ITG NowHome › AI glossary › Local AI
What is Local AI?
Local AI means running an AI model on your own computer or phone instead of sending your questions to a company's servers.
- Category Building with AI
- Also called run AI locally, on-device AI, on-device
- Updated 20 Oct 2026
Local AI, explained simply
With local AI, the model lives on your device. Your prompts and files stay with you.
It can also work without an internet connection once the model is downloaded.
The trade-off is your hardware. Bigger models need a strong computer, so many people use smaller ones.
For example, you could summarize a private document on your laptop without uploading it anywhere.
On ITG Now, our free tool guides and AI models page note which models can run on your own machine, and which ones only work online.
Related terms
OllamaLM StudioOpen weightsSmall language modelEdge AIVRAM
Where you'll see it on ITG Now
- GuideStrata: Run Big Local AI on a Gaming PC, Free
- GuideOpen Notebook: A Free NotebookLM Alternative You Own
- GuideOdysseus: Free Self-Hosted AI Workspace (2026 Guide)
- GuideOpenClaw: Free AI Assistant for WhatsApp and Slack (2026)
- GuideWorld Monitor: A Free Live World News Map With AI Briefs
- GuideColibri: Run Large AI Models Locally Without a GPU
Questions people ask about Local AI
Is local AI free?
Many local models and tools are free to download. You still pay for your own computer and electricity.
Local AI vs cloud AI: what is the difference?
Local AI runs on your device. Cloud AI runs on a company's servers and you reach it over the internet.
Do I need a fast computer for local AI?
Small models run on ordinary laptops. Bigger models need more memory and a stronger graphics chip.