No! You don’t have to change them THAT often. There is a monitor built into the unit and it lets you know when it needs changing. I’ve been running the 3 I bought earlier in the year and they do not need the filters changed yet, and that’s with 3 cats and 2 dogs in the house!
I also read during the last time these were for sale, that you can vacuum the filters a bit to extend their life. I’ve seen comments on a changeout time period for the filters at anywheres from 6 months to one year.