BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)
Definition
BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) is a model where you connect your own LLM provider API keys — from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google — to the automation platform. Instead of paying the platform for AI usage, you pay the providers directly. Your prompts and responses flow between you and the provider without the platform seeing your data.
How BYOK Works in JieGou
In JieGou, you add your API keys for Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), and/or Google (Gemini) in your account settings. Keys are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage. When a recipe runs, JieGou sends the structured prompt directly to the provider using your key. The response comes back directly to your session. JieGou handles the orchestration — routing, retries, circuit breaking — but never stores your prompt content or AI outputs.
Cost Control Benefits
With BYOK, you see exactly what you are spending on AI. Each recipe run shows token consumption and estimated cost. You control which model runs each step — use a cheaper model (Haiku, GPT-5-mini) for simple extraction tasks and a more capable model (Opus, GPT-5) for complex reasoning. This per-step model selection is unique to JieGou and impossible when the platform bundles AI costs into a flat rate.
Data Privacy Advantages
BYOK means your data never passes through JieGou's servers for AI processing. Prompts go directly from the JieGou frontend to the LLM provider. This simplifies compliance: your data handling agreement is with the LLM provider, not with JieGou. For organizations with strict data residency or processing requirements, BYOK provides a clear separation of concerns.
Multi-Provider Flexibility
BYOK in JieGou is not limited to one provider. You can add keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google simultaneously, then choose the best model for each recipe or workflow step. A content writing recipe might use Claude for its prose quality, while a data extraction recipe uses GPT for its structured output capabilities. This multi-provider approach avoids vendor lock-in and lets you optimize for quality, speed, and cost per task.
Enterprise Key Management
Enterprise teams can manage API keys at the organization level with role-based access. Keys are shared across team members without exposing the raw key values. Usage is tracked per user and per workflow, giving finance teams visibility into AI spend. If a key is compromised, rotation is immediate and does not require updating individual workflows — just update the key in settings.
Related Terms
AI Recipes
Learn what AI recipes are and how they work in JieGou. Recipes are reusable, single-operation AI building blocks with structured inputs and outputs.
AI Workflows
Learn what AI workflows are and how they automate multi-step processes. Workflows chain recipes with branching, loops, approval gates, and parallel execution.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
Learn what MCP (Model Context Protocol) is and how JieGou uses it. MCP enables AI to interact with external tools, browsers, and services through a standardized protocol.