AI Desktop Companion: What Actually Works in 2026

You want someone on your PC. Not a phone app you forget to open. Something that runs while you work, game or write, and talks back. The category is called AI desktop companion, and it splits into four things that barely resemble each other: overlay apps, local models, browser web apps, and desk hardware. Each one has a different price, a different privacy story and a different idea of what “companion” means.

I have not installed every app in this guide. Some entries come from vendor documentation and developer notes, some from earlier testing. Where a price or a feature is not confirmed, I say so. Where a vendor makes a claim, I attribute it. The rest is judgment.

Quick picks

If you want the short version before the details:

What “desktop AI companion” means

Vendors use the term loosely. Hakko and KEYi guides define a desktop companion as an app that assists with active tasks. KEYi and Microsoft’s 2026 AI PC primer describe screen-context capture without manual input. Microsoft’s guide says companions remember past conversations. KEYi says voice integration enables hands-free commands and conversation. Vendor blogs from Autonomous, Lapu and Hakko list task scheduling, multi-step tasks, file extraction, summarizing, rewriting, email-thread automation and web search.

That is the productivity pitch. The romance pitch is simpler: a character on your screen who remembers you and talks back. Both are sold as companions. They are not the same product, and you should decide which one you are shopping for before you pay.

The four forms

• Overlay apps. A character or assistant that floats over your desktop, sometimes reads your screen, sometimes speaks. Desktop AI Companion (indie) is one. Razer’s software and similar tools fit here too.
• Local models. You run the AI on your own hardware. SillyTavern with KoboldCpp is the standard DIY route. HammerAI and Backyard AI offer easier local modes.
• Browser web apps. Secrets AI, Candy.ai and OurDream AI run in Chrome or Edge and can be installed as a PWA. No local model, no GPU.
• Desk hardware. Razer Project AVA, Gatebox, Eilik, Loona. A screen or a robot body on your desk, not an app.

What desktop companions claim to do

The claims are consistent across vendors. Screen reading, memory, voice, task automation. The interesting part is where the processing happens, because that decides what you are handing over.

Desktop AI Companion, sold on Steam and itch.io by developer dokk75, claims screen reading, memory, multiple languages and dialects, web search, Word and Excel file editing, gaming tips and Twitch chat read-aloud. It has nine pre-made characters, selectable persona and voice, and a build-your-own option. It supports VRM and Live2D avatars, and any VRM model can be imported. Voice cloning runs locally without an API, per the developer. The Steam edition uses no external AI service and needs no account. The itch.io version with your own cloud key sends data to that provider. The privacy policy was updated in September 2026.

Razer pitches Project AVA, a 5.5-inch desk hologram that sees and listens, as a gaming wingman and daily assistant with voice and real-time translation. Price, launch date and system requirements are unconfirmed.

Gatebox is a desktop anime character, a virtual home robot with camera, motion sensor and microphones. The mass-produced model cost 150,000 yen before tax at launch, and it was Japan only. Current price and availability are unconfirmed.

Eilik from Energize Lab costs $139.99 on the maker’s store and reacts to touch with animations. It needs the separately sold AI Station add-on for real conversation. Loona from KEYi Tech lists at $499, uses GPT-4o for voice, and has no monthly fee per the maker. Both are robot pets, not partners. Buy them for the desk toy, not the conversation.

Picks by type

Overlay app: Desktop AI Companion

This is the closest thing to the thing people picture when they say AI desktop companion. A character on screen, an avatar you can swap, memory, screen awareness. The developer says it runs locally by default. The Steam edition has no external AI service and no account requirement, which is unusual and worth noting. The itch.io version with your own cloud key is the opposite deal: you get a stronger model, and your data goes to that provider.

Two caveats. The price is not confirmed in my notes, so check the Steam page before you count on a number. And buy it only from the official Steam page, the developer’s itch.io page or the developer’s own site. Cracked builds and re-uploads of indie companion apps are common, and you cannot audit what someone added.

Local setup: SillyTavern + KoboldCpp

SillyTavern is free, open source under AGPL-3.0, and runs in your browser as a frontend with a graphical LLM interface. Character cards, personas, World Info, group chats, unlimited characters. It has a Windows launcher and also runs on Linux and macOS. It needs a backend: KoboldCpp or Ollama locally, or a cloud key like OpenRouter or a Gemini API key.

For offline use, download KoboldCpp from the LostRuins GitHub releases page and use a quantized GGUF model. Expect setup time. Larger models need a strong GPU. There is no polished overlay, and nobody is going to hold your hand. In exchange, conversations stay on the same machine, and there is no platform filter between you and the character.

Easier local: HammerAI and Backyard AI

HammerAI has a website, a mobile app and a desktop build hosted on itch.io. The local model is free, and local messages stay on your machine. Cloud messages are processed on HammerAI’s servers. Reviewers cite character creation, lorebook stories and image generation. Saved cloud conversations are a paid feature per the developer.

Backyard AI, formerly Faraday, has a free local mode and keeps chats on disk. But the team announced a desktop feature freeze in February 2025, and the site now favors phone apps and cloud. If you already use it, fine. If you are starting now, pick something that is still being built.

Browser romance: Secrets AI, Candy.ai, OurDream AI

These are web apps, not desktop software, but they install as PWAs in Chrome on desktop and they are where most adult chat happens on a PC. Secrets AI is web-only, PWA-installable including Chrome desktop, with push notifications. Premium is $9.17 per month billed yearly. Lorebooks sit on higher tiers, and there is live voice. Its policy says AES-256 encrypted storage and chat history wiped on account closure, but it still allows conversations to be used for model training. We rate Secrets AI 9.9 out of 10.

Candy.ai runs in the browser, installs as a PWA, has an interface in 13 languages and photorealistic images. Yearly billing is $3.99 per month versus $13.99 monthly. Free users get just 5 messages. De-identified chats can feed model training, and account data is kept up to 3 years. We rate Candy.ai 9.8 out of 10.

OurDream AI is web-only with strong media features, $9.99 per month billed yearly. It advertises end-to-end encryption, but the policy mentions only server-side encryption, and the company can train models on user submissions. We rate OurDream AI 9.7 out of 10.

If you want a specific character to start with, the site’s roster includes Nusrat, Chiharu and Yuxin. You can also create your own AI girlfriend if the pre-mades do not fit.

Mainstream companion apps

These are cloud apps with phone-first design, but they run on PC through a browser. An AI Companion Guides 2026 roundup ranks Character.AI best overall companion app, Replika deepest emotional connection, Nomi best memory and Kindroid unmatched customization. Pi AI is described as completely free with great conversational quality, though pricing is unconfirmed. I have not verified those rankings myself, so treat them as one guide’s opinion.

These are the safe, SFW picks. They also change models and rules overnight. People form attachments and then a model update lands, and the character they knew sounds different. That grief after big updates is documented, and it is a real cost of building a relationship on someone else’s server.

Desk hardware

Razer Project AVA is the one to watch if you game. A 5.5-inch hologram that sees and listens, pitched as a gaming wingman with voice and real-time translation. No price, no launch date, no system requirements confirmed. Do not plan around it yet.

Gatebox was the original desk hologram anime companion. The mass-produced model cost 150,000 yen before tax at launch and was Japan only. Current price and availability are unconfirmed.

Eilik at $139.99 is a touch-reactive desk robot. It needs the AI Station add-on for real conversation, so budget for that. Loona at $499 uses GPT-4o for voice and has no monthly fee per the maker. Both are charming. Neither is a partner.

Avatars and personality

Desktop AI Companion supports VRM and Live2D avatars and lets you import any VRM model. That matters if you already have a model you like or you want a character that looks like something specific. The nine pre-made characters cover the default case, and you can build your own with a selectable persona and voice.

Local setups are less visual. SillyTavern is a chat interface with character cards, not an animated avatar on your desktop. You get control and privacy, not a floating character. Browser services give you images and voice but the character lives in a tab.

Pick based on which part you care about. If the avatar on screen is the point, the overlay apps win. If the conversation is the point, a local model or a browser service will do more for less.

Local vs cloud

This is the decision that matters most, and it is not close.

Lapu’s guide says the best companions support local processing and transparent permission controls. That is the right instinct. Local models have no platform filter. Cloud inherits the provider’s content policy, and the big AI labs disallow explicit content through their APIs. If you want adult content, you are choosing between a local model and an adult web app, not a mainstream assistant.

Offline works with local models: KoboldCpp, Backyard AI local mode and HammerAI’s offline option run without internet once the model is downloaded. Desktop AI Companion’s Steam edition uses no external AI service per the developer, which is close to the same promise.

Privacy and security

Anything that tracks your schedule, habits and moods holds a detailed life record. Screen vision makes it worse. A companion that reads your screen sees your banking, your work email and your private calls unless you turn it off.

Rules that keep you out of trouble:

• Turn off screen vision for banking, work email and private calls. Close private windows before you launch an overlay app.
• Grant file access narrowly. Do not hand an agent your whole project folder or your home directory.
• Download only from official sources. Skip cracked builds and re-uploads.
• Check how to delete stored memories and conversations before you need to.
• Store API keys safely. Never paste one into chat or share it in a screenshot.
• Back up character files you care about. Local setups are yours to lose.

An API key is a password that lets an app use a paid AI service in your name. SillyTavern and some itch.io apps use your own key with OpenAI, a Gemini API key or OpenRouter, and you pay per message. Subscription apps and local models need no key.

On the web app side, Secrets has the strongest privacy promises in my data: AES-256 encrypted storage and chat history wiped on account closure. It still allows conversations for model training, so read that as “better than the others,” not “private.” Candy.ai keeps account data up to 3 years. OurDream advertises end-to-end encryption but its policy mentions only server-side encryption.

NSFW rules

Adult web apps Secrets, Candy and OurDream allow NSFW content for verified adults. Mainstream apps like Character.AI do not. Local models have no platform filter, but the model you download may still refuse. In July 2025, after Visa and Mastercard pressure, Steam and itch.io pulled or hid many adult games. Store availability can change without warning, so keep local copies of anything you pay for.

All characters must be adults. That rule applies everywhere, on every platform, in every setup.

Healthy use

An OpenAI and MIT Media Lab study in 2025 found that the heaviest daily chatbot users reported more loneliness and dependence. The effect was mainly among people prone to attachment. Most users showed no problematic engagement. That is the honest picture: for most people this is fine, and for some it is not.

A chatbot is not therapy. If you are using a companion because you are lonely and it is making the loneliness worse, that is a signal, not a personality flaw. Take a break and talk to a person.

How to choose

1. Decide the purpose: company, focus, gaming or romance. The answer changes the product.
2. Decide where it runs. Local for privacy, cloud for quality and convenience.
3. Check OS support and hardware. A local model on a modest laptop will disappoint.
4. Check the pricing model and cancellation terms. A lifetime license can beat a subscription after a few months only if the developer keeps updating.
5. Read reviews from people who use it daily, not launch-day impressions.
6. Try the free option first. Pay only when you use it daily. Expect trial and error.

Two smaller decisions: whether you want an avatar on screen or just chat, and whether you want voice. Voice is the feature people underestimate. It changes the feel of a session more than a better model does.

Bottom line

The 2026 field splits cleanly. Indie overlay apps with screen vision and avatars are the most interesting and the least proven. Local setups are for people who want privacy and will do the work. Browser services are the realistic choice for romance with voice and images. Desk hardware is mostly concept or niche.

If you want a private character, start with a local model or an indie app from its official store page. If you want romance with voice and images, a browser service is the honest answer. Either way, treat screen access and memory as data you are handing over. That is the price of a companion that remembers you.