A private AI assistant that actually knows you
Personal AI is a free starter kit that gives your AI assistant lasting knowledge of who you are, what you care about, and what you’re working on — so you stop re-introducing yourself in every conversation.
One click, no account needed — everything lands in your Downloads folder. Prefer to see the source? It’s on GitHub.
Deliberately simple
It is just a folder of ordinary files that lives on your own computer. There is no account to create, nothing to install beyond the AI app you already use, and nothing stored in the cloud.
Off by default. Your assistant behaves completely normally until you type PAI on. Nothing about you is loaded behind your back.
Memory only when you say so. The assistant records something about you only when you type PAI remember: — never from ordinary conversation.
Yours. Every file is on your computer, readable by you, and deletable by you.
Setting it up: three steps, then a conversation
Get your copy of the folder
Click the Download button on this page, then look in your Downloads for a folder called personal-ai-template-main. (If you see a ZIP file with that name instead, double-click it and it becomes the folder.) Move the whole folder to your Documents and rename it something friendly like Personal AI.
Connect your AI app to the folder
Claude desktop app: open Cowork and choose that folder as the place to work.
ChatGPT desktop app: select Codex at the top — not Chat. Codex is the part that can work inside your folder; regular Chat can’t see your files. Then choose the folder.
Type PAI setup
The assistant interviews you — who you are, what you care about, who you meet with — and fills in your files for you. About 10–15 minutes, every question skippable. See exactly what that looks like.
How to turn it on and off
| You type | What happens |
|---|---|
PAI on | The assistant reads your personal files, then helps using what it knows about you. |
PAI off | The assistant stops using your personal files and goes back to normal. |
PAI remember: | Saves one fact, preference, or decision — the only way lasting memory is recorded. |
PAI inbox: | Jots an idea down to sort out later. |
PAI feedback: | Tells the system what worked and what didn’t, so it improves. |
What everyday use looks like
That last one produces a short weekly report — people you haven’t talked to in a while, ideas waiting in your inbox, tasks still open. You just ask; the assistant handles the mechanics.
Skills: teach it once, ask for it forever
A skill is a repeatable workflow saved as a file in your folder. Once a skill exists, you never re-explain that task — one sentence brings back the whole routine, done your way, every time. This is how your Personal AI grows from a helpful stranger into a practiced hand.
Your copy comes with eight skills built in, including:
weekly-review
Your week at a glance: who to follow up with, ideas waiting in your inbox, tasks still open.
research
Careful, source-backed research — from a quick look-up to a deep investigation with every claim traceable.
extract-wisdom
Turn a long podcast, video, or article into the insights worth keeping.
process-forge
Design or fix a process step by step — an intake procedure, an event plan, a volunteer workflow.
And the best one is the one that doesn’t exist yet. When you catch yourself asking for the same kind of help twice, say:
The assistant writes the workflow down, and from then on it’s yours — part of your folder, working in every future conversation. Read the actual skill files in the tour.
See it before you try it
Browse the actual files, watch the interview happen, then download your own copy.