Does it generate video or images?

No. AEPilot doesn't generate pixels. It edits your After Effects project the way you would, so everything it builds stays as editable layers, keyframes, and expressions.

Which AI models can I use?

Your own. Connect Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenRouter with an API key, a local model through Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, then pick the model right in the chat composer.

Does my project leave my computer?

The project file doesn't. AEPilot runs its tools inside After Effects on your machine, with no AEPilot server in between. When you use a cloud model, your prompt and the project details it needs, such as layer names or keyframe values, go directly to that provider. Rendered frames are shown to you for approval before they are sent.

Can I undo what it did?

Yes. In Review mode, the default, nothing is applied until you approve it, and each applied change is a single step in After Effects' Undo history. The chat also keeps a list of every change it made.

What do I need to run it?

Windows 11 and After Effects 2026, plus an API key from a supported provider or a local model. Other platforms and versions will be listed once they are tested.

How much does it cost?

AEPilot is in private preview. It works with your own keys: you pay your model provider directly for what you use, or nothing extra with a local model.

Can Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor work with it?

Yes. While the panel is open, AEPilot can act as a local MCP server for them. They use the same After Effects tools, and every change still goes through the approval mode you set for that connection.

AI assistant for After Effects

Describe the motion.AEPilot keyframes it.

An AI assistant docked inside After Effects. It reads the comp you have open, animates with real keyframes and expressions, and shows you every change before it lands.

Join private preview See how it works

Windows 11 · After Effects 2026 · Private preview

01You ask
02It reads the comp
03You approve
04Keyframes land

A scripted replay of the AEPilot panel. When the review card appears, try Approve or Reject yourself.

Start with the sentenceyou’d actually type.

Everyday After Effects jobs, done inside your own project. Each card shows the result, not a chat log.

Timing

“Make the logo animation feel sharper.”

Tightens the easing on the keyframes you already have. The final pose stays exactly where it was.

8 keyframes eased · final pose unchanged

Learning

“Remember how I fixed this, and do it that way next time.”

Compares its result with your manual correction and proposes the difference as a plain-text project Skill you can read and edit. The next similar task starts from it.

1 project skill · reused on the next arrival

Expressions

“Fix the broken expressions in this comp.”

Finds what fails, patches only that, and leaves every working expression as it was.

3 errors → 0 · working expressions untouched

Project

“Tidy up the project, but keep my structure.”

Not another sort-by-type plugin: it checks which comp uses each loose item and files it into the scene folder you already made. No new folders, no broken links.

4 loose items filed · your folders kept · 0 missing sources

The timing, learning, and expression jobs come from AEPilot’s After Effects evaluation set. The scenes are simplified illustrations of each result.

See every change first.Undo it in one step.

AEPilot works in the open. In Review mode, the default, nothing touches your project until you approve it.

01 / 05

You ask in plain words

Describe the result you want. Type @ to point at the exact comp or layer, so nothing is left to guesswork.

Make Title enter like Logo — same timing, with a little bounce at the end.

Reviewyour model

02 / 05

It reads your project first

Before proposing anything, AEPilot inspects the comp: layers, keyframes, expressions. You can see exactly what it checked.

Checked before changing anything

Comp “Main”
1920×1080 · 6 s · 8 layers
Logo
Position + Scale keys · 0.4 s ease-out
Title
text layer · no keyframes yet

read-only · nothing changed yet

03 / 05

You approve the change

The proposal arrives as a card that says what will change and where. Nothing touches your project until you approve it.

Add entrance to Title

matches Logo’s timing

waiting for you

Position40 px up → 0 · 0.4 s ease-out

Scale90 → 103 → 100 % · overshoot and settle

not applied yetRejectApprove

04 / 05

It lands as one Undo step

The change is applied inside After Effects as a single step in its Undo history. Ctrl+Z works like on any edit you made yourself.

Timeline · Main0:00 – 0:02

Logo

Title

Edit

Undo Add entrance to TitleCtrl+Z

05 / 05

It checks its own work

AEPilot reads the project again and reports what actually changed, not what it hoped would change.

Title

Main · preview

Title: 5 keyframes added

timing matches Logo · 0 expression errors

Make Title enter like Logo — same timing, with a little bounce at the end.

Reviewyour model

step 01 / 05

Point at any layer.It knows which one.

Type @ in the prompt and pick a real comp, layer, or folder from your project. The reference stays in the sentence, so “the logo” always means your logo.

AEPilot

aepilot

What should we change? Type @ to point me at the exact comp, layer, or folder.

ReviewYOLOSonnet · Med

Demo playing · composer unlocks when the animation finishes

0 references

Only real targets

The picker lists the comps, layers, and folders that exist in your open project, nothing it made up.

Stays in the sentence

The reference lives inside your words as a chip, so “this logo” still means the right layer three messages later.

No mix-ups

Two layers called BG in different comps carry their parent comp, so AEPilot never has to guess which one you meant.

Your model, your key.No AEPilot server in between.

Connect the provider you already use, or a model running on your own machine. Requests go straight from your computer to the model you chose.

Your computer

AeAfter Effects 2026your project never leaves it
AEPilot panelruns every tool locally
Your API keylocal file, never synced

The model you choose

No AEPilot account

Nothing to sign up for. AEPilot runs on your own keys.

Your key stays local

Stored in a local file on your computer, never synced or logged.

See what was sent

Inspect the exact prompt and project context that went to the model.

Yours to keep.Local by default.

The trust model is built into the architecture, not promised on a landing page.

01
Runs inside After Effects
Every tool call goes through the local bridge inside After Effects itself, so the project file never leaves your machine. There is no AEPilot server in the loop to breach, rate-limit, or shut down.
bridge: localhost · cloud relay: none
02
Undo like any other edit
Each applied change is one step in After Effects’ Undo history, and the chat keeps a list of everything it changed, so trying an idea stays cheap.
review → apply → Ctrl+Z
03
Nothing hidden from you
You can inspect the exact prompt and project context sent to the model. Provider keys sit in a local file and are never synced or logged.
prompt inspection · keys: local file
04
No telemetry
Every conversation exports as Markdown or JSONL, and AEPilot sends nothing anywhere except calls to the model you chose and an update check. If AEPilot disappeared tomorrow, your projects and prompts would stay yours.
telemetry: none · export: .md / .jsonl

Commonquestions.

Still curious? Email the team. A person reads every message.

AEPilot is an AI assistant that runs as a panel inside Adobe After Effects. You describe what you want in plain words; it reads the project you have open, makes the change with real After Effects operations — layers, keyframes, easing, expressions, effects — and shows you the change before it is applied.