UiPath Documentation
assistant
2023.10
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  • UiPath Assistant
    • About UiPath Assistant
    • Preferences
  • Installing UiPath Assistant
  • Configuring UiPath Assistant
  • Assistant on MacOS
  • Picture in picture
    • Picture in Picture
    • PiP - Child Session
    • PiP - Virtual Desktop
    • Technology Comparison
  • Configuring attended automations
  • Governance
  • Widgets in Assistant
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Assistant user guide

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Technology Comparison

Depending on your environment, type of automations, and applications used, you can choose one of the two available PiP technologies.

PiP - Child Session is best suited for complex automations that make use of hardware events and image-based automation, while PiP - Virtual Desktop provides a faster process start time and can run on more Windows operating systems.

If both PiP technologies are compatible with your environment and automations, PiP - Virtual Desktop is recommended as it is faster and uses less resources to start the automation. You can also keep a PiP - Child Session instance open throughout the day to achieve similar performance when starting an automation.

The main differences are presented below:

Session authentication and VPN compatibility

ScenarioPiP - Child SessionPiP - Virtual Desktop
Normal Password Authentication
PIN Authentication1
Smart Card Authentication1
VPN Configurations2

1 Only works the first time a PiP session is spawned. After that, the PiP session can be authenticated only using username and password until the next restart of the machine.

2 More information on how PiP - Child Session works with VPN can be found here.

UI Automation compatibility

ScenarioPiP - Child SessionPiP - Virtual Desktop
Edge/Chrome Browser Automation1
Hardware Events UIAutomation
Image-Based Automation
Windows Messages2
Simulate2

1 UIAutomation Activities v22.4 and above is required for Edge/Chrome browser automation when using PiP - Virtual Desktop.

2 These input methods may not work on all applications. Check the Input methods table for the overall compatibility with applications.

Applications and integrations usage

ScenarioPiP - Child SessionPiP - Virtual Desktop
Microsoft Office Suite
Other UiPath Activities/Integrations

Supported Operating Systems and Virtualization

OSPiP - Child SessionPiP - Virtual Desktop
Windows 8/10/11 - Home Edition
Windows 8/10/11 - Pro/Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022
Mac OS X
Remote Desktop
App-V

Miscellaneous

ScenarioPiP - Child SessionPiP - Virtual Desktop
Ability to run an executable as administrator
Recording execution or taking screenshots

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