Get an API key and understand costs
Botshido ships without any AI service. You connect your own account with a provider and the provider bills you directly, according to your plan with them. Botshido does not add a per-message fee or a message limit.
Choose a provider
Section titled “Choose a provider”| Provider | Replies | Embeddings | Where to create a key |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Yes | Yes | platform.openai.com/api-keys |
| Mistral AI | Yes | Yes | console.mistral.ai |
| Anthropic (Claude) | Yes | No | console.anthropic.com |
| xAI (Grok) | Yes | No | console.x.ai |
Provider consoles change over time: if a menu is not where you expect it, look for “API keys” in the account or project settings.
Create and add the key
Section titled “Create and add the key”- Sign in to the provider console and create an API key. Copy it right away: most providers show it only once.
- Check that the account has billing enabled or available credit. A key without credit is accepted by Botshido but replies will fail.
- In Botshido, open the API tab of your chatbot (or the AI connection step of the setup wizard), paste the key and choose a model.
- Save, then run the model test: it makes a real request and shows whether your account can use the selected model.
Never paste a key into a prompt, a public page or an HTML block. If you prefer, define it as a constant in wp-config.php instead: see Managing chatbots and credentials.
What you pay for
Section titled “What you pay for”| Activity | Billed by the provider? |
|---|---|
| Every visitor message answered by the AI | Yes |
| Model test and the admin test page | Yes, they are real requests |
| Indexing the Knowledge Base with embeddings | Yes, if you enable embeddings |
| Guided flow steps that do not need the AI | No |
| Botshido Free | No licence fee |
Cost depends on the model, the length of conversations and how much Knowledge Base text is sent with each reply. To keep it under control:
- start with a smaller model and compare answers before moving to a larger one;
- keep the Base Prompt and Knowledge Base focused;
- set a spending limit in the provider console, where available;
- use quick questions and guided flows for frequent requests.
For current prices, always refer to the provider’s own pricing page.