Finance team automates legacy accounting software
An AI employee opens the desktop accounting app, enters transactions, runs reports, and exports the output, replacing hours of manual data entry.
Control Any Desktop App
Your employee operates desktop apps, moves files, and runs multi-app workflows from a real computer.
Open your accounting tool, export the monthly PDF, rename it with today's date, and email it to finance. Your employee handles the sequence from your machine even when the accounting tool has no API.
Beyond that single workflow, your employee opens apps, navigates menus, clicks interface elements, moves files between folders, takes screenshots, and performs tasks that normally require a human at the keyboard. If the task has a clear screen path, it can become repeatable work.
A lightweight companion app for macOS, Windows, and Linux bridges your AI employee to your local machine. Without it, your employee works through cloud tools. With it, your employee can operate local apps and files, while approval gates and the activity feed keep the work reviewable.
AI Employees That Operate Your Desktop Applications
Desktop Application Control extends your AI employee beyond the browser and into native apps: spreadsheet software, creative tools, data analysis platforms, and internal applications with no web version. If it runs on your machine and has a visible workflow, your employee can work through it.
The employee interacts with desktop apps the way a human would: moving the mouse, clicking menus, entering text, and reading screen content. It can open a file in Excel, run a calculation, copy the result, and paste it into a report from one instruction.
File Operations and System-Level Control
Beyond app control, Desktop Automation includes file system operations: move files between folders, rename batches, compress archives, organize downloads, and copy outputs from one location to another. Tedious file management tasks become repeatable instead of manual.
Screenshots are captured during automation runs, giving you a visual record of important steps. The employee can also take screenshots to verify state, check for errors, or confirm that a form was submitted correctly. You get evidence of what happened on the machine.
Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux
Desktop Automation works across all major operating systems. The Desktop Companion App establishes the local bridge and handles OS-specific interactions. Your AI employee does not need a separate workflow for each operating system, it operates the apps you have.
Cross-platform support matters for teams with mixed environments. A marketing team on Mac and a data team on Windows can both use desktop-capable AI employees without platform-specific configuration. One workforce, any machine.
A Lightweight Bridge Between Your AI Employee and Your Machine
The Desktop Companion App is a small background application that gives your AI employee access to your local machine. Install it once, and the employee can control desktop apps, manage files, and take screenshots from the Sistava workspace.
The app is a bridge. It receives instructions from the cloud, executes local actions, and reports back. Your machine stays in control. The employee stays governed by your tools, duties, and approval gates.
Use Cases
Design team batch-processes files in local software
The AI employee opens design files in desktop tools, applies consistent formatting, exports assets, and organizes the output folder.
Operations team works with apps that have no API
Desktop applications become automatable when they have a repeatable path. The AI employee clicks, types, and navigates through the workflow like a human operator would.
IT team automates system configuration tasks
An AI employee opens system settings, applies configurations, and verifies changes across machines, reducing manual IT workload.
Comparison
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Legacy desktop software cannot be automated via API. | The AI employee controls desktop apps with or without an API. |
| Manual data entry into desktop tools costs hours per week. | The AI employee handles repeatable entry work with logs and review gates. |
| Desktop workflows are excluded from automation pipelines. | Desktop and web steps combine in one employee workflow. |
| Automating desktop apps requires expensive RPA tooling. | Desktop automation uses one lightweight companion app connected to your Sistava workspace. |
FAQ
Does desktop automation require installing software on my machine?
Yes. The Desktop Companion App must be installed on the machine the employee will control. It is a lightweight bridge that gives the employee access to local apps and the file system. The Sistava web platform manages the employee itself.
What operating systems are supported?
Desktop Automation supports macOS, Windows, and Linux. The Desktop Companion App handles OS-specific interactions so the AI employee works consistently across all three.
Is desktop automation safe for sensitive work?
The employee only operates apps and files within the scope you define. Approval gates can be configured for sensitive actions like deleting files or submitting forms. Actions are logged with screenshots for review.
Can the employee automate apps that have no API or browser interface?
Yes. Desktop automation works with apps that run natively on your machine, including legacy tools, proprietary internal software, and apps with no web or API access.
Does the Desktop Companion App run the AI model locally?
No. The app is a lightweight bridge only. The AI model and employee logic run in the Sistava cloud. The desktop app handles local execution when the employee needs to interact with your machine.
We run a proprietary desktop tool with no integrations. The AI employee now operates it directly, which removes hours of manual entry every week.