Common questions about ARKA-AI, BYOK, ARKAbrain, and getting the most out of the platform.
ARKA-AI is an intelligent AI workspace that uses your own API keys (BYOK - Bring Your Own Key) to route requests to the best AI model for each task. It features ARKAbrain, our intelligent routing system, and 5 specialized tools for common AI tasks.
ARKA-AI offers several advantages:
BYOK means you provide your own API keys from OpenAI and/or OpenRouter. You pay your AI provider directly for usage, and ARKA-AI charges a flat subscription fee for the platform, tools, and intelligent routing. This is often cheaper than per-message AI subscriptions for heavy users.
ARKAbrain is our intelligent routing system. It analyzes your requests and automatically selects the best AI model based on task type and complexity. This means you get optimal results without having to know which model to use for what task.
No, you only need at least one. However, having both gives ARKAbrain more options for model selection and fallbacks. We recommend adding both for the best experience.
Yes. Your API keys are encrypted with AES-256 before being stored. They're never logged in plain text and are transmitted only over encrypted connections. See our security documentation for details.
Absolutely! Your API keys belong to you. You can use the same keys in other applications. Just remember that all usage is billed to your provider account regardless of which application uses the key.
You pay for two things separately:
We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee instead of a free trial. If you're not satisfied within 7 days of subscribing, we'll refund your payment in full.
Yes! You can upgrade from Starter to Pro at any time. Billing is prorated for the remainder of your billing cycle. Your conversation history and settings are preserved.
API costs vary by model and usage. Simple tasks using GPT-4o Mini might cost fractions of a cent. Complex tasks with premium models cost more. ARKAbrain optimizes for cost by routing simple tasks to cheaper models. Check our cost optimization docs for details.
ARKA-AI includes 5 specialized tools:
Comparison mode runs your input through two different AI models side-by-side, letting you see how different models approach the same task. This helps you understand which models work best for your needs.
Pro plan users can export conversations as Markdown files. Starter plan users can upgrade to Pro to access this feature.
Your data remains accessible until the end of your billing period. After that, your account is deactivated but data is retained for 30 days in case you resubscribe. After 30 days, it's permanently deleted.
ARKA-AI supports 11 models across two providers:
ARKAbrain uses a two-stage classifier. First, fast pattern matching (heuristics) classifies most requests instantly. If confidence is low, a lightweight LLM call provides more accurate classification. This balances speed and accuracy.
If the primary model fails (rate limit, error, etc.), ARKAbrain automatically retries with the next model in the fallback chain. This ensures high reliability without you having to do anything.
Not currently. ARKA-AI is designed as a user-facing application. If you need programmatic access to AI models, we recommend using OpenAI or OpenRouter APIs directly with our routing logic as inspiration.
Still have questions?
If you didn't find your answer here, check our troubleshooting guide or contact support at support@arka-ai.com.