There are two ways to power the AI tools in Amazon Seller Sync. You can use the built-in engine, which needs no setup and draws on a monthly allowance included with your plan. Or you can add your own API key, which bypasses the allowance completely and bills you through your AI provider instead.
Most merchants never need the second option. This page explains both, and how to tell which one you want.
The built-in engine is on by default. There is nothing to configure, no account to open, and no key to paste. Open a product, run Translate, and it works.
Each plan includes a monthly allowance of AI actions:
| Plan | AI operations per month |
|---|---|
| Free | 0 |
| Growth | 50 |
| Growth + Markets | 200 |
| Full | 1,000 |
One AI action is one run of one operation on one product for one marketplace. Translating a product into German is one action. Translating the same product into French is another. Running Spell-check and then SEO & Rufus on the same product is two.
You can see where you stand in three places: the Your usage card on the Plans page, the AI ops this month tile on the Dashboard, and Settings > AI, which also shows the built-in engine's status. The count resets at the start of each month.
Every AI action sends your listing content to an AI provider and gets a result back, and the app pays that provider for each request. The allowance exists because those requests cost real money per call, and a plan price that had to cover unlimited AI would be a much higher plan price for everyone, including merchants who never touch the AI tools.
So the allowance keeps the plans affordable, and the bring-your-own-key option below exists for merchants whose AI usage genuinely outgrows it.
The AI action is refused with a "cap reached" message. That is all that happens. Nothing else in the app is affected: your listings keep syncing, the repricer keeps running, inventory keeps pushing. Content you have already applied with Apply & save stays applied, and any per-market overrides you have stored are untouched.
You have three options:
Upgrade. A higher plan comes with a bigger allowance. If you are on Growth and translating a large catalogue, moving up is usually the simplest fix.
Wait for the next month. The count resets. If you were doing a one-off batch of translations, this may be all you need.
Add your own API key. This removes the cap entirely, and is described below.
Note
Buying an AI add-on does not raise your allowance. AI Pro on Growth still gives you 50 actions a month. What it changes is how many kinds of AI operation you can spend those 50 actions on. See Add-ons.
If you add your own AI provider key, the app uses it instead of the built-in engine. Your monthly allowance no longer applies, and the app stops counting your usage against it. Your AI provider bills you directly for what you use.
This is set up in Settings > AI.
You can use any one of:
Pick the provider, paste the API key you generated in that provider's own console, and save.
Your key is stored encrypted. After you save it, it is never shown again in the app, not even to you. If you need to change it, paste a new one over the top. To stop using your own key and go back to the built-in engine and its allowance, clear the key in Settings > AI.
There is an optional Model field. Leave it blank and the app uses a sensible default model for the provider you chose. That is the right choice for almost everyone.
Fill it in only if you have a specific reason: a cheaper model to keep your provider bill down, a stronger model for better copy, or a particular model pinned for consistency. The value must be a model identifier your provider recognises.
It is worth it when you are translating or optimising a large catalogue across several marketplaces and you are hitting the cap every month. Provider pricing is per request, so at high volume you often pay less by going direct, and there is no ceiling to run into halfway through a batch.
It is not worth it when your allowance comfortably covers your usage. The built-in engine is included in your plan, requires no setup, and costs nothing extra. Adding a key just to have one gives you an account, a bill and a credential to manage for no benefit.
Warning
If you add your own key, you are responsible for the cost of every request the app makes to your provider. Check your provider's pricing and set a spend limit in their console before you start a large batch.
Regardless of which engine you use, the app runs one AI action at a time, with a short gap between them. If you click too quickly you will see:
Please wait a moment before running another AI action.
Wait a moment and try again. This protects both the built-in engine and your own provider account from rate limits, and it is not something you can turn off.
If you see "No AI is available. Add your own API key in Settings.", the app has neither a working built-in engine for your plan nor a valid key from you. On the Free plan the allowance is zero, so this message is expected. Move to a paid plan or add your own key.