A lot of browser automation tools ask you to bring your own AI API key before they will do anything useful. ORCA does not ask for one, and it is not a marketing line. It is how the extension is actually built.
Two separate paths, only one needs AI
Most of what ORCA does — replaying a saved workflow, running it on a schedule, or filling a form from a rule you defined — is deterministic. It replays your recorded clicks and inputs against the page you are looking at, with recorded targets re-located if the page has changed. None of that touches an AI model, so none of it needs a key, and it does not draw down any AI balance.
The second path is the optional AI planner, for tasks that are too open-ended for a fixed rule, like applying to relevant roles or summarizing a page and logging it. That path can call a hosted AI model, but it goes through ORCA Cloud rather than a key you paste in. The subscription includes a monthly AI dollar balance, metered at the same per-token rate the provider charges Orcamatic. No markup, and no separate account to manage with a different company.
Why this matters in practice
- Nothing to lose. An API key pasted into a browser extension is a real liability if that extension or your browser profile is ever compromised. ORCA never asks you to hold one.
- Nothing to configure. You do not need to know what a token is, sign up for a separate AI provider account, or watch a second bill show up somewhere else.
- Clear cost boundary. If a task does not use the AI planner, it does not touch your AI balance. Read what a plan’s AI balance actually buys for a practical example.
For the deeper technical version of what gets sent, what is kept local, and how permissions work, see the Privacy & Sandboxing Policy and our explanation of browser permissions.