Denny
Choose a useful first job
The appeal of a Jarvis-like assistant is simple: say what you need while staying with your work. Start with a small job such as explaining selected text, drafting a short plan or preparing a reminder.
Give the assistant the details that determine success. For a reminder, state the date, time and action. For a summary, identify the source and desired length. Review the output rather than treating a confident answer as proof.
A conversation is different from an action
An AI can describe how to open an application without actually opening it. Performing an action requires the relevant integration, permission and implementation in your build. Check the visible result after the request.
The same distinction applies to agents. Sending a task, granting permission, receiving a report and accepting a change are separate steps. Keep consequential actions reviewable.
Choose local or external AI deliberately
With a compatible local model, text can be processed on the device after the model is downloaded. Cloud AI needs its provider and network connection. Internet search also needs a connection. Speech recognition and speech output may have their own requirements.
On a phone, model size, available memory and battery use matter. Begin with a supported small model and a short fresh question. Do not infer offline capability from an answer already visible in the chat history.
How Denny approaches this on Mac
Denny puts the voice assistant and text chat in the Mac notch alongside personal tools, agent sessions and your own VPS Office. The current full build requires Apple Silicon M1 or later and macOS 14 or later. Request access and setup help from AFTEAM.
Personal Denny for Android and the Agents mobile companion are different products. Android sales are being prepared; existing owners can obtain updates through support. The Agents companion is being tested, and iOS is in development.
Three requests to check on your Mac
After choosing a model and setting up the microphone, try different actions. These are example prompts; results depend on the build, permissions and connected tools.
| Request | What to inspect |
|---|---|
| “Open Calculator.” | The Calculator window actually opens. |
| “Shorten this text to three sentences.” | Select a short text you own, pass it to the assistant and compare the draft with the original. Check insertion into a document separately. |
| “Remind me in five minutes to take a break.” | Find the saved reminder, check the time and wait for its notification. |
These checks separate voice input, app actions and saved reminders. Local language processing, speech recognition and speech output are different components. See the offline AI guide to check what works without the network.