01
The model
The intelligence that reads, reasons, and writes. The same kind of model behind ChatGPT or Claude.
Back to pricingPhase 01 · Start
01 02 03 Configure Harness →
Harness
The harness is what lets agents work on a Mac you own.
Bench has two parts. Workspace is the software: the app your people open in the browser. The harness is the setup on a Mac in your office that lets the agents actually do work there, with your rules, your memory, and your approvals around them. You buy the Mac. We set up the harness. Your people keep working in the browser, and the agents do their work on that Mac.
01 What a harness is
A chatbot answers questions. A harness gets a job done.
If you have used ChatGPT or Claude, you have used the reasoning part. You ask, it answers, and then it forgets. That is a chatbot. A harness takes that same reasoning and gives it a place to work inside your business. It runs on a Mac you own. It keeps memory of your jobs and your customers. It can use your tools. And it stops and asks before it does anything your people have not approved. That is the difference between an agent that talks about a claim and one that moves the claim to the next step. There are four parts.
02
The Mac
The computer the work happens on. It sits in your office and you own it.
03
The harness
The setup on that Mac: your rules, your memory, your tools, and the approvals the agent has to get from your people.
04
Tokens
What the model companies charge for the thinking. Every question, plan, and draft uses some. You pay them directly, not us.
02 How it actually runs
Your people work in the browser. The agents work on the Mac.
Here is what a normal day looks like. Your office manager opens Bench in the browser on the PC she already has and asks Aurelius to draft a supplement. That request goes to the main Mac in your office. The agent does the work there, and the draft shows up in her browser. Her PC did none of the thinking. The Mac did. Everyone in the business works this way, from a phone, an iPad, or whatever computer they already have. That is why most businesses need one Mac, not one per person.
Your people
Browser, phone, iPad
They keep the devices they have. They log in, ask for work, and approve it. Their devices do not add any capacity to the system.
Main harness
The always-on Mac
This is where the agents live and where every request is worked. If it goes to sleep, the agents stop. One Mac can carry a lot of people, but not an unlimited number at the same time.
Then, when needed
More Macs
When enough people are asking at once that the main Mac is busy, you add a second Mac running its own harness. Same agents, same rules, more room to work. You do not buy another copy of Aurelius and you do not pay per seat.
03 Why a second Mac
The agents never run out. The Mac can.
An agent is software, so there is no limit on how many people can use it. The limit is the Mac it runs on. With one harness, everyone in the business shares that one always-on Mac. If three people ask for work at once, the Mac handles three jobs at once. If fifteen people ask at once, the Mac is busy and people wait.
Adding a second Mac does not change which agents you have or how many. Those are chosen separately on your order. A second Mac only adds room for the work. Think of it as giving the same employee a second desk, not hiring a second employee.
That second Mac can be a laptop. If the owner wants an agent working on a MacBook Air while they travel, that Air runs its own harness and its own work stays on it. It does not slow down the office Mac, and when the lid closes, only the owner's work pauses.
Which Mac to buy for the size of your business, which laptops work as a second Mac, and who on your team needs one is all on the hardware page. Read that before you order anything.
You choose the agents
Agents stay the same.
The number of agents on your order does not change when you add a Mac.
You add Macs for room
More room to work.
Each extra Mac is another harness. Same agents, same rules, same memory, more room to work.
Tied to one harness
Bench agentsyour chosen agents
↓
Main harnessone pool of compute
↑ ↑ ↑
Phoneweb app
Office PCweb app
iPadweb app
Everyone in the browser shares this one Mac. The agents are not the limit. The Mac is.
Tied to a network
Bench agentsyour chosen agents
↓
Phone + officeweb app
You on the Airthis work
↓
↓
Main harnessweb-app pool
→
MacBook Airits own harness
People in the browser still use the office Mac. Work on a laptop with its own harness stays on the laptop.
04 A growth model you can see
Start with one Mac. Add another only when the first one is busy.
Every Mac you add joins the same system. It follows the same rules, shares the same memory, and asks the same people for approval. Which Mac to buy, and how to keep it on, is on the hardware page.
Node
Storage, or reach into another building $99 / month
A Node is a Mac that adds storage or reaches another building. It does not run agents. The usual case is a Mac mini with a big drive that holds your photo archive. No setup charge.
Gateway
A second Mac with its own agents $299 / month
A Gateway is a second Mac that runs its own harness and its own agents. It can be a desktop or a laptop. You add one for a heavy user or a second office. Setup is $525 per harness.
Your harness network
Bench agentswork on the harness
Main harnessalways-on Mac
Gatewayanother harness
Gatewayanother harness
Gatewayanother harness
Gatewayanother harness
1 harness connected1 computer running a harness
Start with one always-on Mac.
Your first harness is included with your first agent.
Total harness setup$525 one-timeNo monthly harness charge. Provider-plan connections are included.
- Your team works from the browser
- Connect any number or mix of your own provider plans
- You pay provider subscriptions separately
What changes as you growHarness charges only
| Phase | Network | One-time harness setup | Harnesses / month | Total / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 · Start | 1 harness | $525 | Included with your first agent | $0 |
| 02 · Extend | 2 harnesses | $1,050 | $299 | $299 |
| 03 · Connect | 3 harnesses | $1,575 | $598 | $598 |
| 04 · Expand | 5 harnesses | $2,625 | $1,196 | $1,196 |
The first harness is included with your first agent. Each additional harness is $299/month, with $525 setup per harness. Connect any number or mix of customer-owned AI provider plans at no extra charge. You pay provider subscriptions separately. These totals exclude Workspace, agents, hardware, and Nodes. See the hardware guide.
05 What does not change
Add Macs. Keep the same agents and the same rules.
Adding Macs adds room to work. It does not add agents, change the rules, or split the memory. Three things stay true no matter how many Macs you have.
Your people stay in control.
Agents flag, draft, and recommend. A person on your team reviews the work and approves the next move. That is the same on one Mac or five.
Your Mac is still yours.
You own the hardware and the files on it. Bench sets up the harness that lets agents work there.
Add another Mac when the first one is busy.
Start with one. Add a second when people are waiting on it, not before.
Next step
Configure Harness
Pick your agents, harnesses, and how you want to get started.