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Shadow AI

Tool A

Shadow AI

On-device AI workspace that sees, hears, and executes actions

4.8
freemiumbeginnerFeaturedTrendingVerified
Feature Score9/22
Shadow AI interface screenshot
Rewind

Tool B

Rewind

The search engine for your life

4.8
freemiumbeginnerFeaturedTrendingVerified
Feature Score10/22
Rewind interface screenshot

Choose this if…

Shadow AI

Shadow AI
  • 1You need File Upload
  • 2You need Plugins

Choose this if…

Rewind

Rewind
  • 1You need Video Input
  • 2You need Audio Output
  • 3You need Self-Hostable

Overview

Shadow AIShadow AISince 2026-05

Shadow is an intelligent, privacy-first desktop AI assistant for macOS engineered to seamlessly observe your workflow, capture meeting context, and execute action items without intruding as an awkward meeting bot. Instead of inviting a bot to your Zoom or Google Meet calls, Shadow records audio and visual context locally from system hardware. By combining low-latency on-device speech transcription with multimodal screen intelligence, Shadow turns unstructured work conversations into clean summary memos, follow-up email drafts, Jira tickets, and calendar invites with a single click.

Shadow is built with privacy at its core: raw audio buffers and screen snapshots are processed locally using optimized Apple Silicon neural engine kernels. Only structured text context is routed to high-parameter LLMs for reasoning when explicitly requested by the user. Users can create and customize 'Skills'—reusable prompt automation blueprints that trigger automated actions like emailing meeting summaries to attendees, updating Notion databases, or logging customer feedback into product roadmaps.

Platforms
macosWeb
Best For
foundersexecutivesengineersproduct-managers
Categories
Productivity AIAgent AIAutomation AI
RewindRewindSince 2022-11

A personalized AI that records your screen and audio to help you search for anything you've seen, said, or heard.

Encrypted and stored locally for privacy.

Platforms
DesktopiOS
Best For
Individuals
Categories
Productivity AI

Features Comparison

22 total
Shadow AIShadow AI
Feature
RewindRewind
Core AI Capabilities
Free Tier
Free Tier
Free Tier
Multimodal
Multimodal
Multimodal
Voice Input
Voice Input
Voice Input
Image Input
Image Input
Image Input
Image Output
Image Output
Image Output
Video Input
Video Input
Video Input
Video Output
Video Output
Video Output
Audio Output
Audio Output
Audio Output
Web Search
Web Search
Web Search
Code Execution
Code Execution
Code Execution
Memory
Memory
Memory
Developer & API
API Access
API Access
API Access
Open Source
Open Source
Open Source
Works Offline
Works Offline
Works Offline
Plugins
Plugins
Plugins
Self-Hostable
Self-Hostable
Self-Hostable
Browser Extension
Browser Extension
Browser Extension
Productivity & Teams
No Signup Required
No Signup Required
No Signup Required
Customizable
Customizable
Customizable
File Upload
File Upload
File Upload
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
White Label
White Label
White Label

Pricing & Plans

Shadow AIShadow AIfreemium
Free TierActive

Free plan includes unlimited on-device transcription, audio recording, and smart screenshot captures.

Paid Plan

Plus plan is $8/month with unlimited AI meeting skills, automated action execution, and contextual chat.

Get Started
RewindRewindfreemium
Free TierActive

50 rewinds/month

Paid Plan

Pro $19/mo

Get Started

Pros & Cons

Shadow AIShadow AI

Pros

Zero bot invites required—captures audio directly from system audio drivers

Privacy-first architecture with on-device local transcription on Apple Silicon

Customizable 'Skills' for automated ticket generation and follow-up emails

Extremely lightweight menu bar utility with minimal CPU and RAM footprint

Generous free plan with unlimited transcription and recording

Cons

Currently exclusive to macOS (Windows and Linux support in development)

Advanced AI action automation requires the $8/month Plus subscription

RewindRewind

Pros

Perfect memory

Privacy-first

Great for finding old links/emails

Cons

High disk usage

Requires permissions to record everything

Use Cases

Shadow AIShadow AI
meeting action item extractionvoice to text dictationscreen aware ai assistanceworkflow task automation
RewindRewind
productivityresearch

The Verdict

Shadow AI

Shadow AI

9/22 features · ⭐4.8

Shadow is an intelligent, privacy-first desktop AI assistant for macOS engineered to seamlessly observe your workflow, capture meeting context, and execute acti

Rewind

Rewind

10/22 features · ⭐4.8

A personalized AI that records your screen and audio to help you search for anything you've seen, said, or heard.

Both Shadow AI and Rewind are capable AI tools serving distinct use cases. Rewind leads on raw feature breadth (10 vs 9), making it a stronger choice if you need maximum capability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between Shadow AI and Rewind?

Shadow AI — "On-device AI workspace that sees, hears, and executes actions" — focuses on productivity-ai, agent-ai, automation-ai, while Rewind — "The search engine for your life" — targets productivity-ai. The key differences lie in their feature sets and pricing models.

Is Shadow AI free to use?

Yes, Shadow AI offers a free tier. Free plan includes unlimited on-device transcription, audio recording, and smart screenshot captures.

Is Rewind free to use?

Yes, Rewind offers a free tier. 50 rewinds/month

Which is better: Shadow AI or Rewind?

It depends on your use case. Shadow AI is rated ⭐4.8 and is best suited for founders, executives, engineers, product-managers. Rewind is rated ⭐4.8 and is ideal for individuals. Use this comparison to evaluate features that matter to your workflow.

Does Shadow AI have an API?

Shadow AI does not currently offer a public API.

More AI Matchups

Still deciding?

Try another comparison or explore the full AI tools directory.

Shadow AI vs Rewind (2026) — Side-by-Side Comparison | NeedAITool