Overview  

This doc walks you through:

• What Zia AI is and how model configuration fits into it

• Accessing the Models settings

• The difference between BYOK and ZKS, and which vendors support each

• Connecting OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, and Cohere

• Switching, disabling, and updating a connected model

• Reading usage details and understanding credit allocation

• Where to generate an API key for each supported vendor

What is Zia AI  

None of that works until a model is connected here, in settings.

Accessing the Models settings  

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open All Settings.

2. Under Zia, click Models.

BYOK and ZKS: the two ways to connect a model  

Every vendor is connected one of two ways:

• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK). You supply your own API key from the vendor, and Zia uses your account's quota and billing. Choose this if your organization already has a subscription with that vendor, or wants full control over usage and cost.

• Zoho Key System (ZKS). Zoho supplies the key, and generations draw from AI credits included with your Zoho Campaigns plan. Choose this if you'd rather not manage a separate vendor account.

Not every vendor supports both:

Note: If Zia is currently active on a vendor and you switch to another vendor, you'll need to confirm the switch. Switching disconnects the vendor that's currently active across all Zia features.

Connecting OpenAI  

1. On the Model Configuration screen, click the OpenAI card.

2. Click Connect.

3. In the Select AI model for Zia dialog, choose a mode:

• ZKS - OpenAI. Uses credits provided by Zoho. No further setup needed, skip to step 5.

• BYOK. Enter your own OpenAI API secret key to generate AI content.

4. If you picked BYOK, paste your key into the OpenAI API key field. Click here to know to generate an API key for OpenAI.

5. Click Proceed.

6. Read the Data privacy notice dialog. It notes that OpenAI is an external service based in the U.S., and that Zoho Campaigns uses OpenAI's Chat API subject to OpenAI's Terms of Use.

7. Click Proceed again to confirm.

Once connected, the OpenAI Configuration tab page shows a Model dropdown if you're on BYOK, so you can switch between OpenAI's models without re-entering your key.

Connecting Anthropic, Google AI, or Cohere  

These three vendors are BYOK only.

1. On the Model Configuration screen, click the vendor's card.

2. Click Connect.

3. In the Zia Content Assistant dialog, paste your API key into the field. See generating an API key for each vendor below.

4. Click Proceed.

5. Read the Data privacy notice dialog for that vendor and click Proceed to confirm.

Managing a connected model  

• Connected On and Connected By, so you know when the integration was set up and who did it.

• The masked API key (for BYOK vendors), with Edit.

• The Model dropdown, if the vendor offers more than one model.

• The Usage tab shows how much of your plan's monthly allotment has been used.

Updating an API key  

1. On the vendor's Configuration tab, click Edit next to the API key field.

2. In the Edit [Vendor] Api key dialog, paste the new Secret key.

3. Click Save.

Disconnecting a model  

1. On the vendor's detail page, click Disconnect in the top-right corner.

Alert: Disabling the active model stops all AI generation immediately, across Email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

Viewing usage  

There are two places to check the usage: a summary across every vendor, and a detailed breakdown per vendor.

Usage across all vendors  

Usage for a single vendor  

On any vendor's detail page, click the Usage tab. What you see here depends on how that vendor is connected:

• ZKS vendors show Feature Name, Consumed By, Date and Time, and Credits Spent.

• BYOK-only vendors (Anthropic, Google AI, Cohere) show the same columns plus Model Name and Total Tokens Spent, since there's no credit cost to Zoho on these.

• OpenAI, being dual-mode, shows a Mode column alongside the rest, so BYOK and ZKS generations sit in the same table with tokens or credits filled in depending on which mode that row used.

Credit allocation  

If you're running Zia on ZKS, through OpenAI's ZKS option, your Zoho Campaigns plan comes with a set number of free AI credits each month:

Note: For BYOK, usage is billed by the vendor directly to the account that owns the key, not against your Zoho Campaigns plan.

Generating an API key for each vendor  

If you're setting up BYOK, you'll need a key from the vendor before you can connect it in Zoho Campaigns. Each vendor manages this from its own developer dashboard, not from Zoho:

• OpenAI. Generate and manage keys from the OpenAI API keys page. OpenAI's help center also has a short guide on finding your API key.

• Anthropic. Sign in to the Anthropic Console and create a key from the API keys page. You'll need a payment method on file before Anthropic lets a new key make live requests.

• Google AI. Generate a Gemini API key from Google AI Studio. No existing Google Cloud project is required; AI Studio creates one for you.

• Cohere. Sign in to the Cohere dashboard to view your trial key or generate a production key.

Alert: Treat every API key like a password. Whoever holds the key can run up usage and cost on the vendor's side.

Zia AI model configuration is currently available in the following DCs:

1. US
2. IN
3. CA
4. AU
5. JP
6. SG                                           
   

See also

1. Using AI to create and improve marketing content