BYOK (bring your own key) means using your own AI provider API key inside a third-party tool, so the model calls are billed directly to your provider account at the provider's raw cost, with no platform markup added on top. The tool supplies the interface, batching, and workflow; you supply the credential that pays for the inference. In ReplyLabs, BYOK lets AI runs in Google Sheets execute on your own key at the provider's list price rather than at a marked-up managed rate.
How BYOK differs from managed mode
In managed mode, the platform holds the provider relationship, calls the model on its own key, and bills you a price that includes a margin. In BYOK mode, you hold the relationship: you paste your key, the platform calls the model as you, and the provider invoices your account directly. The difference is who pays the model bill and at what rate. BYOK removes the platform's margin on inference.
Why it matters
A per-call markup is trivial at low volume and significant at scale. BYOK strips the markup and the per-row base fee from the AI step, leaving only the provider's raw rate, so the savings grow with the number of rows you run. It also gives you control: spend is visible in your own provider dashboard, you can set provider-side budget limits, you can switch models the moment a better one ships, and you avoid lock-in because the key and the billing relationship are yours.
Supported keys in ReplyLabs
ReplyLabs accepts BYOK keys from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, and OpenRouter. A single OpenRouter key reaches hundreds of models across many providers through one unified endpoint, which is the broadest single-credential option. Keys are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and decrypted only when a call is dispatched. BYOK for AI is a Pro and Scale plan feature.