Setting Up Your AI Search API Key

The AI Search add-on uses an external AI provider to power semantic search across your episode content. You choose which provider to use — all four are supported interchangeably, and you can switch providers at any time from Settings → AI Search.

Each provider requires an API key that you generate from their platform and paste into Benecaster. The key stays on your server and is never sent to benecaster.com.

OpenAI

Platform: platform.openai.com

To get your key:

Create an account at platform.openai.com or sign in.
In the left navigation, go to API keys.
Click Create new secret key. Give it a name (e.g. “Benecaster AI Search”) and click Create secret key.
Copy the key immediately — OpenAI shows it once. If you close the dialog without copying, delete the key and create a new one.

Billing: OpenAI requires a payment method before API keys will process requests. Go to Settings → Billing to add a card and set a usage limit. At podcast scale, AI Search costs are minimal — typically under $1/month.

Permissions: The default “All” permission is fine. You don’t need to restrict the key to specific endpoints.

Google Gemini

Platform: aistudio.google.com

To get your key:

Go to Google AI Studio and sign in with your Google account.
Click Get API key in the left sidebar, then Create API key.
Select a Google Cloud project (or let AI Studio create one for you).
Copy the generated key.

Billing: Google AI Studio has a free tier with generous daily limits — sufficient for most podcast-scale AI Search installations. If your episode library is large or your search volume is high, you can enable billing in Google Cloud Console to lift the rate limits.

Note: The API key is tied to your Google Cloud project. If you ever need to rotate the key, generate a new one in Google AI Studio and update the key in Benecaster Settings → AI Search.

Cohere

Platform: dashboard.cohere.com

To get your key:

Create an account at dashboard.cohere.com or sign in.
In the left navigation, go to API keys.
Click New API key, give it a name, and click Generate.
Copy the key from the table — you can view it again from the dashboard if needed.

Billing: Cohere offers a free trial tier with a monthly token allowance that is usually sufficient to index a podcast back-catalogue. For ongoing use, billing is pay-as-you-go. Add a payment method under Settings → Billing if you hit the trial limit.

Anthropic

Platform: console.anthropic.com

To get your key:

Create an account at console.anthropic.com or sign in.
In the left navigation, go to API keys.
Click Create key, give it a name (e.g. “Benecaster AI Search”), and click Create.
Copy the key — Anthropic shows the full value once. Store it securely before closing the dialog.

Billing: Anthropic requires a payment method before keys will process requests. Go to Settings → Plans & Billing to add a card. Usage costs at podcast scale are minimal.

Entering Your Key in Benecaster

Once you have your API key:

In your WordPress admin, go to Benecaster → Settings → AI Search.
Select your provider from the Provider dropdown.
Paste your API key into the API Key field.
Click Save. Benecaster will verify the key is valid before saving.

If the key fails verification, double-check that you copied it fully (no leading or trailing spaces) and that billing is active on the provider’s platform if required.

Rotating or Replacing Your Key

If you need to change your API key — because a key was exposed, you’re switching providers, or a key was deleted on the provider’s platform — enter the new key in Settings → AI Search and save. Benecaster will immediately begin using the new key for all AI Search requests. Your indexed episode content is retained; only the key used to process new queries changes.