How to Get API Keys for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
To get API keys for all three engines: OpenAI keys are generated at platform.openai.com/api-keys after signing in and adding a payment method — under five minutes start to finish. Perplexity keys are available at perplexity.ai/settings/api once you have Pro or pay-as-you-go billing active. Gemini keys come from aistudio.google.com/app/apikey using any Google account; enable Google Cloud billing for production-level rate limits. All three keys display only once at creation — copy each one immediately to a password manager. Tools like Prequire that monitor citations across AI engines need API access to all three, since each provider runs separate infrastructure with no unified access layer.
Why You Need These Keys
If you’re running citation monitoring, building AEO or GEO research workflows, or using AI tools that query real engines on your behalf — you need direct API access to each provider you want to cover.
The practical reason is that each AI engine is a walled garden. OpenAI, Perplexity, and Google don’t share an index, a model, or an API surface. Any tool querying all three is making three separate authenticated requests. Your key is the authentication.
The cost argument for BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) is straightforward: you pay providers directly at their published wholesale rates, with no intermediary markup. For low-volume use the difference is modest. For anything at scale, it compounds quickly.
If you’re using Prequire to monitor visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, BYOK is required on Annual and Lifetime tiers and optional on Monthly.
Before You Start — What All Three Have in Common
Four things apply regardless of which provider you’re setting up: