# Connect Your AI Provider

> **What it does:** Links the plugin to the AI service that will write your articles and draw your images. You need at least one provider API key.
>
> *Applies to Antradus AI Lite & Pro v2.0.0 · Last updated 2026-07-24*

## Supported providers

| Provider | Writes articles | Generates images | Reads photos (vision) | Live web search |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **OpenAI** | ✅ | ✅ (gpt-image / DALL·E) | ✅ | ✅ (search-capable models, e.g. gpt-5 / gpt-4o) |
| **Anthropic (Claude)** | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| **Google Gemini** | ✅ | ✅ (Imagen) | ✅ | ✅ |
| **OpenRouter** | ✅ (200+ models, incl. **free** ones) | ✅ (Flux and others) | ✅ (model-dependent) | ✅ (any model) |
| **DeepSeek** | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |

💡 **Just want to try it without paying an AI provider?** Create a free account at [openrouter.ai](https://openrouter.ai), pick a model labelled **★ FREE**, and you can generate articles at no cost. (Note: providers serving free models often retain and/or train on your prompts, and quality varies.)

## Step by step

1. Open **Antradus AI** in the admin sidebar.
2. Under **🔑 AI Providers & Models**, choose your **Active Provider**.
3. Open that provider's panel and paste your **API Key**. Each panel has a **Get API key →** link that takes you to the right page:
   - OpenAI → platform.openai.com/api-keys
   - Anthropic → console.anthropic.com/settings/keys
   - DeepSeek → platform.deepseek.com/api_keys
   - Google Gemini → aistudio.google.com/app/apikey
   - OpenRouter → openrouter.ai/keys
4. Click the **fetch models** button next to the Model field. The plugin loads the provider's live model list.
5. Pick a **Model** (for writing) and — for OpenAI, Gemini, and OpenRouter — an **Image Model** (for image generation).
6. **Save Changes**.

<!-- screenshot: connect-your-ai-provider-1 — provider section with API key and model dropdowns -->

## Every option explained

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Active Provider** | Which service handles all AI work. You can store keys for several providers and switch anytime. |
| **API Key** | Your private key from the provider. It is stored in your own WordPress database and sent only to that provider — never to us or anyone else. |
| **Model** | The "brain" used for writing. Bigger models write better and cost more. |
| **Image Model** | The model used for featured images and albums. |
| **Show all models** | By default the list shows only **stable, recommended** models. Tick this to see everything, including previews, betas, and experimental models — use those at your own risk. |

## Tips & gotchas

- **Not sure which model?** Start with your provider's flagship (e.g. the default the dropdown suggests). You can change it anytime — each article uses whatever is selected at the moment you click Start Writing.
- OpenRouter's model list labels every model **★ FREE** or **💰 PAID** so you can't be surprised.
- Keys are per-provider: switching the Active Provider doesn't erase the other keys.
- If fetching models fails, your key is usually wrong or the provider account has no credit.

## Next step

→ [Your First Article in 5 Minutes](your-first-article.md)
