What is computer use?
Computer use is an AI acting on a real computer for you, either through the computer's own interfaces, such as commands and files, or by looking at the screen and working the mouse and keyboard.
The two approaches differ a great deal in speed, reliability and risk. Venta uses the first, and does not offer the second generally.
How it works
Command-based computer use gives the AI a command line and file access on a linked computer. It is fast and precise, and every action can be shown as text before or after it runs.
Screen-based computer use sends the AI screenshots and lets it click and type like a person. It works with any program, including ones without a command line, but it is slower, can misread the screen, and is harder to review.
Examples
- Finding a file by name or date and opening it.
- Checking disk space and listing the largest folders.
- Installing an update or restarting a service, with your approval.
- Clicking through a desktop program that has no command line, which needs screen control.
Limitations
- The computer has to be on, connected and running the agent software.
- Commands can change or delete things, so approvals matter.
- Screen control is slower and less predictable than commands.
How Venta uses it
Venta runs in your browser. To work on a computer, you link it once: a desktop app on Windows, or a one-file agent on macOS and Linux. After that Venta can read files there and run commands — only the ones you ask about, and only while the app is running.
Screen viewing and mouse and keyboard control exist in the Windows app as betas and are not generally available. Today Venta runs commands and reads files; it does not drive your mouse and keyboard.
Questions people ask first
- Does Venta use the mouse or keyboard on my computer?
- No, not as a generally available feature: Venta does not drive the mouse and keyboard. It runs commands and reads the files you choose.
- Which computers can Venta work on?
- Windows through the desktop app; macOS and Linux through the one-file agent, which needs Node 18 or newer.
- Is it safe to let an AI run commands on my computer?
- Venta reaches a computer only while its app is running, only in the folders you point it at, and inside the ceiling you set. Purchases and deletions ask first, and every command it runs is shown in the conversation.