Short answers to the things people wonder about most. If something isn't working, try Troubleshooting.

# Getting started

# What do I need?

A Windows 10 or 11 PC with Virt‑A‑Mate 1.19 or newer, an account and key for each AI service you want to use, and a microphone if you want to talk out loud. See What is vamAI?.

# Where do I get the VaM plugin?

On the VaM Hub (search VaM's Hub for VamAI, the plugin's listing) or on the downloads page. It's free, and both are the same plugin. See Connecting Virt‑A‑Mate.

# Is there an installer?

No. vamAI is a zip file. Unzip it into a folder you own, such as C:\vamAI, and start vamAI.exe. See Download & install.

# Windows says "Windows protected your PC". Is that normal?

Yes. vamAI isn't code-signed yet, so Windows doesn't recognise it. Click More info, then Run anyway. You only do this once. See First launch on Windows.

# Do I need my own API keys?

Yes, for the online services. vamAI works with your own accounts at the AI services you choose, and each one bills you directly. There's no vamAI middleman and no markup. Services that run on your PC need no key. See Adding your API keys.

# Which services should I start with?

The setup recommends Venice for conversation, ElevenLabs for her voice and Deepgram for listening. You can change any of them later. See Choosing your AI services.

# Do I need a vamAI membership?

Yes, to use it: there are two, Pro and Max, on Patreon, and you can try everything in Max free for 7 days first. See Your membership.

# What can I do without a membership?

Install vamAI and the plugin, add your keys, test your microphone, connect VaM and look around: the setup all works. Conversations, Director Mode and the other features need Pro, Max or the free trial, and vamAI keeps one saved character (Nora, to start with). The trial starts in the app, when you choose it, so you can set everything up first.

# Modes and features

# What's the difference between Interactive Mode and Director Mode?

Interactive Mode is a live conversation that you lead. You talk or type, and she answers out loud in her own voice, quickly and naturally, like a real conversation. It's the heart of vamAI.

Director Mode has the AI plan and play out a whole scene on its own, dialogue and actions together, while you watch.

See Live conversations and Running a scene.

# What is the Chat tab for?

A text conversation with any of your characters, no VaM scene needed. It's a nice way to get to know a new character, and what she learns there becomes part of her memory.

# Does she remember our conversations?

Yes. vamAI saves what she learns about you and sums up your sessions, so she grows more familiar over time. You can see and edit it all on her Memory tab. See Character memory.

# What is filler audio?

Short sounds, like breathing and quiet moans, that play in the pauses once things turn intimate, so silence feels alive. You make them with an ElevenLabs voice; Nora's voice comes with them already made. See Filler audio.

# Does vamAI come with a character?

Yes: Nora, with her voice, a Scene that works in any VaM scene, and a scenario to try in Director Mode. See Meet Nora.

# Which other VaM plugins does vamAI work with?

Glance, Naturalis, TittyMagic, Realistic Erection, Realistic Foreskin, Sexy Fluids and Stopper's female chest physics, if you have them installed. It also mutes VAMMoan during sessions so it doesn't talk over her. See Plugin integrations.

# Can she put music on?

Yes, from a small library of instrumental tracks you make once with ElevenLabs Music. See Background music.

# Costs

# What does vamAI cost?

There are two separate things. A vamAI membership, Pro or Max through Patreon, turns on the app's features; the membership page has the details. Your AI services bill you directly for what you use. vamAI has no credits or usage fees of its own.

# What happens if my AI service account runs out of credit?

That service stops answering until you top it up on its website. vamAI tells you which one: for example, "Your ElevenLabs account is out of credit. Add credit on the ElevenLabs website, then try again."

# Running AI on your PC and privacy

# Can vamAI run without the internet?

Partly. Listening (Whisper), conversation (the local model, or LM Studio / Ollama) and lip-sync (Audio2Face) can run on your PC. Her voice always comes from an online service, so you need an internet connection to hear her. See Running AI on your PC.

# Where do my conversations go?

Straight from your PC to the AI services you chose. There's no vamAI server in between. Your characters, memories and settings stay in vamAI's folder on your PC. See Where your data lives.

# Are my keys safe?

Your keys are stored encrypted for your Windows account, on your PC only, and are only ever sent to the service they belong to. vamAI never shows a saved key in full, and diagnostics leave keys out.

# Connection and setup

# Why isn't Virt‑A‑Mate connecting?

Usually the plugin isn't on her Person atom, plugins aren't allowed network access in VaM, or the ports don't match. See VaM won't connect.

# Can I run vamAI and VaM on two different PCs?

No. The vamAI plugin only connects to vamAI on the same PC.

# How do I turn the connection on?

You don't need to. It's on every time vamAI starts, and the plugin connects by itself. The title bar reads Waiting for VaM until it does, then VaM connected.

# How do I update vamAI?

Close it, then extract the new zip over your vamAI folder and choose Replace. Your data, models and downloads are kept. See Updating & uninstalling.

# Can I move vamAI to a new PC?

Yes. Copy the whole folder. On the new PC, enter your keys and sign in again; everything else comes across. See Moving to another PC.

# Voices and characters

# Why did my custom voice stop working?

You probably switched voice service. A voice works only with the service that made it. Switch back, or give her a voice from the new service. See Voice library.

# I changed a service during a Director scene and nothing happened. Why?

Director picks up service changes when a scenario starts. A banner asks you to restart the scenario: stop and start it again.

# Can I get a deleted character back?

No. Deleting a character removes her gallery and her whole memory, with no undo. To be safe, back up your data folder from time to time.