What exactly is a credit?
1 credit = $1.00 USD. Credits are the unit of deliberation cost. Before each deliberation, pilot5.ai estimates the cost based on service, complexity, and context size. Credits are reserved (not debited) until the deliberation completes. Final debit is rounded to the nearest 0.01 credit.
Can I see the cost before I start?
Yes — always. Every deliberation shows an estimated credit cost before you confirm. If actual consumption is going to exceed your reservation (e.g. an adaptive round triggers), you're prompted before additional credits are reserved. You're never charged silently.
Are any services blocked on a starter plan?
No. Credits are the only gate. Whatever pack or plan you're on, you can run The Expert, The A-Team, or The Dream Team — credits are deducted per deliberation. No daily caps, no plan-locked modes. Every feature is available on every tier. Plans differ only on credit volume, per-credit rate, and rollover percentage.
What happens if I run out of credits?
Active deliberations complete with your existing balance. New deliberations cannot start until you top up. You can enable auto-recharge in Settings → Plan & Credits: when your balance drops below your chosen threshold (default 5 credits), pilot5.ai automatically purchases the credit pack you selected. The threshold is configurable from 0.5 to 100 credits, and you can disable auto-recharge at any time.
Do unused subscription credits expire?
Subscription credits roll over at the end of each month — 10% for Starter, 20% for Pro, 25% for Expert, 30% for Master. Rolled-over credits remain valid for 12 months. Credit pack credits never expire.
Can I mix credit packs and subscriptions?
Yes. If you have an active subscription and purchase a credit pack, pack credits are consumed first. This lets you handle high-volume months without upgrading your plan permanently.
What AI models does pilot5.ai use?
pilot5.ai routes each deliberation to the best-suited independent AI experts based on domain and complexity benchmarks. Models are selected exclusively from providers that meet regional AI eligibility requirements for your account location. You can see which expert was selected and why in every deliberation result.
How does MCP API access work?
pilot5.ai is built as a native MCP server — that's our API. There is no separate REST API or personal access token. Add the server URL (https://mcp.pilot5.ai/mcp) to your MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, etc.), authenticate with your pilot5.ai account, and call deliberations directly from your workflow — no tab switching, no copy-pasting. Every paid tier includes native MCP API access; calls are billed in credits like any other deliberation.
Is there a free trial?
There is no free tier — every deliberation uses real AI compute. The assistant's question framing (before any deliberation) is always free and uses no credits. For new users, the minimum entry is a $20 Starter credit pack — roughly 100 Expert deliberations, 10 A-Team deliberations, or 6 full Dream Team deliberations at standard difficulty.