There are quite some scenarios where you would want to install a local AI engine. Privacy, for one, but also customization and performance. Some references:
- Mastering Local AI Models Your Guide to Seamless Implementation
www.cognativ.com/blogs/post/mastering-local-ai-models-your-guide-to-seamless-implementation/266 - How to Run AI Models Locally (2026) : Tools, Setup & Tips
www.clarifai.com/blog/how-to-run-ai-models-locally-2025-tools-setup-tips - Why You Should Use Local Models. When building Gen AI applications, it’s… | by Rod Johnson | Medium
medium.com/@springrod/why-you-should-use-local-models-a3fce1124c94 - I switched everything to local AI and stopped sending my documents to the cloud
www.makeuseof.com/switched-everything-to-local-ai-stopped-sending-documents-to-cloud/ - I don’t need Perplexity anymore because my local LLM does it better
www.makeuseof.com/dont-need-perplexity-local-llm-does-better/- My local LLM setup and why I built it. The stack that replaced Perplexity on my machine
- Where local LLMs absolutely crush Perplexity. Privacy, control, and zero rate limits
- Performance isn’t magic. The good, the bad, and the GPU-hungry
- Where Perplexity still has a clear edge. Live web search is what you’ll miss the most
- There are trade-offs you can’t ignore. Cost vs convenience vs capability
- So, should you ditch Perplexity for a local LLM? If you’ve got the computational power, local AI is a serious contender
- I switched to a local LLM for these 5 tasks and the cloud version hasn’t been worth it since
www.makeuseof.com/switched-local-llm-cloud-version-hasnt-been-worth/- Writing shell scripts without googling every command
Turning plain English into working bash scripts - Summarizing sensitive files without sending them anywhere
Keeping private documents truly private - Offline coding help that understands your setup
Debugging without internet (and without limits) - Turning messy meetings into clean, usable notes
No uploads, no delays, no awkward privacy concerns - A personal assistant that never needs an internet connection
Quick answers without rate limits or logins
- Writing shell scripts without googling every command
There are quite some AIs you can install. Some lists:
- 4 free tools to run powerful AI on your PC without a subscription
www.makeuseof.com/free-tools-run-powerful-ai-on-pc-without-subscription/ - Top 6 Local AI Models for Privacy, Speed, and Offline Performance | Software Mansion
blog.swmansion.com/top-6-local-ai-models-for-maximum-privacy-and-offline-capabilities-888160243a94 - Local AI Models: Why Developers Run AI Locally & What Tools Deliver Value
www.coherentsolutions.com/insights/local-ai-models-value - Top 8 Local AI Models in 2025: Privacy & Performance – MultitaskAI
multitaskai.com/blog/local-ai-models/ - Local AI Models: Why Developers Run AI Locally & What Tools Deliver Value
www.coherentsolutions.com/insights/local-ai-models-value
The mentioned AI engines include:
- Mistral
- Ollama
- GPT4All
- Qwen
- Whisper Tiny
- DeepSeek
- LLaMa
- LMStudio
- Phi Mini
(I don’t include version numbers, since that would very rapidly break the references.)
And besides, there is:
- LocalAI – «The free, OpenAI, Anthropic alternative. Your All-in-One Complete AI Stack»
localai.io/ - LM Studio – Local AI on your computer – «Run local LLMs like gpt-oss, Qwen3, Gemma3, DeepSeek and many more on your computer, privately and for free.»
lmstudio.ai/ - Locally AI – Run AI models locally on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. – «Run Llama, Gemma, Qwen, DeepSeek, and more locally on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Offline. Private. No login. Optimized for Apple Silicon.»
locallyai.app/ - Ollama – «Start building with open models»
ollama.com/
More information:
- Alibaba acaba de robarle la cartera a todas las Big Tech: lo ha hecho con prometedores modelos de IA de bolsillo
Ejecutar modelos de IA en local realmente decentes en tu móvil está ya al alcance (casi) de cualquiera
www.xataka.com/robotica-e-ia/alibaba-acaba-robarle-cartera-a-todas-big-tech-ha-hecho-prometedores-modelos-ia-bolsillo - I use Linux for local LLMs and everything is easier than Windows
www.makeuseof.com/i-use-linux-for-local-llms-everything-easier-than-windows/ - I gave my local LLM access to my files and it replaced three apps I was paying for
If you’ve got tons of files that you constantly need to search through, you’re likely paying for software that’s reading and summarizing them under the hood. But considering local LLMs can turn any file into a mind map, what if you give yours access to your files?
www.makeuseof.com/gave-local-llm-access-to-files-replaced-three-apps/