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How to get your OpenAI API Key: Step-by-step guide

February 8, 2024

To access OpenAI data or automate workflows through an integration, an API Key is required.

This guide walks you through where to find it and how to set it up for development or end-customer use.

How to get an OpenAI API key (LLM + Ads)

1) Create / sign in to your OpenAI account

  1. Go to https://platform.openai.com/
  2. Sign in (or create an account).

2) Create an API key (for LLM / general API use)

  1. In the OpenAI Platform, open API keys:
  2. Click Create new secret key.
  3. Give it a recognizable name (e.g., unified-prod, unified-dev).
  4. Copy the key immediately and store it in your password manager / secrets vault.
    • You won't be able to see the full key again after you close the dialog.

Use this key for:

  • LLM requests (Responses API / Chat Completions)
  • Embeddings
  • Ads API

3) Add billing (if required)

If you get "insufficient_quota" or similar errors:

  1. Open Billing in the OpenAI Platform:
  2. Add a payment method and/or purchase credits (depending on your plan).

OpenAI Ads

OpenAI does not issue a separate "Ads API key". for the Unified API, you use the same OpenAI Platform API key created above.

Getting your OpenAI API Key is the first step. The bigger challenge is supporting dozens of vendors - each with unique auth flows, schemas, and maintenance requirements.

Unified.to is a real-time integration platform built to replace that work. Instead of building and maintaining 463 custom connectors, you get one secure, normalized API layer across 27 SaaS tools.

On top of that, our usage-based pricing scales cleanly with your product. No per-connection fees, no setup charges, and no lock-in, just infrastructure economics that grow with you.

Book a demo to discover how predictable integration costs should be.

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