Glossary
API
An application programming interface, a way for software to send requests to a service, such as an AI model, and receive results.
An API (application programming interface) lets one program talk to another. AI developers offer APIs so businesses and programmers can send requests to their models from their own apps and pay according to use, usually per token.
Access through an API differs from a consumer app such as a chatbot website, and from an open-weight download. A model may launch first in the API, or only to some customers.
API list prices are a common way to compare models, but actual costs depend on discounts, caching, how many tokens a task uses, and how many attempts it takes.