Private Writing AssistantWill it run on my computer?
Updated October 29, 2026
Private Writing Assistant uses Chrome Built-in AI, an AI model that Chrome runs on your own computer. Chrome decides which computers can run it. This is what it needs.
| Requirement | What you need |
|---|---|
| Browser | Google Chrome 138 or newer |
| Operating system | Windows 10 or 11, macOS 13 or newer, Linux, or a Chromebook Plus |
| Disk space | 22 GB free |
| Graphics or memory | A graphics card with more than 4 GB of memory, or 16 GB of RAM and a processor with 4 or more cores |
| Internet | An unmetered connection, only for the one-time model download |
Phones and tablets can't run it: Chrome on Android and iOS has no extensions.
How to check
- Open
chrome://settings/helpto see your Chrome version and update it. - Install the extension. Its welcome page checks your Chrome version and shows whether the AI model is ready, downloading or unavailable.
- For details, open
chrome://on-device-internals. It shows the model's status and why Chrome can't run it, if it can't.
If it says “On-device AI is unavailable”
Chrome has decided this computer or profile can't run its built-in model yet. The extension's menu shows the steps to try, which can include updating Chrome, turning on On-device AI in Chrome's settings and relaunching Chrome. If none of them helps, the computer most likely falls short of one of the requirements above.
The one-time download
Chrome doesn't include the model at first. The extension's menu has a button that starts the download, which is a few gigabytes. You can keep browsing while it runs, and checking starts by itself when it finishes. After that, checking works offline.