Local AI
AI that runs directly on your own device, such as your laptop or phone, rather than on a company's computers over the internet. Your words never leave your machine, which keeps them private. AI that works on your own hardware like this is called local AI.
When you use most AI chat tools, your messages travel over the internet to powerful computers run by a company, which do the thinking and send the answer back. Local AI works differently. The model runs on your own device, so the work happens right there in front of you and nothing you type is sent away.
The clearest benefit is privacy. Because your words never leave your machine, local AI appeals to anyone working with sensitive or personal information. It can also keep working without an internet connection, which is handy on a train or a plane, and there are no per-use charges once it is set up.
There are trade-offs worth being honest about. Local models usually need to be smaller than the giant ones running in big data centres, so they may be a little less capable, and they ask something of your device’s memory and processing power. For many everyday tasks, though, a good local model is more than enough.
Local AI usually relies on an open-source model that you can download and run, and it is a friendly way to get a feel for how a large language model behaves when it is entirely in your hands rather than reached through an API.