EmbedMyReviews uses AI across several features, from writing review responses to helping customers draft reviews to analysing sentiment. To use those features, you need an AI provider connected.
OpenAI is the simplest default for most agencies. You bring your own API key, pay OpenAI directly, and the platform handles the rest.
What this is
OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT and the GPT family of models. When you connect OpenAI in the platform, you are using your own OpenAI account and API key rather than a shared agency-wide vendor account hidden behind the platform.
This is a BYOK setup, which means you control the billing directly with OpenAI and the platform does not add a markup layer on top.
What OpenAI powers in the platform
| Feature | OpenAI support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AI Review Response | Yes | Manual AI responses on reviews |
| Auto Respond | Yes | Used for automatic review replies |
| AI Review Insights | Yes | Used for review analysis and sentiment work |
| Social Image Captions | Yes | Used for captions and hashtags |
| AI Review Generator in feedback forms | Yes | Used to help customers draft reviews |
| AI Questions for feedback forms | Limited | Works, but with a simpler setup than OpenRouter |
| Search AI | No | Requires OpenRouter |
Search AI is the major exception. That feature needs OpenRouter because it has to work across multiple AI ecosystems rather than just one provider.
Who should choose OpenAI
- Agencies that already have an OpenAI account
- Teams that want the simplest AI setup path
- Operators who mainly need AI review responses, auto-respond, captions, and insights
- Teams that specifically want GPT models such as GPT-4o or GPT-5
What you need before starting
- An OpenAI account at platform.openai.com
- An API key created in the OpenAI dashboard
- A payment method added in the API billing area of OpenAI
A ChatGPT Plus subscription is not the same thing as API access. The API has its own billing and needs its own payment method on file.
Step-by-step setup
Go to `AI & Automation -> Artificial Intelligence`, click `Add AI Provider`, name the provider, choose `OpenAI`, and continue through the wizard.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Welcome | Confirm you understand the BYOK model |
| Credentials | Paste the API key and optional organization ID, then verify |
| Models | Choose the review response model and optional assistant model |
| Confirmation | Review the masked key and chosen models, then complete setup |
Credentials
The API key comes from `platform.openai.com -> API Keys`. The organization ID is only needed if your account is operating under an organization structure. Most individual accounts can leave it blank.
Verification happens live. If the key or organization detail is wrong, the wizard should stop before anything is saved.
How to choose your models
The review response model powers the core AI work across review responses, auto-respond, captions, and AI insights. The assistant model is for things like the AI review generator in feedback forms and similar prompt-driven helper flows.
For most agencies, GPT-4o or GPT-4o Mini is the practical starting point. They give a strong balance of quality and cost.
| Model | Tier | Typical use case |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-4o | Recommended | Best balance of quality and cost for most agencies |
| GPT-4o Mini | Budget | High-volume usage where cost sensitivity matters |
| GPT-5 | Recommended | Latest generation quality if available on the account |
| GPT-5 Mini or Nano | Budget | Lower-cost, lighter workloads |
| GPT-3.5 Turbo | Standard | Older low-cost fallback |
| o1 or o3 Mini | Reasoning-oriented | More specialised reasoning use cases |
For assistant-style tasks that run more often, a cheaper model often makes more sense than using the most expensive model everywhere.
What happens after setup
- AI review responses use your selected review response model
- Auto Respond uses the same provider and model family
- AI Insights uses the connected AI provider for analysis
- Social image caption generation uses the connected provider
- Feedback form AI review generation uses the assistant model if configured
What it costs
You pay OpenAI directly and there is no markup added by the platform. In practice, review-response costs are usually very small unless volume gets extremely high.
For most agencies, the AI bill stays modest even when the feature set is active across multiple customers.
Managing the provider later
- Edit the provider to rotate API keys or change models
- Set it as default if you have more than one AI provider connected
- Delete it if you want to remove the connection entirely