Using AI without your own keys
On a paid plan, the Assistant and generation can run on managed keys: usage draws from a monthly pool of credits rather than your own API bill.
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Bringing your own key is one way to power the AI, but not the only one. Paid plans can include managed AI: the Assistant and AI generation run on 3dCMS's own Anthropic and fal keys, so you don't have to create or paste any keys at all. Usage is metered against a monthly pool of credits that comes with your plan.
How credits work
One credit is a penny of AI provider cost (1 credit = $0.01). The chat Assistant and generation both spend from the same pool: a chat turn costs a few credits (its real token cost), a generated material 8, a 3D model 20, or 30 at high detail, the only tier that buys an HD texture. Each plan's monthly grant:
| Plan | Credits / month | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 (bring your own key) | None |
| Starter | 300 | ≈15 models |
| Developer | 900 | ≈45 models |
| Worldbuilder | 2,000 | ≈100 models |
The model counts are deliberately conservative: a high-detail model costs half again as much, so a grant always stretches at least as far as the number shown.
(The top tier was called Agency in earlier notes. It's Worldbuilder now. The name changed because the plan is one creator's account with the ceilings lifted, not a team plan with seats.)
When managed AI is active, the Assistant shows your live credit balance in its header and refreshes it after each spend. Run the pool dry and the AI pauses until the grant resets at the start of the next month, and you can always paste your own key to keep going unmetered.
That balance is on screen for chatting, not just for generating. Before, a metered chat turn only announced its cost by refusing you once the pool was empty; now the first turn of a session says plainly that chat runs on your plan's credits, how many are left this month, and that your own Anthropic key makes it unmetered.
Your own key always wins
If you have pasted an Anthropic or fal key, that key is used and the turn is never metered against your credits: BYOK always takes priority. Managed AI only steps in for the provider whose key you've left blank, so you can mix and match: your own Anthropic key for chat, plan credits for generation, or any other combination.
Managed AI has to be switched on for the deployment you're using; where it isn't, the bring-your-own-key path is always available and works exactly as described throughout this section.