> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vowen.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Setting up AI > Connect an AI provider to enable enhancement, Command Mode, and meeting summaries. ## Overview Vowen uses AI in three places: 1. **[AI Enhancement](/ai-features/ai-enhancement)** polishes your transcriptions (spelling, grammar, formatting). 2. **[Command Mode](/ai-features/command-mode)** turns spoken instructions into text transformations and real actions. 3. **[Meeting summaries](/meeting-notes/summaries)** turn a recorded transcript into structured notes. You bring your own API key. Vowen never charges you for AI usage; you pay your provider directly, and several have free tiers that cover ordinary daily use. ## Where the settings live In the left sidebar, under **Vowen AI**, click **Configure your AI**. The page has three tabs: | Tab | What it holds | | - | - | | **Configuration** | The provider grid, the **Enhance transcription with AI** toggle, **Pass screen as context**, and global **Custom Instructions** | | **Command Mode** | The Command Mode on/off checkbox, **Context-awareness**, **Drag to capture region**, and the utility cards | | **Memory** | Your saved [Memory](/features/memory) items | The Vowen window with the Configure your AI sidebar entry highlighted, and the Configuration tab open showing the AI provider grid and the Enhance transcription with AI toggle There is no "AI Setup" item in the sidebar and no Settings > AI section. Everything on this page is reached through **Configure your AI**. The Memory tab of Configure your AI, highlighted in the tab row, showing an empty state with Add Note and Upload File buttons ## Supported providers The provider grid lists 10 providers as selectable cards. Click a provider name below to go directly to the page where you generate an API key. | Provider | Free tier | Best for | Recommended model | | - | - | - | - | | [**OpenAI**](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys) | No (paid) | Best overall quality | GPT-5.4 Nano | | [**Anthropic**](https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys) | No (paid) | Nuanced writing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | | [**Groq**](https://console.groq.com/keys) | Yes (generous) | Fast responses, free usage | GPT-OSS 20B | | [**Google**](https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey) | Yes (generous) | Image and video context, free usage | Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | | [**DeepSeek**](https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys) | Yes (limited) | Budget-friendly | DeepSeek V4 Flash | | [**OpenRouter**](https://openrouter.ai/keys) | Varies | One key, hundreds of models | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | | [**Azure**](https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_ProjectOxford/CognitiveServicesHub/~/OpenAI) | No (paid) | Enterprise compliance | GPT-4.1 Nano | | [**Cerebras**](https://cloud.cerebras.ai/platform) | Yes (limited) | Ultra-fast inference | GPT-OSS 120B | | [**AWS Bedrock**](https://us-east-1.console.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/home#/api-keys) | No (paid) | Enterprise, regional | Amazon Nova Lite | | **Custom API** | Varies | Self-hosted or OpenAI-compatible endpoints | Your choice | Model catalogs move. Vowen refreshes its model lists from the app, so the dropdown on your machine is the source of truth. If a model named here is not in the dropdown, pick the one marked **(Recommended)** instead. Some names that circulated in older documentation are not offered by any provider in Vowen. There is no Llama model in the Groq or Cerebras catalogs, and GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, Gemini Pro and an unversioned "Claude Sonnet" are not selectable options. ### Card states The grid tells you a provider's status at a glance: | What you see on the card | Meaning | | - | - | | A **Setup** badge | Not configured yet. Click the card to add a key. | | A **gear icon** | Configured. Click the gear to edit the key or model, or to disconnect. | | A **checkmark** | Your active provider. Everything runs on it. | The Configure your AI provider grid with an unconnected provider card highlighted, showing an amber Setup badge on its right edge Only unconfigured cards show the Setup badge. Once you configure a provider the gear replaces the badge, and clicking the card body makes that provider active. The Configure your AI provider grid with the active provider card highlighted, showing a tick and a gear on its right edge ## Setup steps Sidebar > **Vowen AI** > **Configure your AI**, on the **Configuration** tab. Cards with a **Setup** badge open the configuration panel straight away. Enter the key from the provider's dashboard. The panel has a link that opens the provider's API key page in your browser. The Configure your AI page with the Azure provider panel open, showing API Key, Resource Name, Deployment ID and API Version fields Your API key is encrypted on your machine and is never sent to Vowen. It goes only to the provider it belongs to. Choose from the dropdown. The recommended model is pre-selected. Azure has no dropdown. It asks for a **Resource Name**, a **Deployment ID**, and an **API Version** instead, because the model is whatever you deployed. AWS Bedrock asks for an **AWS Region** and loads its model list from your account once a key is entered. OpenRouter loads its catalog live. Vowen verifies the key and saves it. The card gains a checkmark, meaning it is now the active connection. ### Custom API The **Custom API** card works with any OpenAI-compatible endpoint: Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, self-hosted models, internal gateways. Its panel has one extra field. The Custom API panel with an optional API key field, a Base URL of http://localhost:11434/v1 and a model name * **API Key (optional)**: leave blank if your endpoint doesn't require auth. * **Base URL** (required): point at your endpoint, for example `http://localhost:11434/v1` for Ollama. * **Model**: a free-text field, because only your endpoint knows what it serves. Type the model identifier exactly as your endpoint expects it. **Fully local AI:** install Ollama, run a model, point Base URL at `http://localhost:11434/v1` and leave the API key blank. No data leaves your machine. #### Multiple named Custom API entries Below the provider grid there is a dotted **Add Custom API** card. It creates an *additional*, separately named Custom API entry with its own name, key, base URL, and model. Keep a local Ollama, a work gateway, and a staging endpoint side by side, each as its own card in the grid, each switchable in one click. Delete a named entry from its own card. A dotted-outline card in the provider grid labelled Add Custom API with a plus icon The single built-in **Custom API** card is free. Creating **extra named** Custom API entries is a Pro feature. ### Local coding agents (Claude Code and Codex) If you have the `claude` or `codex` CLI installed and signed in, Vowen detects it on disk and offers it as an AI provider. There is no key to paste and no card to configure. Availability is a property of your machine, so Vowen re-detects it rather than asking you to enter anything. Runs go through your existing subscription with your own default model, and no key ever reaches Vowen. Claude Code and Codex are available for **meeting summaries and the Ask AI panel inside Notes only**. They do **not** appear in the provider grid on this page, and they **cannot** be used for AI Enhancement or Command Mode. Installing Claude Code does not give you key-free dictation enhancement. For that you still need one of the 10 providers above. They show up where a summary provider is chosen (Notes settings and the per-note provider picker). The run is a plain completion with every built-in tool disabled and no MCP servers loaded, so it cannot touch your filesystem, network, or connectors, and Claude Code runs with session persistence off so meeting transcripts stay out of its history. ### Disconnecting a provider Open a configured provider's panel with its gear icon. A **Disconnect** button sits at the bottom right. Disconnecting removes the key and, if that provider was active, offers a configured fallback to switch to. The Configure your AI page with a connected provider's panel open, showing its API key field and a Disconnect button at the bottom right ## Where to get API keys ### Free tier Generous free tier. Ideal for daily dictation. Generous free tier with multimodal support. Free tier with ultra-fast inference. Free tier with limited monthly tokens. ### Paid Requires a payment method. Top overall quality. Requires funded credits. Requires an Azure subscription. Enterprise compliance. Requires an AWS account. Enable models, then create a key. Most paid providers let you cap monthly spend per API key. Set it to your daily-use ceiling so a runaway loop can't drain your wallet. ### Multi-provider gateways One key, hundreds of models. Vowen loads the live catalog once a key is entered. ### Self-hosted Point Vowen at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Works with Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, and self-hosted models. ## Switching providers Configuring more than one provider is worth the two minutes. AI APIs go down and rate-limit, and a second configured provider means switching in one click instead of setting up a key mid-outage. * The active provider shows a checkmark on its card * Click any configured card to make it active * Keys stay saved, so switching back needs no re-entry * When an enhancement or Command Mode run fails, the failure banner offers a chip per configured provider so you can retry without leaving your app Set up Groq plus Google as a backup. Both have free tiers, so a redundant configuration costs nothing. ## Model selection Click the gear on a configured card to change its model. Models vary in: * **Speed**: how quickly responses come back * **Quality**: how well the model follows instructions and formats text * **Cost**: per-token pricing on paid providers AI Enhancement is a light cleanup pass, and the smallest model a provider offers usually handles it well. Command Mode has to follow instructions and emit clean JSON for tool calls, so it benefits from a step up. Rather than running one expensive model for everything, keep a small fast model as your default and use a [Tone](/ai-features/tones) to switch to a stronger one in the apps where you need it. A tone can override both the AI provider and the model. ## Rate limits If you hit rate limits, especially on free tiers: * Switch to a second configured provider (Groq and Google alternate well) * Move to a model with higher limits on the same account * Wait a few minutes for the window to reset * Move to a paid tier for heavy usage ## Security Your API keys are: * **Encrypted on your machine**, and never sent to Vowen * **Never sent to Vowen servers**, only to the provider you selected * **Stored locally**, never on our infrastructure Generate a separate API key just for Vowen. If it ever leaks through a synced screenshot or a posted env file, you can revoke that one key without breaking anything else on the same account. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.