# AI Providers

> Source: https://parallelworks.com/docs/ai/ai-providers

# AI Providers

AI providers are the model backends behind the ACTIVATE AI gateway. Each provider connects the platform to a large language model endpoint, powering both [Chat](/docs/ai/chat/) and programmatic access through [AI keys](/docs/ai/ai-keys/).

ACTIVATE supports three types of providers:

- **Azure OpenAI** — A managed provider provisioned through your organization's Azure infrastructure. ACTIVATE handles deployment and configuration automatically.
- **Custom OpenAI-Compatible** — Any endpoint that implements the OpenAI chat completions API. Use this to connect services like vLLM, Ollama, or other compatible inference servers.
- **Session Tunnels** — A secure tunnel from the platform to a model running inside an ACTIVATE compute session. Useful for private or fine-tuned models running on your own hardware.

:::info Permissions Required
Creating and managing AI providers requires appropriate platform permissions. In most organizations, providers are set up by administrators or team leads and then shared with other users.
:::

## Provider Permissions

Each provider has its own access controls. The provider owner and organization administrators can share a provider with specific groups or the entire organization using the `aiprovider:use` permission. Users who have been granted access can select the shared provider in Chat.

See [Managing Permissions](/docs/ai/ai-providers/managing-permissions) for details on sharing and revoking access.

## AI Keys

Users can create **AI keys**, which let external tools and applications authenticate to the organization's AI providers through the gateway. Each key belongs to the user who created it and draws from a budget allocation. See [AI Keys](/docs/ai/ai-keys/) for creating keys and using the OpenAI-compatible API.

## Next Steps

- [Azure OpenAI](/docs/ai/ai-providers/azure-openai) — Set up a managed Azure OpenAI provider
- [Custom OpenAI-Compatible](/docs/ai/ai-providers/custom-openai-compatible) — Connect any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- [Session Tunnels](/docs/ai/ai-providers/session-tunnels) — Route chat through a model in a compute session
- [Managing Permissions](/docs/ai/ai-providers/managing-permissions) — Control who can use your providers
- [Connect External Tools](/docs/ai/ai-providers/connect) — Use your models from editors and other OpenAI-compatible tools

## Related Documentation

- [Chat](/docs/ai/chat/) — Using the chat interface
- [AI Keys](/docs/ai/ai-keys/) — Programmatic access through the gateway
- [Adding an ML Resource](/docs/ml/adding-ml-resources/) — Provisioning ML workspaces