AI short series misconceptions, corrected one by one

Free episodes

• Belief: every episode is free. Two episodes are free in each entry on this wiki, and the rest are locked. Room Service on Candy AI is one example: two free, three locked.
• Belief: you must register to watch anything. Episode 1 needs no account on all three platforms. A free account is needed only for episode 2, as on Zipped Together.

Paying

• Belief: tokens buy a whole series. Candy AI tokens unlock one episode at a time, 12 tokens for each locked episode. The nine-episode The Man Next Door Knows therefore needs 84 tokens for its seven locked episodes.
• Belief: Moments work on any plan. Spending Moments needs Premium or Ultimate, and the Free plan holds none. Grim has three locked episodes at 500 Moments each.
• Belief: an unlocked Secrets episode locks again. It stays unlocked, and episodes unlock in order, so Match Point, with one locked episode, needs only one unlock.
• Belief: Dreamy Shorts sells episodes one by one. It does not. Premium opens episode 3 onward, as in Shipshape.

The platforms

• Belief: every series has a character to chat with. Dreamy Shorts offers no chat at all, and on the other two only a few cast members can be chatted with. Holly Donovan appears in Every Wife on Candy Lane, and the wiki lists three people in all on Characters (who is who).
• Belief: every episode lists its length. Candy AI shows only the length of episode 1, Dreamy Shorts shows none, and Secrets AI shows each one. Compare Your Wish Is My Command with The Cradle.
• Belief: the flames are the wiki's rating. They are the platform's own heat label, shown per episode. See Made to Measure, and the flames guide.

This wiki

• Belief: AI Shorts FYI is run by the platforms. It is an unofficial reference wiki, independent of all three services. Buttons labeled Watch or Chat carry affiliate links, so the editors may earn a commission on sign-ups or payments.
• Belief: the order of the lists means something. Indexes are alphabetical, and nothing is ranked, rated or scored. The A to Z index on the main page follows the alphabet and nothing else.

Why these mix-ups happen

These beliefs have a simple origin. The three platforms use different words for similar ideas, so a reader who knows one of them expects the others to work the same way. Tokens, Moments and Premium all unlock episodes, but each does it under its own rule, and none can be used on another platform.

A second source is the way a series is promoted: a free first episode can sound like a free series. The facts are narrower. Two episodes are free, one needs no account, and the rest depend on the platform.

A third is the idea that a wiki must be an official guide. This one is not. It records what each platform shows and when it was checked, and it leaves the judging to the reader. For the full picture of what costs what, the Pricing sheet and the Glossary are the next stops.

Two beliefs about the first episode

A last pair of mix-ups concerns episode 1, since it is where every series starts. The first is that a free first episode will always be long. It is not: Candy AI lists lengths for episode 1 only, Secrets AI lists them for every episode, and Dreamy Shorts lists none, so the wiki gives a number only where the platform does.

The second is that the excerpt on an entry page is the whole free episode. It is a short muted clip cut from episode 1, there to show the look of the series. The full episode plays on the platform, through the Watch button, with no account needed.

How to check a belief yourself

Three habits settle a doubt quickly. First, open the entry and read its fact box, where Free, Episodes and Cost to finish are stated in one place. Second, read the Sources line, which gives the date the facts were checked. Third, look at the platform's own screen before paying, because it shows the live price.

If a figure on the wiki and a figure on the platform ever disagree, the platform is right and the wiki is out of date. The editors would like to hear about it, and the notices page gives the contact address.

Quick reference table

The table repeats the corrections in short form. For the arithmetic behind the costs, read the cost guide and the Pricing sheet.