Bring your own AI key. Pay your provider, not a markup.
Interview Assistant AI doesn't bundle AI usage into the subscription. You connect your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key, every request goes straight from your machine to theirs, and you're billed at the provider's own rate — the subscription pays for the software only.
What BYOK means
BYOK — bring your own key — means the application doesn't run its own AI backend or resell model access. Instead of a fixed pool of "credits" priced to cover the vendor's margin on every token, you supply an API key from the provider you already trust, and usage is billed directly to your account there.
For an AI interview assistant specifically, that has a practical effect on cost: a screen analysis is typically a fraction of a cent to a few cents on a fast, low-cost model, and you can see exactly what each one cost in your own OpenAI or Anthropic dashboard, not estimate it from a monthly cap.
Why it matters for an interview assistant
Interview prep is bursty — heavy use for a week before a loop, then none for a month. A bundled-credits model has to price for your worst month; a BYOK model lets you pay only for what you actually send, and switch to a cheaper model any time to control spend.
It also means Interview Assistant AI never sees your API responses pass through a server of ours — the request goes from your machine directly to the provider you chose. There's no usage log or answer history stored on a backend, because there is no backend in that path.
Setting it up
- 01
Get a key
Create an API key at platform.openai.com or console.anthropic.com. This is a separate account from ChatGPT Plus/Pro or Claude's consumer apps, which bill as a flat monthly plan rather than per token.
- 02
Paste it into Settings
Settings → AI. The key is sealed by the OS credential store immediately and never leaves that screen — it doesn't cross into the sandboxed interface layer.
- 03
Pick a provider and model
Choose OpenAI or Anthropic, then type a model name or click Fetch models. Meeting audio is always transcribed by OpenAI Whisper regardless of which provider you pick for screen analysis.
Keep going
- AI interview assistant
The full product overview.
- Pricing
The three licence terms, side by side.
- Security & privacy
The full data-handling threat model.
Questions about BYOK
Can I use my ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro subscription instead of an API key?
No. Those are separate consumer subscriptions from the developer API keys Interview Assistant AI needs — you'll need a key from platform.openai.com or console.anthropic.com, which bills per token.
Is there a monthly usage cap?
No cap and no markup on your usage — you're billed directly by OpenAI or Anthropic at their own rate for whatever you send. The $8/month, $5/month annual, or $80 lifetime price covers the software only.
Which AI providers can I use?
OpenAI and Anthropic for the vision model that reads your screen. Meeting audio context is always transcribed by OpenAI Whisper regardless of which provider you pick for analysis, since Anthropic doesn't yet have an audio-input API.
Does BYOK mean my data goes through your servers first?
No — each analysis request goes directly from your machine to the provider you configured over HTTPS. There's no backend of ours in that path to log or store it.
Can I switch providers later?
Yes, any time, from the same Settings screen — there's no plan change involved since usage is billed by the provider, not by Interview Assistant AI.
Connect your own key and see the real cost.
$8 a month or $80 once for the software. You pay OpenAI or Anthropic directly for what you use.