Normally ShopAltAI handles the AI for you — you buy a plan, you get an allowance, we pay the AI provider.
With BYOK you supply your own key from an AI provider instead. ShopAltAI still does everything else — reading your photos, writing the listings, connecting to your store — but the AI work runs on your account, and you pay the provider directly.
Why anyone does this: no monthly generation limits from us. You're bound only by what your own provider account allows.
The trade: you set up an account with an AI provider, add a payment method, and manage that bill yourself. It's about fifteen minutes of setup.
Who it suits: high-volume users, agencies running many client stores, and anyone who'd rather manage the AI relationship themselves. If you're generating a few hundred listings a month, a normal plan is simpler and probably cheaper.
| Provider | Status |
|---|---|
| Google Gemini | Supported — free tier available, see below |
| Anthropic Claude | Selectable when saving a key, but not yet wired up for generation |
Gemini is the only provider that works for generation today. The steps below cover it.
That's it. No credit card needed to create the key.
Google's free tier is genuinely free and doesn't expire. But it's rate-limited.
| Requests per minute | ~10 |
| Requests per day | ~250 |
One generation is one request. So on the free tier you can generate roughly 250 alt texts or listings per day, and then it stops until the next day.
That's fine for a small store or for trying it out. It is not enough for a catalogue cleanup — 900 products would take four days.
Add a payment method to your Google Cloud project. That moves you to a paid tier with much higher limits, and you pay Google for what you use.
What that actually costs you: the models ShopAltAI uses are inexpensive. Generating 1,000 product listings costs roughly $0.50 at current rates; 1,000 alt texts is around $0.12. Most merchants spend a few dollars a month.
Google also lets you set a spending cap on the project. Worth doing — it's the simplest protection against a mistake or a runaway job.
Generate something to confirm it works. If the key is wrong, generation fails immediately rather than silently falling back.
BYOK is only available on BYOK plans. If you're on Starter, Professional or Growth, the key field won't accept a key — those plans include generation, so there'd be nothing for it to do.
Your key is encrypted before it's stored, using AES-256-GCM with a fresh random initialisation vector each time. It's decrypted only server-side, at the moment a generation runs. It's never sent to your browser, never written to logs, and never visible in the dashboard after saving — you'll only ever see a masked version.
You can replace it at any time. If you ever think it's been exposed, delete it in Google AI Studio and create a new one; the old key stops working immediately.
"Invalid API key"
The key was mistyped or has been deleted at Google's end. Keys start with AIza — check nothing was cut off when copying. Create a fresh one if unsure.
Generation worked, then stopped part-way through a big batch
Almost certainly the free tier's 250-a-day limit. Wait until tomorrow, or add a payment method in Google Cloud to raise it.
"Rate limit exceeded"
Too many requests too quickly — the free tier allows about 10 a minute. It'll resolve on its own; if it keeps happening, that's the daily cap.
Everything fails immediately after saving the key
Check you selected the right provider. A Gemini key saved as Claude will fail every request.
I saved a Claude key and every generation fails
Expected for now — Claude is selectable when saving a key, but generation only runs on Gemini today. Switch the provider to Gemini and save a Gemini key instead.
I'm on a paid plan and can't add a key
That's expected. BYOK keys only apply to BYOK plans.
Do I still need a ShopAltAI subscription?
Yes. BYOK covers the AI cost, not the platform — the generators, plugins, review workflow and store connections are what you're subscribing to.
Is BYOK cheaper?
It depends on volume. At a few hundred generations a month, a normal plan is simpler and usually cheaper once you count your own setup time. At many thousands, BYOK is substantially cheaper.
Can I switch back?
Yes. Change plan and remove the key; generation returns to your plan allowance.
Does Google see my product images?
Yes — generation sends the image to the provider you've chosen. That's true whether you use your key or ours. Google's API terms cover how they handle it.
What if my key runs out of credit?
Generation fails with an error from the provider. Nothing is lost, and nothing is charged to your ShopAltAI allowance — top up with Google and carry on.
Can I use Claude instead of Gemini?
Not yet. Claude is selectable in Settings when you save a key, but generation only runs on Gemini today — a saved Claude key will fail every request. Support for Claude generation is coming.