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Connect your AI account

Connecting your Google (Gemini) account

Paste a Gemini API key from Google AI Studio into Archie: about 5 minutes, and in most countries no card.

1 min readLast checked August 24, 2026

This guide is also in Archie: press Resources in the sidebar, then Guides. Where a step says this computer, it means the computer running Archie.

On this page

The key sits in your computer’s own password vault (the Keychain on a Mac, Credential Manager on Windows), where we have no way to read it.

Before you start#

  • A Google account. Your Gmail one is fine.
  • No card in most countries: there’s a free tier.
  • In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google wants billing on even for the free tier, so add a payment method in AI Studio first.

  1. Open Google AI Studio’s API keys page on this computer and sign in with your Google account.

    https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey

  2. Click Create API key. If it asks which Google Cloud project to use, any is fine, or let it make one.

  3. Copy the key. It starts with AIza.

  4. Paste it in the box above. Treat it like a password: it can spend money once billing is on.

You’ll know it worked when#

Within seconds, the AI account row reads “✓ Gemini (by Google)” in green.

If something goes wrong#

  • Refused right away: copy the whole key again, from AIza to the last character.
  • Create API key does nothing: accept the Gemini API terms first. Check the box AI Studio shows you, then try again.
  • A valid key is rejected in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland: switch billing on in AI Studio, wait a minute, and paste it again.
  • Lost the key: Google lets you look it up. Open the same API keys page, sign in, and copy it again.

A step that no longer matches your screen? The other company may have changed its site since we last checked. Tell us which step and we will fix the guide in Archie and here.