Got Questions? We have answers.
General Questions
How does it work?
SayIntentions.AI combines multiple AI platforms with our own secret sauce to create an ATC experience that would have been unimaginble a short time ago. Generative AI, neural voices, machine learning, and more create immersion so rich, many of our customers wonder if they're actually talking to real people.
What kinds of things can ATC do?
With very few exceptions, if ATC can do it in real life, we can too. VFR, IFR, radar services, Flight Service Stations, TRACON, ARTCC, ground, clearance, FIS, AFIS, Radar, and more.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that our AI experience has no rails. You can request anything, for any situation, anytime. All other ATC services available for MSFS are menu-driven, though some allow you to use your voice to "read" one of the. menu options.
ATC "without rails" is a wildly cool experience that nobody else can even come close to achieving.
Can I run this in offline mode / on my own computer?
Our services leverage multiple high-end AI and machine-learning technologies, all of which are too compute-intensive to run on a PC. To create an AI experience as rich as ours requires thousands of GPUs, giant server farms, and huge compute clusters.
If the ATC service you're using can run on your own PC, it's not using AI, no matter what you've been told.
What airplanes does this work with?
You can fly any aircraft you wish. Airliners, general aviation, helicopters, and more. If it has a Com radio, it works with SayIntentions.AI.
What simulators are supported?
Right now, we support MSFS 2020. (At one point we had X-Plane support, but we had to remove it because the cost to support/test/maintain was significant, in comparison to the number of X-Plane pilots. We hope to bring back X-Plane support some day when there are enough people using it to justify the additional effort.
And while no details are available yet regarding MSFS 2024, we don't anticipate any issues with full compatibility.
Can I pause, or increase the simulation speed?
Our AI ATC service has no problem if you want to pause, fast-forward, or step away for a few hours. Worst-case scenario is that you might miss a handoff. When you return, just call up the correct facility for your new location, and check-in. It'll pick up right where it should. Having high-quality ATC available on your own terms is an amazing upgrade!
What coverge is provided?
We have world-wide, non-stop coverage for all 88,000+ airports across the globe. And, on one of the few situations where we depart from "realism", SayIntentions.AI ignores staffing schedules and assumes all towers are open 24x7.
Any airport, any time, anywhere.
How accurate is it?
This is NOT "study-level" ATC. While it's awfully good, you will occasionally experience some weirdness (bad taxi instructions, for example), or it may ask you to do something that's not 100% correct according to standard guidelines. We watch the logs constantly and are regularly improving the system. We are committed to making the experience as realistic as possible, but we also know that we will never achieve full "study level".
How many voices are there?
We have over 200 voices, including many regional accents. ATC can also hear and communicate in 9 different languages (with more coming). In many cases, our voices are indistuinguishable from a real human.
What about airports with custom procedures?
IFR is fairly universal and all procedures are published and known. From a technical perspective, this makes IFR fairly simple. (Implement once, and it works anywhere).
However, there's no standard method or way that the FAA/ICAO publishes this stuff for VFR flights, except on the VFR sectionals. And even then, controllers often have little nuances they'll slip in, and have favorite landmarks they like to use.
The solution is that we can inject custom instructions for any given airport. The upside to this is that it's WAY cool when you fly in/out of your favorite airport, and the procedures match what you're used to. We have over 100 "hand curated" airports with custom VFR procedures and reporting points, and we're adding more all the time!
What should my traffic settings be? Can I use a traffic injector?
It actually doesn't matter. You can use your favorite traffic injector, or you can use the built-in traffic. Flight followings / radar services will give you traffic advisories for any aircraft that happen to cross your path, just like in real life. It's really cool!
Will I be able to hear other traffic talking to ATC?
Right now, SayIntentions will see other traffic and call out traffic advisories for you if you're under radar services / flight following. However, it won't attempt to sequence you, and you won't hear them, because it has no way to know what the other plane is trying to do. So while it adds some level of immersion (totally worth it), it's not the "full ATC experience".
Put another way — for all "other traffic", we can see heading, altitude, lat/lon, speed, aircraft type...... and that's about it. It's enough for traffic advisories, but not enough to do much else. (This is an MSFS AND X-Plane limitation).
To solve this, we'll be injecting and controlling our own traffic some time in late Q2. We've got traffic injection working at "proof of concept" level. We can put planes in a pattern, put a line of aircraft on final... and because it's our traffic, we can predict its movement. So we're definitely going to be able to get fully traffic-aware ATC.
What is MultiPlayer? Can I fly with my friends and talk to each other over the radio?
Yes! We have MultiPlayer support. If enabled, you'll be able to hear other SayIntentions pilots talking on the same frequency as you, as long as you're within about 30 miles of one another.
If you have MultiPlayer chatter enabled, you'll hear other pilots talking to the same position as you, regardless of where they are in the country. (For example, if you're tuned to a tower frequency, you'll hear all other pilots talking to another tower position). This helps make the skies feel a lot less lonely!
You can also tune to a CTAF frequency and talk back and forth.
There are three MultiPlayer settings: (1) Disabled: You will not be able to hear any nearby pilots, and nobody else will be able to hear you. (2) Listen Only: You will hear nearby pilots, but they will not be able to hear you. (3) Enabled: You will hear other nearby pilots, and they will be able to hear you. Most of our pilots use this setting.
Do I need to keep the SayIntentions.AI program on my screen while I fly?
Our goal is to create an experience that most correctly mimics the way VFR comms work for a real world pilot. This means you can hide the SayIntentions.AI application completely and operate exactly the way a real pilot would. However, if you want a little extra help, some people prefer keeping the SayIntentions.AI program in the corner of a screen where they can see it.
We also offer an MSFS toolbar plugin (free) that you can install in your community folder (completely optional) that will let you see your ATC history in VR.
Can I simulate emergencies?
Yes!! You can simulate any (non-terrorist-related) emergency, such as engine-out, weather diversions, equipment failures, and more. The AI basec ATC does an exceptionally good job with these scenarios.
Pricing and Billing
How much does it cost?
$29.95/mo or $295 for a year.
However, the price of AI services drops every few months, and we will pass those savings on to you when it happens.
Why do you have to charge a subscription fee?
Because we're using modern, cutting-edge AI services, neural networks, insanely authentic voices, and machine learning, costs are incurred every time you communicate with ATC.
Any ATC service that offers their product for a one-time fee isn't using AI. Don't be fooled by claims to the contrary.
Why can't I just pay for what I use?
It's our goal to create a pricing model that simple and predictable, modeling the
Put another way, we prefer to avoid a scenario where pilots feel like "the meter is running" every time they want to fly, and we'd prefer to avoid the need for complex pricing calculators.
"Keep it simple" was, and always will be, a principle that we adhere to across all aspects of our business.
How do I cancel?
You are in complete control of your subscription at all times. Just open up your pilot portal, click "Manage Billing", and choose "Cancel". No need to contact us.
Will I be charged once my demo is over?
No. We do not store your payment information for your demo, and we won't automatically turn your trial into a subscription. We believe there is a special place in the afterlife reserved for companies that do this.
Other Questions
How do I know if it's working?
Spawn at your favorite airport, dial up ground, and call for a radio check!
What do I do if I encounter a problem or bug?
Squeeze the PTT button and say, "Debug <here's what happened> <here's what I expected>. This flags your flight for review on our end and we can generall find out what happened.
What should my weather settings be?
You are free to run custom weather if you'd like. All wind reports and runway assignments will match your custom weather. However, if you want ATIS to be correct, you'll need to use real-world weather.
Why is there a delay before ATC responds?
In short, because the amount of processing going on behind the scenes is significant. We are, of course, keenly aware of this and working to get this shorter in any ways we can. We also fully expect that this tech will naturally become faster in the near future.
That said, a delay when communicating with ATC is not only pretty common -- it's extremely realistic. VFR pilots often take a back-seat for controller workload, and delays of even up to a minute while speaking to a real air traffic controller aren't unheard of.
How come I'm not allowed to simulate hijackings?
This stuff tends to get the attention of homeland security. (For obvious reasons). Feel free to simulate emergencies (engine out situations, for example). Just not the illegal stuff. Remember, all interactions with ATC run through multiple third-party AI services, and such use is a violation of their terms of services. (And ours). Accounts of people who do this are automatically terminated, will not be re-enabled, and will not receive a refund.
How come Ground isn't telling me to contact Tower, once I get to the hold-short point?
In the real world, especially at busy airports, ATC generally will not tell you to contact tower. It's an implied handoff once you arrive at the hold short poinrt. You are free to switch to the tower frequency on your own. However, if you enable Student Pilot mode, Ground will generally tell you to contact tower.
What is student-pilot mode?
We believe ATC services should be useful (and fun) for all skill levels. Student pilot mode makes ATC A little more verbose, and a little more patient, to give you a little extra help. For example, if you're departing under flight following, you'll normally be told "Contact Departure". (You already wrote down your departure frequency, right? so you don't need it.). However, if student pilot mode is enabled, you'll be told, "Contact departure on xyz.ab"). A little extra help.
Similar for situations like a clearance readback. Normally you are expected to know that you need to read-back the full clearance. With student-pilot mode enabled, it will end with "Please read back your clearance". Another example is that in student-pilot mode, controllers will mention the run-up and such.
It's a setting in the app. BUT ALSO.. if you don't have that enabled, and you tell ATC at ANY POINT during your flight that you are a student pilot, it will enable that mode for you. Example: <i>Ground, Skyhawk 123AZ is a student pilot at the general aviation ramp, ready to taxi with information golf.
Student pilot mode is enabled BY DEFAULT. If you don't want it on, you need to turn it off in the app settings.
We're open to any and all opportunities to make "student pilot" mode even better. Our goal is to continue to make ATC LESS verbose than it is right now, unless you're in student pilot mode.
Experienced pilots definitely will NOT want this on.