Bring your own LLM key and pay the provider directly, not a SaaS reseller
SleekAI is a WordPress chatbot that uses your own API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, or OpenRouter. The plugin calls the provider directly, with no SleekAI server in the middle and no per-token markup.
What bring-your-own-key actually means
Bring-your-own-key (BYOK) is a phrase a lot of chatbot vendors use, but most use it to mean you can paste your OpenAI key into their dashboard and they will use it for you. The key is yours in name only.
SleekAI’s BYOK is literal. No SleekAI hosted service touches the request. No SleekAI account is even required to use the chatbot. SleekAI’s only ongoing role is the WordPress code that runs in your install.
The practical impact is on cost, data control, and provider flexibility. Cost: you pay provider list prices, not a marked-up reseller rate. Data control: prompts and replies pass through your server and the provider’s server, nothing else. None of this is exotic, but it does not survive when a vendor needs a profit margin on every token.
Features
Pay provider list prices
Your bill comes from OpenAI, Anthropic, or whichever provider you picked. No markup, no per-chat fee, no SleekAI subscription tied to usage. SleekAI sells a flat plugin license, not metered tokens.
Answers from your data
Map post titles, content, post meta, taxonomies or a WP_Query into the instruction, and the bot answers from what your site actually publishes.
Your model, your key
Use OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter or a compatible endpoint with your own API key. The provider bills you directly.
Where true BYOK matters most
High-volume sites
At 10k chats a month, reseller markup of 3-5x on tokens adds up to hundreds of dollars. Direct provider billing keeps that money inside the site’s budget.
Privacy-sensitive workloads
Healthcare, legal, and finance sites that audit data flow gain a simpler picture: visitor browser, WordPress server, provider API. No fourth party to vet.
Multi-provider strategies
Agencies running 20 sites pick the cheapest provider per workload, switch when prices change, and never untangle their data from a vendor lock-in.
How bring-your-own-key works in SleekAI
Map your data
Choose the posts, fields, taxonomies or users the bot should know and reference them in the instruction.
Set display conditions
Decide which pages, post types, roles or logged-in states show the chatbot.
Pick provider per chatbot
In each chatbot’s settings, pick a provider and a model from the dropdowns.
Watch billing on the provider dashboards
Token usage shows up on your OpenAI or Anthropic billing page in near real time. No SleekAI subscription scales with chat volume.
Why true BYOK is the durable architecture
The chatbot industry has had three distinct pricing eras in three years. In 2023 the answer was a flat monthly SaaS fee plus a per-message charge, often 2 to 10 cents per chat. In 2024 the vendors started passing through model costs at 3 to 5x markup, hidden inside credits.
In 2025 the leading providers shipped models cheap enough that the markup is the dominant line item rather than the model cost. By 2026, models will likely get cheaper still, the markup percentage will get harder to defend, and any site locked into reseller pricing will be paying for a service that has lost its economic justification.
The architecture that does not age is bring-your-own-key, done literally. The provider invoice is the provider invoice. The chatbot software is a fixed one-time or annual cost. The data wiring is local to the WordPress install. Migration to a new provider is a dropdown change. None of those choices age, because none of them depend on a market condition that might shift.
SleekAI is built so that the only ongoing cost that scales with chat volume is the token bill from the provider you picked. That bill is a direct relationship with the model maker. SleekAI does not see it, mark it up, or take a cut. The plugin’s economics are flat by design.
Frequently asked questions
Where are my API keys stored?
The plugin reads them only when calling the provider. They are not synced anywhere outside your database. Treat them like any other plugin secret and follow the WordPress hardening basics.
Do I need a SleekAI account?
No. The chat traffic never touches a SleekAI server.
Can I use a self-hosted model instead?
Yes, through OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The variable mapper and display conditions work the same way regardless of which endpoint serves the chat.
What about prompt logging?
Nothing logs externally. The provider’s own data retention policy applies to whatever they see, which is just the chat completion request.
Are there rate limits beyond the provider’s?
No. SleekAI has no rate limit or throttle of its own. The only limits are your provider’s tier (OpenAI tokens-per-minute, Anthropic concurrent requests, etc).
How does pricing work for SleekAI itself?
Flat annual license, not metered. The license covers the plugin and updates, regardless of how many chats your site handles. So 100 chats a month and 100,000 chats a month cost the same for SleekAI. Your only variable cost is whatever the provider charges per token, which is exactly your provider invoice.
Can I bring my own model entirely?
If your model speaks the OpenAI chat-completion API, yes. Local Ollama on a private network, a hosted Hugging Face Inference endpoint, or a custom vLLM deployment all work.
Which AI providers does it support?
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and OpenRouter, plus custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints. You bring your own API key and the provider bills you directly.
Pricing
Explore our flexible licensing options tailored to your needs. Upgrade your license anytime to access more features, or opt for a lifetime license for ongoing value, including lifetime updates and lifetime support. Our hassle-free upgrade process ensures that our platform can grow with you, starting from whichever plan you choose.
…or get the Bundle Deal
and save €250
The Bundle (unlimited sites)
Pay once, own it forever
Elevate your WordPress site with our exclusive plugin bundle that includes all of our premium plugins in one package. Enjoy lifetime updates and lifetime support. Save significantly compared to buying plugins individually.
What’s included
SleekAI
SleekByte
SleekMotion
SleekPixel
SleekView
SleekRank
SleekTrack