Agentic AI Comparison:
Ace by General Agents vs ScreenAgent
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Introduction
This report provides a detailed comparison between Ace by General Agents, a desktop automation AI agent that simulates human-like mouse and keyboard interactions for rapid task execution, and ScreenAgent, a vision-language model-based agent for general screen interaction and understanding tasks, evaluated across key metrics: autonomy, ease of use, flexibility, cost, and popularity.
Overview
ScreenAgent
ScreenAgent is an open-source AI agent using end-to-end vision-language models to interact with arbitrary desktop UIs via screenshots and mouse/keyboard actions. It excels in general screen understanding, zero-shot task execution, and scalability with stronger VLMs, as detailed in its arXiv paper and GitHub repository[provided URLs].
Ace by General Agents
Ace by General Agents is an AI-powered desktop autopilot trained on over a million tasks, executing complex workflows by mimicking human mouse/keyboard actions on local software without APIs. It emphasizes speed (e.g., tasks in 300-500ms), behavioral learning from screen recordings, and is open-sourced with a developer platform for partners.
Metrics Comparison
autonomy
Ace by General Agents: 8
Ace executes broad desktop tasks quickly with minimal oversight but may require user guidance for highly contextual decisions, bounded by local interface.
ScreenAgent: 7
ScreenAgent handles general screen tasks autonomously via vision-language understanding and zero-shot execution, but relies on model capabilities which may falter on novel, complex workflows without specific training[provided URLs].
Ace edges out in proven speed and task completion for desktop automation; ScreenAgent offers broader generalization but potentially less reliability on unseen interfaces.
ease of use
Ace by General Agents: 8
Intuitive behavioral imitation works on any desktop software with minimal setup beyond permissions; research preview accessible via developer platform.
ScreenAgent: 8
Open-source GitHub implementation allows easy local deployment for developers; requires VLM setup (e.g., integrating models like GPT-4V) but no complex integrations needed[provided URLs].
Both are user-friendly for technical users; Ace suits plug-and-play desktop automation, ScreenAgent appeals to those customizing vision-based agents.
flexibility
Ace by General Agents: 8
Adapts to any installed local software via screen observation and mouse/keyboard, strong for repetitive desktop workflows but limited to user's OS environment.
ScreenAgent: 9
Highly adaptable to arbitrary UIs through vision-language models, enabling zero-shot interaction across diverse screens without app-specific training[provided URLs].
ScreenAgent leads in cross-interface generalization; Ace excels in speed within familiar desktop ecosystems.
cost
Ace by General Agents: 9
Primarily open-source with core 'ace-control' models free for partners; advanced enterprise features optional, highly accessible.
ScreenAgent: 10
Fully open-source on GitHub, no licensing fees; costs limited to compute for running VLMs[provided URLs].
ScreenAgent is maximally cost-free as pure research OSS; Ace nearly matches but may involve partner/platform fees for full access.
popularity
Ace by General Agents: 7
Growing adoption in developer/productivity communities, Hacker News discussions, YouTube demos, and benchmarks; strong in technical circles as of 2025.
ScreenAgent: 6
Academic popularity via arXiv (2024 paper) and GitHub stars in research communities, but lower mainstream/developer buzz compared to commercial agents[provided URLs].
Ace has higher visibility from demos and company backing; ScreenAgent remains niche in AI research.
Conclusions
Ace by General Agents outperforms in speed-critical desktop automation, cost-accessibility, and current popularity, ideal for productivity users seeking local, human-like control. ScreenAgent shines in flexibility and pure openness for general screen tasks, suiting researchers experimenting with vision-based UI agents. Choose Ace for rapid, practical workflows; ScreenAgent for innovative, model-scalable UI interaction.