Models & Providers
Choose which AI models power your organization's assistants. Platform models are always available with no setup, and you can add external providers when you want them.
:::info Who can use this By default this page is open to Admins. Your organization can also give it to other people through a custom role — see Roles & Permissions. Switching a provider on or off, setting the key, testing the connection, changing document access and removing a provider are each allowed separately; a control you aren't allowed to use is disabled and says so when you point at it — for example "You don't have permission to change this provider". :::
Go to WorkSpace → Models & Providers. The page header reads "Configure AI model providers for your organization. Platform models are always available."
Platform models
At the top of the page you'll always see the Platform Models (Self-hosted) card with a green Available pill and the line "Data stays within your infrastructure".
Platform models are hosted by Arketic on isolated servers. They're always on, need no configuration, and your conversation data stays in-house. Every assistant can use them out of the box — you don't have to do anything here.
For sensitive or confidential work, prefer platform models. Your data does not leave your organization's infrastructure when you use them.
External providers
Below the platform card, you may see an External Providers section — but only if any have been enabled for your organization. If none are enabled, you'll see "No external providers are enabled by the platform administrator." In that case there's nothing more to configure, and platform models remain fully available.
When external providers are enabled, each one appears as its own card. Depending on what's been turned on for your organization, you might see providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Gemini. These are examples — the exact list comes from your organization's setup.
When you use an external provider, conversation data is sent to that provider's servers. This data leaves your organization's infrastructure. Each provider card shows this as a Data Privacy Notice while you set it up.
Setting up a provider
Each provider card walks you through the same steps.
1. Enable the provider
A provider that hasn't been set up yet shows its setup form straight away. How you switch it on depends on the key you choose in step 2:
- Your own key — enter the key and click Save. That sets the provider up.
- Platform-provided key — select that option, then switch the Enabled / Disabled toggle on.
From then on the toggle turns the provider off and on again without losing its settings. Once it's configured, a status dot shows its state:
| Dot | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Active and working |
| Amber | Configured, pending verification |
| Red | Something went wrong — check your key or connection |
A trash icon removes the provider's configuration. You'll be asked to confirm in the Remove provider? dialog — "Remove this provider configuration?" — by clicking Remove.
2. Choose which API key to use
Under API Key Configuration, each provider gives you two choices:
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Use my own API key | Enter your own key for this provider. Paste it into the password field (use the eye icon to show or hide it) and click Save. A saved key is required for this option. An existing key appears masked. |
| Use platform-provided key | Uses a key made available to your organization, if one exists for this provider — the card notes "Platform key will be used if available. Contact your platform administrator." If you're currently on your own key, a Switch to Platform Key button lets you move over. |
If you choose the platform key but none is available for that provider, the switch won't complete — you'll be told "No platform key is configured for this provider." Contact Arketic support, or use your own key instead.
3. Test the connection
Once a provider is configured, a Test Connection button appears. Run it to confirm everything works:
- Success shows a green check and a message confirming the provider's models are now synced and available to your assistants.
- Failure shows a red message. Recheck your API key and try again.
Testing is what makes the provider's models available to your assistants, so run it after any change.
Document access
Once a provider is configured, a Document Access toggle appears. It is OFF by default, and it controls whether assistants using this provider may draw on your documents.
While it's off, the provider can be used for chat only. Knowledge base and document features are turned off for assistants using this provider.
To turn it on, you must first read and accept the Enable Document Sharing warning. Turning document access on means document content — including knowledge base material and document features — will be sent to the provider's servers. This includes confidential enterprise documents. You'll need to tick the checkbox "I understand and accept that document data will be processed by {Provider}" before the toggle unlocks.
While it's on, document content is sent to the provider whenever it's used with an assistant that has knowledge base enabled.
Only turn on document access for an external provider if you're comfortable with your organization's documents leaving your infrastructure. If your documents are confidential, keep this off and rely on platform models for document work.
Tips
- Prefer platform models for sensitive data. They stay in-house and need no setup.
- Test after every change. A provider's models only become available to assistants once the connection test succeeds.
- Leave document access off unless you need it. It defaults to off for a reason — turning it on sends confidential documents to the external provider.
- Use your own key when you want control. Otherwise the platform-provided key (when available) is the simpler path.
Related pages
- AI Assistants — assistants can only use an external model once you've enabled and tested its provider here.
- Roles & Permissions — who can reach this page.