API Key Auth

API key auth is the simplest way for one piece of software to prove who it is to another: a long secret string that gets sent with every request.

Think of it as a password for machines instead of people. The app pastes its key, the server checks it, access granted.

Why it matters for the ChatGPT funnel

It mostly doesn't, and that's the point.

When a buyer asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, they aren't pasting keys or signing into anything. The login between the assistant and your MCP server happens invisibly, in the background.

If a buyer ever had to fumble with credentials mid-chat, you'd lose them before the meeting got booked. The whole value of showing up in ChatGPT is the zero-friction path from question to booked call.

So the one thing to know: auth is a plumbing detail, not a buyer step. Keep it that way.

How drio fits

You don't have to think about this.

drio handles auth, keys, and the secure handshake between the assistant and your app for you. Your job is the offer and the booking. The credentials are our problem, not yours.