Not every FTC file is a hidden monthly subscription. Air AI (also marketed as Air.AI and Scale 13) sits in a different bucket: high-ticket pitches to entrepreneurs about AI that will grow the business — and, the agency says, earnings numbers and refund guarantees that did not hold up.
In August 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission sued Air Ai Technologies, Inc., related companies and individual officers. The complaint alleges that since at least February 2023 the defendants used social ads, phone, text and email funnels to sell business coaching plus an “Air AI Access Card” suite, and separately licences to resell “conversational AI.” Marketing allegedly claimed the tools could replace human customer-service staff and generate large returns — for example earning tens of thousands of dollars back within days or months, or stories of consumers making a million. Exhibit-style marketing contrasts an “Average Rep” with Air working 24/7 and “instantly hire 100,000 reps”:
The FTC says those claims, and promised refunds, helped take roughly $19 million from small businesses and entrepreneurs over a few years.
The case also cites the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Business Opportunity Rule — the US frameworks that police earnings claims and certain business-opportunity disclosures — not only Section 5 of the FTC Act:
In March 2026 the FTC announced a settlement under which Air AI and its owners would be banned from marketing business opportunities, alongside other injunctive and monetary relief in the stipulated order. As usual, a settlement resolves the agency’s charges without a full trial verdict on every allegation; read the live case page for the entered order’s exact terms.
If you paid for an AI coaching or “licence to resell” package on the back of guaranteed income or easy refunds, keep the sales scripts, contracts and payment records. Dispute where your card network allows it, and use Get help. Anyone offering to “recover” the fee for another upfront payment is a separate risk — Recovery.
This is a different pattern from quiz-app or Prime-style negative options; for those, see the subscription dark-patterns roundup.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.