Use your own AI key for AI replies
Updated
By default, AI replies are written by AI models that Dartzo pays for, and each reply spends some of your monthly AI credits. If you already have an account with an AI provider such as OpenAI or Anthropic, you can connect it instead. Replies are then written on your provider account, billed by them, and spend no Dartzo credits.
An API key is just a long secret password that lets one service act on your account at another. You create it on your AI provider’s website and paste it into Dartzo once.
Why you might want it
- No credit limit. Your replies never run into Dartzo’s monthly or daily credit ceiling, because they don’t use any of it.
- Your choice of model. Pick the provider and model you prefer, including bigger ones than the defaults.
- Your own bill. Usage shows up with your provider, where you can set your own spending limits.
What doesn’t change: the agent still answers only from your FAQs, your voice settings still apply, and every send still goes through Dartzo’s normal limits and the same delivery rules. Your own key swaps who *writes* the reply, not what it’s allowed to say.
Connect your key
- Create a key with your providerIn your AI provider’s dashboard, create an API key and copy it. Make sure the account has billing set up, since the provider charges you for what the AI writes.
- Open Step 3 on the AI Agent pageClick AI Agent in the sidebar, stay on the Build tab, and scroll to Step 3, Advanced. The last block is Use your own AI key, with the line “Replies go out on your provider account instead of your Dartzo credits.” Turn its switch on.
- Choose the API typePick OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic-compatible. This says how Dartzo talks to the provider, and it’s the first thing to get right. Most providers are OpenAI-compatible (OpenAI, DeepSeek, Gemini, GLM, OpenRouter, Groq and most gateways). Use Anthropic-compatible for Anthropic itself and gateways that mirror it.
- Pick a providerThe provider chips are OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Gemini, GLM, OpenRouter and Custom. A chip fills in the API type, the base URL and a starting model in one tap. Choose Custom for any other provider and type the Base URL yourself.
- Paste the keyPaste it into API key. The field is hidden as you type, and says it all: “Pasted once — only the last four characters come back.”
- Choose the modelPress Fetch models to ask your provider which models your key can use, then pick one from the list. If your provider doesn’t publish a list, the field stays editable and you type the model name yourself.
- Press Test & saveDartzo makes one real test call with your key before saving anything. If the provider refuses, the error appears in the provider’s own words and nothing is stored. If it works, the key is saved and the status reads In use.
Fetch models: pick the model instead of remembering it
Fetch models asks your provider for its own list of models, so you choose from what your key can really use rather than typing a name from memory. It stores nothing. Once a key is saved, you can press it again to re-pick the model without pasting the key a second time, and the button then reads Refresh. If it says the provider lists no models, type the model name instead. Very slow models can be a problem: a reply has to be written within about 25 seconds, and one that takes longer shows on the Usage tab as Failed with the provider’s reason.
After it’s saved
The block now shows your saved key: the provider’s name, the model, the key’s last four characters (for example “····9f2a”) and a status badge.
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In use | Replies are being written on your key and spend no Dartzo credits. |
| Off | Saved but switched off. Replies use your Dartzo credits. Flip the switch to use it again. |
| Not working | Your provider refused the last attempt. The reason is shown under it. Replies are not stuck: see the safety net below. Press Replace and save again to retry. |
Replace lets you paste a new key or change the model. Remove deletes the key from Dartzo. The AI credits card on the Build tab changes to “Replies use your key — no Dartzo credits spent.” On the Usage tab, those rows say Your key under Paid by, and cost 0 credits. The status badge at the top also stops saying Out of AI credits while your key is working.
The safety net: Fall back to Dartzo credits
Once a key is saved, a switch appears under it, Fall back to Dartzo credits. It’s on by default. It answers one question: *if your key fails, should Dartzo finish the reply itself?*
| Setting | If your key fails or is refused |
|---|---|
| On (default) | Dartzo writes the reply on its own models and spends your plan’s AI credits, as long as you still have some. A fan still gets a real answer. |
| Off | Dartzo does not touch your credits. The fan gets your fallback message instead, and the Usage tab shows why. You’re never billed in a way you didn’t choose. |
Turn it off if the point of using your own key is that you never want Dartzo credits spent. Leave it on if you’d rather keep answering fans when your provider has an outage or your balance runs out. If your credits have run out too, the fallback message goes out whichever way the switch is set.
Is my key safe?
- It’s encrypted when stored, the same way Dartzo stores your Instagram access.
- It’s never shown again. After saving, only the last four characters come back to the screen. Dartzo can’t show you the key, so keep your own copy in your provider’s dashboard.
- It’s used only for your AI replies, including the answers in Test your agent, which also run on your key.
- You control it. Remove deletes it, and you can also delete the key from your provider’s dashboard at any time, which makes it useless immediately.
As with any secret, use a key made just for Dartzo, so you can revoke it without touching anything else. If your plan later drops below Pro, replies stop using your key and go back to Dartzo credits. The saved key isn’t deleted automatically; you can remove it yourself.