AI agent desk · installed for you
An agent desk for your business, not just a box on your desk.
Agent desks are here. Perplexity, the PC makers and the Mac mini itself are all pitched as a computer that runs an AI agent around the clock. The hardware is the easy half. Staffbox does the other half: it is sold and supported through managed IT providers (first partner conversations under way), it learns your price lists and procedures, and it is scored on your own past requests before it touches real work.
The category
What an AI agent desk is, and what a business needs from one.
An agent desk is a dedicated computer, usually a Mac mini or a small AI PC, that runs an agent all day with access to your files, inbox and tools. For one person, buying a box and installing an app can be enough. For a business, four more things decide whether it gets used.
1. Someone installs and looks after it
On your network, behind your firewall, patched with everything else. Staffbox is sold and supported through managed IT providers (first partner conversations under way), so the box can be managed like any other machine.
2. It knows how your business works
A general agent knows the internet. A useful one knows your price list, your surcharges, your lead times and who handles what. Staffbox seeds a plain-Markdown vault from your files, and the agent reads it before it acts.
3. You know it works before it goes live
Each workflow is scored on your own past requests on day 0 and day 30, misses included. Our small 8B model scored 1 of 40 alone on our GPU test box (30 Sep); on our 16 GB Mac mini with the company brain and quote action it scored 40 of 40 and 39 of 40 (2 Oct), and 351 of 360 generated messy requests with 0 wrong totals in 475 answers (6 Oct). measured, fictional test companies
4. People stay in charge
It drafts; a person approves anything that leaves the building. Thinking and memory stay on your network by default, and cloud AI is switched on only for jobs you name, on your own key.
If you are comparing
Staffbox vs Perplexity Computer.
Perplexity Computer is a strong general-purpose agent, and Personal Computer puts it on a Mac mini in your home or office. If you want a personal agent and are happy to set it up yourself, use it. Staffbox is for the shared office work that needs your own rules, an installer and a score.
| Perplexity Computer / Personal Computer | Staffbox | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A subscription. Personal Computer was launched on the Max plan, reported at $200 a month, and you supply the Mac. as reported, Mar 2026 | A service: box, install, vault seeding and the workflows that pass their score, for $595 a month at founding sites, after a free 30-day pilot. draft price |
| Who sets it up | You install the app on a Mac you own and connect your accounts. | Sold and supported through managed IT providers (first partner conversations under way); Staffbox builds the vault and the workflows with one person on your side who knows your quotes. |
| What it knows | The web, plus the files and apps you give it access to. | A company brain written from your price lists, procedures and past requests, which the agent reads before acting and appends to, never rewrites. |
| Where the thinking happens | Tasks start in Perplexity's cloud; with Hybrid Compute on Mac, steps involving private files run on a local model, behind an on-device privacy gate. Portable Computer runs a 27B model fully on Windows PCs with 24 GB or more of GPU memory, on the Pro and Max plans. as reported, Sep 2026 | On the box by default, with open-weight models through Ollama. Cloud AI only for jobs you name, on your own key, paid to the provider directly. |
| How you know it works | You try it on your tasks yourself. | A score on your own past requests on day 0 and day 30, misses shown. Every miss becomes a test case re-run before the next change. |
| Certifications | Enterprise tier reported with SOC 2 Type II, SSO and audit logs. as reported | None yet. See the Trust Center for what is in place and what is planned. |
| When you leave | Your Mac stays yours; the agent's service ends with the subscription. | After the first paid month the box and the plain-Markdown vault are yours to keep. We delete our copies within 14 days. draft terms |
Our read, not a benchmark. opinion You can run both: a personal agent on one desk, Staffbox on the shared office work. Perplexity is a trademark of its owner; Staffbox is not affiliated with Perplexity.
Other agent desks
PC makers now sell "agent computers" and deskside AI workstations, and the Mac mini is marketed for always-on agents. More compute, bought as hardware; you still need someone to set it up and teach it your business.
Boxes with ready-made virtual employees
A receptionist or sales assistant on day one; some answer the phone. Staffbox has no phone or voice channel yet. It starts with workflows built from your own requests, each scored before it goes live. stated
Do it yourself
The agent we use is open source. If someone on your team will set it up, test it on your work and keep it patched, do that. The fee pays for the brain, the test and the monthly review, not the software.
Compare it on your own work, not ours. Send 3 requests, get the answers free or call Hadi: 404 493 6248
Why an operator built this
Built by someone who has run the front and the back of a business.
Most agent desks are built by AI labs and chip makers, for people who like setting things up. Staffbox is built by an operator who has had to answer the customer at the front and make the paperwork add up at the back, and who knows that a tool nobody trusts does not get used.
Hadi Irvani, founder
Founded PeachDish, the Atlanta meal-kit company. General partner of Infill Capital Partners, a European hotel platform. Runs Longacre Partners, his Atlanta investment company. Member and mentor in EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization). Runs unit zero on his own desk and answers his own phone: 404 493 6248. stated
Front of house
Answers and intake: read the shared inbox, draft replies from your vault, quote from your price list in your voice, flag what needs a person.
Back of house
Paperwork and reconciliation: match POs to invoices, chase missing certificates, prepare month-end packs, turn meeting notes into tasks.
Shop floor
"How do we do X here" answered from your SOPs, with the source file named, for the people doing the work.
Questions
Agent desk questions.
What is an AI agent desk?
A computer that sits in your office and runs an AI agent all day, with access to your files, inbox and tools. It is usually a Mac mini or a small AI PC. The agent software can reach cloud models, local models, or both.
How is Staffbox different from Perplexity Computer?
Perplexity sells the agent as a subscription you set up yourself on a Mac or PC you buy; its local versions keep the box, but the setup and the teaching are still yours. Staffbox is a service: the box, install and support through managed IT providers, a company brain built from your price lists and procedures, and a score on your own past requests before anything goes live, for one monthly fee. Perplexity has an enterprise tier with SOC 2 Type II; Staffbox has no certification and no customer install yet.
Can I use Perplexity Computer and Staffbox together?
Yes. They do different jobs. A personal research and browsing agent can sit on one person's desk; Staffbox runs the shared office workflows (quotes from your price list, the shared inbox, staff questions about your procedures) on a box in your office.
Who installs a Staffbox agent desk?
Staffbox is sold and supported through managed IT providers (first partner conversations under way). The plan is that your existing IT provider (MSP) puts the box on the shelf and the network and patches it like the rest of your systems. Staffbox seeds the vault from your files and sets up the workflows that pass their score. We are in early talks with IT providers in Atlanta; none is named yet.
What does a Staffbox agent desk cost?
Founding sites (first 100): a free 30-day pilot, then $595 a month for as long as the box is live, box and install included, no onboarding fee. From unit 101: $695 a month plus $1,800 onboarding. Draft prices. No per-seat or per-token bill for local work.
The first step costs nothing. Send 3 requests, get the answers free See the full Staffbox page
Sources for other products (checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Perplexity Personal Computer launch, 11 Mar 2026, Max plan: technology.org, MacRumors
- Hybrid Compute on Mac, 1 Sep 2026: Perplexity blog, MarkTechPost
- Portable Computer on Windows and AMD Ryzen AI Max, 24 Sep 2026: IT Brief, Jon Peddie Research
- Enterprise controls: The Next Web