Programmed Inquiry, Learning, or Teaching (PILOT) is a simple high-level programming language developed in the 1960s. Like its sibling LOGO, it was developed as an early foray into the technology of computer-assisted instruction.

PILOT is an imperative language similar in structure to BASIC and FORTRAN in its basic layout and structure. Its keywords are single characters, T for "type" to print text, or A for "accept", to input values from the user.

Starting in 1960, John Amsden Starkweather a psychology professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) medical center, developed a simple system for automating the construction of computer question-and-answer tests. Working with the Dixie Elementary School District in Marin County, by 1962 the system was functional on a IBM 1620 and given the name COMPUTEST.

UCSF installed a IBM System/360 Model 50, and Starkweather applied for a grant for further development by the U.S. Office of Education in 1965. Using this funding, Starkweather began development of an expanded version of the system with more functionality. He gave this version the new name PILOT. Early versions were shown in 1966, and the almost-complete version was released in 1968. The next year it was released into the public domain.

PILOT was later adopted by H. Dean Brown at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Education Laboratory. Brown popularized PILOT as a language for use directly by children. Brown's efforts changed the language from one intended for use by teachers to write tests and instructional materials to one intended to be used to teach programming.

PILOT was ported to a number of other systems, and various extensions and changes added at these sites. This led to a number of incompatible implementations with names like PYLON and NYLON. In 1973, Starkweather brought together a number of people interested in computer aided teaching to develop a machine-independent specification for the language, PILOT-73. A portable subset was also defined as Core PILOT. Core was then ported to the Datapoint 2200, an Intel 8008 powered terminal that would later be known as a personal computer. At $13,000, this was more expensive than many contemporary minicomputers and did not see much use. However, this port proved very useful after the Intel 8080 came to market and spawned many inexpensive microcomputers.

Starting in the late 1970s, Western Washington University began expanding the language into Common PILOT. This formed the basis for a number of later microcomputer variants. Processor Technology developed a version for their Sol-20, but the company went out of business before it was published. This nevertheless inspired several other versions during this era. Among these was Nevada PILOT for CP/M systems, based on Common, which in turn was the basis for Atari PILOT, which added a graphics system using turtle graphics and basic sound support. PILOT on the Apple II was written in UCSD Pascal. These versions led to a revival of the PILOT language for teaching, and led to an expanded version known as Super PILOT which added device control so programs could play videodisks and similar tasks.

For a time there was an effort to make a single standard for the language as IEEE Standard 1154-1991, but this was abandoned in 2000.