Intro
The review is slow on purpose
I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. Here's the path from "I'd like to publish here" to a live Portfolio with followers. Including the part where we say no to most applicants, and the part where your record starts at zero no matter how long you've been investing.
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 legal page.
The application is a form linked from our website and help center. It asks about your background, your investing approach, and your track record.
Take your time with it. The more detail you give, the easier it is for the team to evaluate you. Vague applications are the ones that stall.
You're applying to a waitlist. Applications are reviewed by a dedicated creator team, separate from customer support, so status updates come from them, not from the support chat.
By the numbers
Our difference
From application to launch day
1) What the review looks for
Three things, per our help center.
A verifiable track record. Not screenshots. Something the team can check.
A clear investment philosophy. A thesis or an edge that gives the Portfolio a reason to exist beyond tracking the market.
Portfolios designed to be followed safely at scale. Stocks and ETFs, built so a thousand accounts of different sizes can hold them. I covered that in How to build a Portfolio people can actually follow: the mechanics that turn your strategy into follower accounts.
There's no follower-count or social-media requirement. Performance and construction carry more weight than audience size. The process is selective on purpose. Not every applicant is onboarded, submitting is no promise of acceptance, and timelines vary. If you've applied and haven't heard back, you're still in review. Resubmitting doesn't help.
2) Onboarding
If the review goes your way, the team works with you to set up your Portfolio. The holdings and weights. The description and bio that will show up in the app. Your subscription price. The agreement that covers publishing your Portfolio here and the rules for talking about it.
This is where the design questions get settled for real. Arrive with a Portfolio you've already stress-tested against small allocations and whole-share brokerages.
3) The Pilot Portal
Once you're a Pilot, the Pilot Portal at pilot.joinautopilot.com is where you manage your Portfolios and, if you have one, your team. Several Pilots here publish under a firm or a team with more than one manager.
Changes you make to a Portfolio there are what flow to followers. When the Portfolio changes, we send the orders and their brokers fill them, in proportion to each follower's allocation. The Portal is the cockpit, and it's the only place a change should ever be made.
4) Launch day, and the record that starts at zero
Your Portfolio's record begins the day it launches on Autopilot. Whatever you did before, in your own account, in a fund, in a newsletter, isn't in it. The record is computed from actual follower accounts on the platform. Not a backtest. Not a single-account track record.
That's a hard thing to hear for someone with a long history, and it's the reason the records are trusted. Your prior record is yours to describe in your bio, as your own account of yourself. The record in the app is the one strangers believe. Launch early enough that it has time to become an argument.
Quote
Your record starts at zero on launch day. Everyone's does, including ours.
Conclusion
The first months
Followers arrive, allocate, and their accounts start holding your weights, imperfectly, for all the mechanical reasons in the build post. Your record fills in from what those accounts do, alongside the holdings.
The app surfaces Portfolios by performance and by how much money follows them, among other views, so early on your description and your own audience do more work than the rankings. Your job is the same as on day one. Manage the Portfolio. Keep the description true. Let the record speak.
How you're paid along the way is in How Pilots get paid: your subscription price, what we don't publish, and the incentives we disclose.
TLDR: Apply with detail. The team checks your record, your thesis, and whether your Portfolio can be followed at scale, and says no to most. If yes, you build it with them, manage it in the Pilot Portal, and your record starts at zero on launch day. Launch early enough for it to mean something.
FAQ
What is the Pilot Portal?
The Pilot Portal at pilot.joinautopilot.com is where Pilots manage their Portfolios and their teams. Changes made to a Portfolio there are what Autopilot Advisers, LLC turns into orders across follower accounts, so it's the only place a Portfolio should be changed.
How long does it take to become a Pilot?
Timelines vary and the review is thorough. Autopilot's help center says to expect it to take some time. If you've applied and haven't heard back, your application is still under review and there's no need to resubmit. Status updates come from the creator team, not from customer support.
What does Autopilot look for in a Pilot application?
Per its help center: a verifiable track record the team can check, a clear investment philosophy with a real thesis or edge, and Portfolios designed to be followed safely at scale, meaning stocks and ETFs built so accounts of many sizes can hold them. There is no follower-count or social-media requirement. Performance and portfolio construction carry more weight than audience size, and the process is selective.
How do I apply to become a Pilot on Autopilot?
Through the application form linked from Autopilot's website and help center, which asks about your background, investing approach, and track record. Applications join a waitlist and are reviewed by a dedicated creator team, separate from support. Detail helps. The team evaluates a verifiable record, a clear philosophy, and Portfolios built to be followed safely at scale. Acceptance is not promised.
Disclosures
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 legal page.
© 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/legal.
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.
This page is for prospective Pilots. Pilot compensation is described as stated in Autopilot's public help center; the revenue split is not published and no level of revenue is promised. The conflicts described are from Autopilot's own disclosures. Third-party Pilots are independent and are not investment advisers to followers; Autopilot Advisers, LLC is the manager of every Portfolio. Nothing here is a performance claim or a recommendation.
