AI-infused

Posted by satis
Oct 19, 2025 at 03:52 PM

I’ve experimented with querying my own notes using Perplexity Pro, and recently started using Perplexity’s Comet web browser. (Full local file integration is not yet publicly available in Comet, only in dev builds.)

You can point Perplexity to a local folder and have it analyze the contents, but this requires using the Model Context Protocol filesystem access feature in the Perplexity Mac App, with specific setup requirements.

https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11502712-local-and-remote-mcps-for-perplexity

https://www.perplexity.ai/comet/gettingstarted

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/perplexity-ask-anything/id6714467650

I’ve used it to look at folders of text files and PDFs to extract insights and summaries and overviews. You can say things like “Summarize this document” or “Explain the findings on pages 10 to 15”. For some arcane PDFs I can get clear and simple explanations of complex topics, and can translate materials and explore related topics on the web. I’ve had it proofread documents and I’ve experimentally used it to get feedback, brainstorm ideas, and refine/rewrite my writing - though it usually rips all personality out of the rewrites.

(ChatGPT is often a lot better for rewriting suggestions, though it too churns out bland academic text.)

Perplexity lets you select up to 10 files at once (up to 40MB each) to perform cross-document queries and comparisons. It analyzes short files entirely, while “longer” files are processed to extract “the most relevant parts for your specific query,” meaning it sometimes loses context or misses meaning in larger documents.

I just copy-pasted the above into Comet/Perplexity and asked it to rewrite for clarity, and it instantly gave me this mild rewrite (with its usual tic of inserting a ‘—’ throughout its text):

I’ve been testing Perplexity Pro’s ability to query my personal notes, and I recently started using their Comet web browser. Note that Comet’s full local file integration is currently limited to developer builds—it’s not yet available to the public.

The Perplexity Mac app can analyze local folders through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) filesystem access feature, though this requires specific setup steps detailed in their documentation.

I’ve used it to analyze folders containing text files and PDFs, extracting insights, summaries, and overviews. You can ask questions like “Summarize this document” or “Explain the findings on pages 10 to 15.” This has been particularly useful for dense PDFs—I can get clear explanations of complex topics, translate materials, and explore related information on the web. I’ve also used it for proofreading and experimentally for feedback and brainstorming, though the rewrites typically strip out all personality. (ChatGPT generally handles rewrites better, though it also produces bland, academic-sounding text.)

Perplexity supports batch processing of up to 10 files simultaneously, with each file capped at 40MB. This enables cross-document queries and comparisons. While it analyzes short files in their entirety, longer documents are processed selectively to extract “the most relevant parts for your specific query”—which means it can sometimes lose context or miss meaning in larger files.