How to use ChatGPT with Typedesk

Typedesk can use OpenAI to generate, rewrite, summarize, and transform text inside your workflow.

To use this end-user AI feature, you need your own OpenAI API key. Without a connected API key, AI features will not work.

What do I need?

You need:

A Typedesk account
A supported Typedesk client with the AI feature
An OpenAI Platform account
Your own OpenAI API key
OpenAI API billing or credits when required by OpenAI

An API key is a private credential that allows Typedesk to send your AI request to OpenAI on your behalf.

Is my ChatGPT subscription the same as OpenAI API access?

No. ChatGPT subscriptions and OpenAI API usage are managed separately.

Having a ChatGPT subscription does not automatically provide API credits. Check your API billing status through the OpenAI Platform.

Create an OpenAI API key

Sign in to the OpenAI Platform.
Open the API keys page.
Create a new secret key.
Copy it and store it securely.
Check your OpenAI API billing settings.

OpenAI may show the full secret key only once, so save it somewhere secure before closing the window.

Connect the API key to Typedesk

Open Typedesk.
Go to Settings → Integrations → OpenAI.
Paste your OpenAI API key.
Save the integration.
Test it with a short, non-sensitive prompt.

Your key should remain private. Do not add it to a shared template, screenshot, support message, or team document.

Use AI with selected text

Select the text you want to work with.
Open Typedesk's AI actions using the option or shortcut shown in your current Typedesk settings.
Choose an action, such as rewriting or summarizing.
Review the generated result.
Insert or copy the result only after checking it.

AI can produce a useful first draft, but it can also misunderstand context or confidently write something incorrect. Give every generated answer a human once-over before sending it.

Create a reusable AI prompt

You can create a Typedesk template that collects information and uses it in an AI prompt.

For example, a customer-support prompt could collect:

The customer's question
The desired tone
The product involved
Important facts that must appear
The desired response length

The prompt can then ask OpenAI to produce a draft using those details.

What makes a good reusable prompt?

Tell the AI:

What it should do
Who the reader is
Which facts it must use
What tone to follow
What it must avoid
How long the result should be
What format you want

A useful structure is:

Write a [type of response] for [audience]. Use these facts: [facts]. Keep the tone [tone]. Do not [restriction]. Return the answer as [format].

Specific instructions make the feature much more powerful. "Write something nice" leaves a lot of room for creative chaos.

Who pays for OpenAI API usage?

OpenAI manages API usage and billing for the API key connected to Typedesk. Charges or credits associated with that key are handled through the corresponding OpenAI Platform account.

Typedesk does not turn a ChatGPT subscription into API credits.

Can my team share one OpenAI API key?

Do not place an API key in a shared template or ordinary team message.

API-key ownership, access, spending limits, and rotation should be managed by the person or organization responsible for the OpenAI Platform account. Follow your organization's security policy.

What information is sent to OpenAI?

Text included in an AI request must be sent to OpenAI so the requested output can be generated.

Avoid submitting passwords, payment information, health information, confidential customer data, or other sensitive material unless your organization has approved that use.