AI features and providers
What each AI feature does with Anthropic, OpenAI or a local model and what it does with no key. See the rules that keep AI away from your money.
OpenPromoter uses AI to do the work of running a partner program, and every feature still works in a reduced form without an AI key.
Rules that never change
- AI never moves money. AI and Autopilot can prepare a payout batch. Only a signed-in team member can approve it.
- Every action is logged. Autopilot and agent actions are stored with their reason and payload.
- Every applied action can be undone. The log keeps what is needed to restore the previous state.
- Outbound messages wait for you. Recruiter invites stay as drafts until you approve them.
Choosing a model
| Setting | Result |
|---|---|
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
Anthropic with the default model claude-opus-5-5 |
OPENAI_API_KEY |
OpenAI |
OPENAI_BASE_URL |
Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Ollama or LM Studio |
AI_MODEL |
Overrides the model name |
AI_PROVIDER=none |
Turns AI off even if a key is set |
Features
Program designer
Reads your prices and proposes commission type and rate, duration, cookie window, hold period, minimum payout, a discount for referred customers and partner tiers. Each comes with a short reason.
Without a key: a deterministic design from your cheapest paid plan. The AI version starts from the same design and stays within the same bounds.
Brand extraction
Reads your website for the logo, brand color and product description, and uses them for the partner portal and content kit. Link and text colors are darkened until they meet WCAG contrast on the portal.
Without a key: works the same. It reads the page directly and needs no model.
Recruiter
Ranks your paying customers by tenure, lifetime value and whether they are still subscribed, and drafts a personal invite for each. With an Anthropic key it also finds creators and newsletters in your niche through web search and keeps only real pages with citations. Approved invites are sent with one follow-up after five days.
Without a key: customer ranking and template invites; add creators by hand or CSV.
Autopilot
Runs weekly and suggests actions. It can message idle partners, promote a partner to the next tier, pause a risky partner, approve applications, propose a campaign and prepare payouts.
In suggest mode you apply each one. In act mode it applies only the safe kinds (messages, tier promotions, pauses, approvals) and leaves campaigns and payouts to you. Every applied action has an undo.
Without a key: the same rule-based suggestions with template messages.
Campaigns from one sentence
Type "double commissions for annual plans this month" and get a dated commission boost, a bounty or a contest that is ready to launch.
Without a key: a rule-based parser understands the common phrasings.
Content kit
Writes swipe copy, social posts, emails, comparison blurbs and SVG banners in your brand color for partners to use. It refreshes when your website changes.
Without a key: a template kit built from what is on your site.
Assistant
Answers plain-language questions such as "who drove the most MRR last month?" from your real data and links to the matching report. It can look up totals, top partners, partners with customers, idle partners, pending applications, payouts owed, fraud flags, traffic sources and cohorts.
Without a key: a keyword router picks the right report.
Fraud scoring
Fraud scoring is rule-based and needs no AI. See the signals in Security.