How Pilots work: who they are, how they get paid, what they aren't, and how to become one

I'm Chris, co-founder of Autopilot. The word "Pilot" is ours, and if you've never used the app it needs defining, because the whole marketplace rests on it. Here's what a Pilot is, what a Pilot isn't, how the money flows, what the relationship between a Pilot, the adviser, and you actually is, and how to apply if you think you should be one.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our disclaimer page.

1) What a Pilot is

A Pilot is the investor whose published Portfolio you follow. Some Pilots are real people running their own Portfolios: traders, finance creators, professional portfolio managers, and in some cases registered advisers. Some "Pilots" are labels on Portfolios we build ourselves, like the trackers assembled from hedge funds' public filings, where the Published Pilot on the fact sheet is Autopilot. When a person is the Pilot, they build and manage the Portfolio, publish it on Autopilot, and when they change it, you give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to that account; we send them and your broker fills them, proportionally, in each follower's own brokerage account.

2) What a Pilot isn't

Pilots who publish their own Portfolios are independent third parties. They aren't Autopilot employees. They aren't your adviser, and following one isn't personalized advice from that person. A Pilot's Portfolio is a general strategy published on the platform, not advice about your situation. The advice, in the legal sense, comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC, which is the manager on every fact sheet and the entity you have an agreement with. That's why every fact sheet lists both a Published Pilot and a Manager, and why they're different names for third-party Portfolios. The distinction sounds like lawyering, but it matters practically: the Pilot decides what the Portfolio holds; the adviser is the one accountable to you for how it's applied to your account.

3) How the money flows

Pilots set their own subscription price for their Portfolios, and they earn recurring revenue from the subscribers who follow them. One subscription to a Pilot covers all of that Pilot's Portfolios. The exact split between a Pilot and Autopilot isn't something we publish, so I won't pretend to here; what you need to know as a follower is that the Pilot's subscription is listed on the fact sheet and in the app, it's separate from our platform tiers, and it's the part of your cost that goes toward the person whose decisions you're following. The rest of the fee picture is in What does Autopilot cost? Every fee, what adds on, and how to figure out if it's worth it for you.

4) What that means for judging one

Because Pilots are independent and paid by subscribers, the incentives are worth naming. A Pilot earns more when more people follow, which rewards Portfolios that attract attention, and attention isn't the same as skill. Our answer is the fact sheet: where we publish one, it shows what real follower accounts did from the day the Portfolio launched on Autopilot, gross and modeled net, with drawdown and a date on every figure, and it can't be edited by the Pilot. Judge the Pilot by that record and by the Portfolio's construction, not by the size of their following. The framework is in How to choose which investor to follow: attribution, survivorship, concentration, and when to stop.

5) How to become one

We take applications from a range of people: finance creators, self-taught traders, professional managers, registered advisers. What the review looks at is a verifiable track record, a clear investment philosophy, and Portfolios built to be followed safely at scale, meaning stocks and ETFs, no options, crypto, or shorts, because that's all the platform can trade in a follower's account. There's no follower-count or social-media requirement; construction and record carry more weight than audience. Applications go through a form, are reviewed by a dedicated team separate from support, and the process is deliberately selective and takes time. Submitting is no promise of acceptance, and if you've applied and haven't heard back, the application is still in review; there's no need to resubmit. Support can't speed it up.

6) Why we built it this way

Our manifesto says the long-term vision was always a marketplace where anyone can publish a portfolio and be paid for it through a flat subscription, while the follower keeps direct ownership of the stocks in their own brokerage account. Pilots are that idea made concrete. The trade-off is real: an open marketplace means uneven quality, which is why the fact sheets and the adviser sit between the Pilot and your account. How the whole marketplace fits together is in The Autopilot marketplace: who publishes here, the three kinds of Portfolios, how one gets listed, and how to judge any of them.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Pilot on Autopilot?

A Pilot is the investor whose published Portfolio you follow. Third-party Pilots are real people, traders, finance creators, portfolio managers, and some registered advisers, who build and manage a Portfolio and publish it on Autopilot; when they change it, the change flows proportionally to every follower's own brokerage account. Some Portfolios, like the trackers built on hedge funds' public filings, list Autopilot itself as the Published Pilot.

Are Pilots Autopilot employees or investment advisers?

Third-party Pilots are independent, not Autopilot employees, and following one is not personalized advice from that person. The investment adviser in the relationship is Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which is the manager listed on every fact sheet and the entity you have an agreement with. The Pilot decides what the Portfolio holds; the adviser is accountable for applying it to your account.

How do Pilots get paid on Autopilot?

Pilots set their own subscription price for their Portfolios and earn recurring revenue from the subscribers who follow them. One subscription to a Pilot covers all of that Pilot's Portfolios, and it's separate from Autopilot's platform tiers. The split between a Pilot and Autopilot isn't published. The Pilot's subscription appears on the fact sheet and in the app.

How do I become a Pilot on Autopilot?

Apply through the form linked from Autopilot's website and help center. A dedicated team reviews applications for a verifiable track record, a clear investment philosophy, and Portfolios that can be followed safely at scale in stocks and ETFs. There is no follower-count requirement, the process is selective and takes time, submitting is no promise of acceptance, and an application you haven't heard back on is still under review.

TLDR

A Pilot is the person whose Portfolio you follow; the adviser accountable to you is Autopilot Advisers, LLC. Pilots are independent, set their own subscription, and earn from followers, which means you judge them by the fact sheet's record and the Portfolio's construction, not their audience. Anyone with a real record can apply; few are accepted, and it takes time.

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Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our disclaimer page.

Disclosures

© Autopilot Holdings Corporation 2026 — All rights reserved. “Autopilot” refers to Autopilot Holdings Corporation and its wholly-owned, and separately managed subsidiaries, including Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. All investing is subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested, and past performance is not indicative of future results. View our Customer Relationship Summary and other important information at joinautopilot.com/disclaimer.

This information is provided by Autopilot for educational and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation, an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any security. Autopilot relies on information from various sources believed to be reliable, including information from Clients, Pilots and other third parties, but cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information. Autopilot does not provide tax or legal advice and you are encouraged to consult with professionals before making investment decisions.

Autopilot is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by the companies listed, described, or featured on its site. Company logos or trademarks used do not imply endorsement and are the property of their respective owners.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You should carefully consider your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon before investing through Autopilot.

Autopilot Advisers, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Additional information about Autopilot is available in our Form ADV Part 2A, available at adviserinfo.sec.gov or joinautopilot.com/adv.

Autopilot provides limited investment advisory services focused on Portfolio selection and suitability assessment. Our services are not intended to replace comprehensive financial planning. We recommend consulting with a qualified financial advisor regarding your complete financial situation.

This content is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. You should consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult with qualified tax and legal professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not hold client assets. All investments are held at the brokerage firm you select and connect to Autopilot. Your brokerage firm is responsible for trade execution, custody, and reporting. Autopilot is not responsible for your broker-dealer’s services, fees, or execution quality.

Autopilot’s services depend on technology systems, third-party APIs, and internet connectivity. System outages, API disruptions, or connectivity issues may temporarily affect service availability or trade execution timing.

Client account holdings are designed to track the Portfolio you’ve selected, but your actual holdings and performance may differ from the Portfolio due to execution timing, market conditions, brokerage capacity constraints, fractional share availability, and other factors outside Autopilot’s control.

For Portfolios inspired by publicly disclosed trading activity, there may be a delay between when a Pilot executes a trade and when that trade becomes publicly available and is incorporated into the Portfolio. This timing delay may affect the suitability or performance of trades when executed in client accounts.

Descriptions of Pilots, their independence, their compensation model, and the application process follow Autopilot's public help center, website, and fact sheet disclosures as of the publish date. Third-party Pilots are not investment advisers and are not Autopilot employees; the split of subscription revenue is not published. Nothing here is a recommendation to follow any Pilot or a claim about results.