AI keys

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What an AI key is

CourseBuilder+ does not include an AI of its own. When it drafts modules, topics, slides or questions, it sends a request to an AI company you choose — Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), OpenAI, Mistral or xAI — using an API key: a long code, like a password, that you make on that company's developer website. It tells the company the request is yours, and it is how they charge you.

• It is not the same as a chat subscription. A ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro or Gemini subscription does not include an API key or pay for one. API use is a separate account on the company's developer site, paid for as you use it.
• You pay the AI company, not CourseBuilder+. Most of them ask you to buy credits first — from about $5. Google's Gemini and Mistral have a free tier with lower limits; on a free tier the company may use what you send to improve its products, so do not send students' personal information on one.
• You see the cost. In CourseBuilder+, Settings → AI Usage and Cost shows what each request cost, and every Generate window estimates the size of a request before you send it.
• Your key stays on your computer, encrypted, in Documents\AiManager. It is shared by Dr. Ron Eaglin's other programs (Gamify+, Assessment+, …), so you add it once.

Do you need one?

Only for the AI features. Without a key you can still create courses and modules, type topics, subtopics and outcomes by hand, import your own files and PowerPoints, and export to your LMS or a website. With a key, the AI drafts all of these for you to check and change.

Which company?

Any of the five works for writing. If you want the AI to draw pictures (Generate Images), choose OpenAI, Google Gemini or xAI — Claude and Mistral cannot make pictures. If you have no preference, use the one your school already has an account with.

How to get one and add it

1. In the Course Manager, click Open AI Settings on the yellow bar, or Settings → AI Settings….
2. Beside the company you chose, click How?. It says step by step what to do on that company's website — which options to choose when you make the key, and how to pay. A link under the introduction opens the same instructions for every company, with the date they were last checked.
3. Get a key opens the company's key page. Make the key and copy it — most companies show it only once.
4. Paste it into AI Settings and save.

Companies change their websites without notice; the How? help inside the program is kept up to date with each CourseBuilder+ update.