How to get an AI API key: Gemini, OpenAI and OpenRouter

Updated November 2, 2026 · By the FreshLeads.cc team

An AI API key lets an app use an AI model on your own account. You pay the AI company directly, at its price. In FreshLeads.cc, your own key gives you unlimited AI scoring of leads, longer date ranges, and filters without keywords.

This guide shows how to get a key from three providers. Each part has a short video and written steps. Then it shows where to paste the key in FreshLeads.cc.

Which provider to pick

Provider	Good for	Cost to score 1,000 leads
OpenRouter	The lowest cost. One key for hundreds of models.	About $0.01
Google Gemini	A Google account that you already have. Has a free tier.	About $0.03
OpenAI	Teams that already pay for the OpenAI API.	About $0.05

If you are not sure, pick OpenRouter. FreshLeads.cc picks the model for you: the lowest-cost model of each provider that scores leads well. Prices are list prices and can change.

1. Google Gemini

Video: Google for Startups. Open on YouTube

Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey.
Sign in with your Google account.
Click Create API key. Pick a Google Cloud project, or let Google AI Studio make one for you.
Copy the key. A Gemini key starts with AIza.

Free tier or paid tier. The free tier has low rate limits, so a large lead run can stop with “rate limited”. Google can also use free-tier data to make its products better. For business use, turn on billing for the project in Google AI Studio.

2. OpenAI

Video: 9x. Open on YouTube

Go to platform.openai.com and sign in. You can use your ChatGPT login.
Open Settings → Billing. Add a card and buy credits. The minimum is $5.
Open API keys and click Create new secret key.
Give the key a name, for example “FreshLeads”. Click Create secret key.
Copy the key now. OpenAI shows it only one time. An OpenAI key starts with sk-.

A ChatGPT Plus plan does not pay for the API. The API has its own credits. Without credits, the key gives the error “no credits” or “quota exceeded”.

3. OpenRouter

Video: AIdeal Academy. Open on YouTube

Go to openrouter.ai and sign in.
Open Credits and add credits. $5 is enough for a long time.
Open Keys and click Create key.
Give the key a name. You can also set a credit limit for this key.
Copy the key now. OpenRouter shows it only one time. An OpenRouter key starts with sk-or-.

Add the key to FreshLeads.cc

Open Settings → Your AI key in the app.
Click Add.
Pick the provider, then paste the key.
Click Test and save. The app tests the key before it saves it.

Your own AI key is part of the paid plans. The key stays on our server. We never show it again: you see only its last four characters. If the key stops, the filter shows why: “your AI key was rejected”, “has no credits” or “is rate limited”.

Keep your key safe

Treat the key like a password. Do not send it in email or chat.
Set a spend limit at the provider: a credit limit on the OpenRouter key, a project budget at OpenAI, or a budget alert in Google Cloud.
Use one key for each app. Then you can stop one app and keep the others.
If a key leaks, delete it at the provider. Then make a new key and paste it here.

If the key does not work

Error	Fix
Key rejected	Copy the full key again, with no space at the start or end. Make sure that you did not delete the key at the provider.
No credits	Add credits at OpenAI or OpenRouter, or turn on billing for the Gemini project.
Rate limited	Wait some minutes and try again. A Gemini free-tier key has low limits: turn on billing to raise them.

Add your key and score every new lead.

Open Settings

The videos are from other creators. The screens at each provider change often, but the steps stay the same. Something wrong? Tell us.