AI Connections

An AI connection stores the credentials for an AI provider. It is used at flow-execution time by the Classify (AI) node to categorize data with a language model.
This page is about the connection — the configured credentials for an AI provider, used by the runtime Classify (AI) node. That is separate from FactoryThread's editor-time assistants, Copilot and Formula Assist, which help you author and do not run when your Flow executes.
Provider
FactoryThread connects to OpenAI. (It does not currently support other providers or custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints.)
Setup
- Enter your API Key (required).
- Choose a Model — GPT-4o Mini or GPT-4 from the list, or type any OpenAI model name. If you leave it blank, FactoryThread uses a sensible default.
- Optionally set a connection Timeout.
- Click Test Connection — FactoryThread validates the key and confirms the chosen model is available.
Your API key is encrypted at rest and never shown again after entry.
What it powers
The AI connection is used by the Classify (AI) node inside a Flow, which
sends each row to the model to categorize it (for example, tagging free-text
maintenance notes as Mechanical, Electrical, or Process). See
Function nodes for the Classify node.
Next steps
- Connections Overview — creating, testing, and managing connections
- Copilot & AI Assist — the editor-time AI assistants (separate from this connection)