Can I use my own Claude or ChatGPT subscription instead of Votel AI assistant credits, and which is better for building?
Yes. You have three options: use the AI assistant credits included in your plan, pay for credits at $0.25 each, or connect your own AI to Votel over our MCP server (Settings, then API / MCP, the Connect tab). Your own AI can be a Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok subscription, Codex or a model you run locally.
When you use the AI assistant built into Votel, we pay for the AI model usage and charge you AI assistant credits. When your own AI works in Votel through MCP, your own subscription does the AI work, so no Votel AI assistant credits are used and there is no AI cost from Votel. This also applies when you build websites or landing pages in a coding tool and push them to Votel. We do not charge anything for MCP or for the MCP tools. Your connected AI can do everything our assistant can do, so your own AI can build websites, funnels, workflows, agents, apps and more.
The rule is simple: if you chat inside Votel's own AI assistant, it uses Votel's AI and your credits. If you chat with your own AI connected to Votel, it does not use Votel's AI. Connecting an outside AI does not change which models Votel's own assistant uses.
The saving applies to AI assistant credits only. Things that carry their own charge still cost what they normally do. If your AI tells Votel to generate an AI image, video or audio, that uses AI media credits, and if it sends a text message to a contact you pay the SMS cost. An app created in Votel has its app charge and is hosted on the platform, but you do not pay the AI cost of creating it. Building websites and publishing them to Votel has no extra cost, because websites are unlimited. You can see the platform charges under Activity, then Balance activity. If you have a subscription to a service such as HeyGen, you can use it instead of the built-in generation.
A connected subscription is usually the lowest cost way to have AI build in Votel. AI providers such as Claude, ChatGPT and Grok heavily subsidize their consumer subscriptions, so a $20 or $200 a month plan can push through far more than its price in tokens. For example, a $20 a month Claude subscription can push $200 or more of tokens through each month. It is a good option for heavy building, for example on the Professional Plan. A good approach is to use Claude first to structure what you want to build, then use that in Votel.
The AI agents that talk to your customers (voice and chat agents) run only on Votel's built-in AI.
You can use both. Connect as many AIs as you want and still use our assistant, which picks the AI model that suits each task and is charged in AI credits. The AI assistant credits you receive stay useful for sub-accounts that use the assistant, since credits roll down to them and you can rebill them. On the $297 Founders plan you get $297 of AI assistant credits every month, usable in your account and all your sub-accounts. Your sub-accounts may not have their own Claude subscription, and when they use the AI assistant their usage comes from your included credits. Agencies can give clients a small amount of included AI usage and let them connect their own AI when they run out.