AI Providers
Settings > AI Providers is where the assistant gets its brain. You add one or more provider credentials, eChat uses the first working one, and you pay that provider directly for what your customers use.
eChat does not resell model access and has no credit balance of its own. The key you add here is your own account with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or xAI, and the usage is billed to that account. No key is needed in the Magento admin - it belongs here. See Costs and billing.
Supported providers and models
| Provider | Models |
|---|---|
| OpenAI | GPT-5.2 (recommended), GPT-5.2 Pro, GPT-5.4, GPT-5.4 Pro, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.5 Pro |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.6 (recommended), Claude Opus 4.6, Claude Opus 4.7 |
| Google Gemini | Gemini 2.5 Pro (recommended), Gemini 3.1 Pro (preview) |
| xAI | Grok 4 (recommended), Grok 4.3 |
The list is curated on purpose. The model marked recommended is the vetted floor for that provider: it is the default, and it is the weakest model eChat will run. Cheaper tiers - the mini, nano, lite, and flash variants - and older generations are deliberately not offered, because below that floor the assistant stops being reliable enough to put in front of customers. The stronger entries are there to opt up to.
Model identifiers rotate as providers release new versions. If a model you selected is no longer offered, eChat falls back to that provider's recommended model rather than failing.
Adding a provider
Click Add provider and fill in:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Alias | Your own name for this credential, for example openai-main or claude-fallback. It identifies the credential in the list and in status messages. |
| Provider | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or xAI. |
| API Key | The key from your provider account. It is stored encrypted and never shown again - the list displays a masked form. When editing an existing credential, leave the field blank to keep the stored key, and enter a new key only to replace it. |
| Model | One of the models above. Defaults to the provider's recommended model. |
| Enabled | Whether this credential takes part in answering. |
A new credential requires a key; an existing one does not, so you can change its model without re-entering the key.
The fallback chain
Credentials are ordered, and the order is the fallback chain. eChat uses the first enabled, working credential. If it is unavailable - out of quota, rate limited, key revoked - eChat moves to the next one automatically, and the conversation continues.
Use the move controls on each row to reorder the chain. A sensible setup is one provider you intend to run on, plus one from a different vendor underneath it, so an outage at a single vendor does not take your chat down.
If every credential fails, the assistant is disabled, and eChat emails you if you enabled Email me when the AI chat stops working on the AI Assistant tab.
Status and revalidation
Each credential carries a status, set when eChat last probed it or last used it. Revalidate re-checks it on demand.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| OK | The key and model answered normally. | Nothing. |
| UNCHECKED | The credential has not been probed yet. | Click Revalidate. |
| EMPTY_KEY | No key is stored for this credential. | Edit the credential and enter the key. |
| INVALID_KEY | The provider rejected the key. | The key was revoked, mistyped, or belongs to a different project. Issue a new one and replace it. |
| INSUFFICIENT_QUOTA | The key is valid but the account has no credit. | Top up the provider account. This is the most common cause of a chat that worked yesterday and does not today. |
| RATE_LIMITED | The provider is throttling this key. | Usually the account's usage tier is too low for your traffic. Raise the tier with the provider, or put a second provider under this one in the chain. |
| MODEL_UNAVAILABLE | The selected model is not available to this key. | Some models require a specific plan or verification with the provider. Select the recommended model, or unlock the model on the provider side. |
| TRANSIENT_ERROR | A temporary failure at the provider. | Revalidate. If it persists, the fallback chain has already routed traffic onwards. |
See also Troubleshooting.