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 separate Personal AI account — 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 separate Personal AI account to create and nothing to install beyond the AI app you already use. Your Personal AI files stay in this folder on your computer; the AI app you choose may process conversations and files you make available under its own privacy settings.
Off by default. Your assistant behaves completely normally until you type PAI on. Once you turn it on, it stays on for that workspace conversation until you type PAI off. A new conversation starts off again.
Memory only when you say so. The assistant never turns ordinary conversation into durable memory. PAI setup, PAI remember:, PAI inbox:, and PAI feedback: each write only the specific information you explicitly ask them to capture.
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 keep its name as-is.
Connect your AI app to the folder
Claude desktop app: open Cowork and create a project using that existing folder. If Cowork asks which file to use as context, choose START-HERE.md. This is more reliable than attaching the folder to an ordinary conversation with the + Folder button. If you already used + Folder, you can still continue — use the Claude message in Step 3.
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.
Start the setup interview
Claude Cowork: paste this first message so Claude uses the connected template instead of a different system with the same initials:
Codex: type the same simple command as before:
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 reading or using Personal AI files in future requests in this conversation. Start a new conversation for a clean separation from material already discussed. |
PAI remember: | Saves one durable fact, preference, decision, or lesson about you. |
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.