD 20 a month and Max at USD 200 a month, plus team features such as starting browser agent runs from your app or cron jobs and sharing profiles and vaults.

The changelog says Computer Use is available to Max subscribers and experimental accounts (23 Oct 2026); the launch post did not say whether that has widened. Aside runs on macOS 15 or later and Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11, and you can use your ChatGPT or Claude subscription or bring your own API key (aside.com).

How does Aside keep you in control?

Aside lets agents sign in through autofill without exposing your credentials to the AI. Sensitive actions such as payments, posts and messages wait for your confirmation, and every credential use is logged so you can see what the agent touched (aside.com). Data is encrypted on your device, and sandbox guardrails isolate filesystem and network access.

Computer Use adds live previews and a take-over option, so you can watch an app task and step in (changelog). That makes a good first habit: start with a reversible job, such as filling a spreadsheet from a web dashboard, before you hand over anything that sends or pays.

What does it mean for everyday work?

Most office jobs hop between a browser and a few desktop apps: a report in a web tool, a spreadsheet on your Mac, a slide deck at the end. Aside’s bet is that one agent should follow the whole job rather than stopping at the edge of the tab. For a team, that maps to use cases like invoice intake and filing, monthly expense categorisation and competitor watch.

Skills such as data extraction, document generation and web research are natural fits, and the ops clerk and research analyst templates give you a ready brief to adapt. The launch also landed well with people who save tools to try later: Doomers AI measured 69.8 saves per 10,000 views, 5.8x its directory median (Doomers AI).

How does Aside compare with Strawberry and Perplexity Computer?

Strawberry is another AI browser built around agents that do work in your tabs. Perplexity Computer gives its agent its own computer for long tasks and can run fully local on Mac. Aside sits between them: a browser you use every day, with your own logins and password vault, that can now also reach desktop apps.

See Aside vs Strawberry and Aside vs Perplexity Computer for side-by-side criteria, and our business vs personal agents guide if you are choosing your first agent.

What should you watch next?

In October an Aside co-founder previewed a v2 that reframes the product as a “personal work assistant”, with Aside Cloud to keep routines running with the laptop lid closed and a mobile app organised by topic (PiunikaWeb, 19 Oct 2026). Those are plans, not shipped features, so watch for dates.

Also watch whether Computer Use opens beyond Max, and whether independent benchmarks test the speed claim. We will keep the Aside profile current; for more desktop agents see Strawberry 1.0 and Perplexity Computer on Mac.

Timeline: how did we get here?

Agent snapshot: what do we know so far?

Facts below come from the agent profiles in our directory, each linked to its source.

Aside at a glance

Full Aside profile

Strawberry at a glance

Full Strawberry profile

Perplexity Computer at a glance

Full Perplexity Computer profile

Related comparisons and guides

Agents in this story

Aside

business agent

An AI browser rebuilt for people and agents: its agent works across your logged-in websites, and Computer Use (launched 6 Nov 2026) lets it operate desktop apps on Mac and Windows, while payments, posts and messages wait for your confirmation.

Strawberry

business agent

An AI browser for non-technical teams: you hire or build AI 'companions' that work in your tabs and connected apps on sales, recruiting, marketing and research jobs, run on schedules, and can be shared with the whole team.

Perplexity Computer

business agent

Perplexity's agent for end-to-end projects: it plans the work, picks the right model for each step, connects to hundreds of apps and hands back finished research, reports, dashboards and apps. Since 20 Oct 2026 it can also run fully on your Mac.

Frequently asked questions

What is Aside Computer Use?

It is a feature of the Aside AI browser, announced on 6 November 2026, that lets its agent operate desktop apps on Mac and Windows, not just websites, and run in the background across several apps on macOS.

How much does Aside cost?

Aside lists Free, Pro at USD 20 a month and Max at USD 200 a month (checked 9 November 2026). The changelog lists Computer Use for Max subscribers and experimental accounts.

Is Aside really faster than Codex?

Aside says 2.7x faster with 65% fewer tokens than Codex, based on its own internal evals. No independent head-to-head had been published when we checked.

Does Aside act without asking?

Payments, posts and messages wait for your confirmation, credentials are autofilled without being shown to the AI, and you can watch live previews and take over Computer Use tasks.

Which computers does Aside support?

macOS 15 or later, and Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11, with x64 and ARM64 installers.

Sources

Updated