Frequently asked questions

What exactly is IDATHA?

An AI agent that works inside the WhatsApp or Telegram you already use. You bring an AI key from a provider you already pay; IDATHA adds the memory, scheduled tasks, a South African knowledge base, and the skills that let it do things — your invoices and quotes as real documents, receipts filed, meetings written up and remembered, chasing what you are owed, research and booking.

There is nothing to install, and you do not get a new number. Your agent works in the chat you already have.

Is it really free?

Yes. The agent itself costs nothing. The free plan is supported by brief offers from South African businesses, capped at two a day. If you would rather not see them, the Ad-free plan is R99 a month, or R1,009.80 for the year if you pay it up front and save R178.20.

Do I need to download an app?

No. Your agent lives in Telegram, and on every paid plan in WhatsApp too — whichever you already use. Pick one when you sign up and that is where it talks to you. The free plan runs on Telegram, because sending on WhatsApp is billed per message and that is what keeps the free plan free.

What do I need to get started?

Four things: your name, an email address, a Telegram handle (or a WhatsApp number, on a paid plan), and an API key for your agent. That is the whole signup. The key is not optional — your agent runs on your key, not on ours.

And if you want your agent to have an email address of its own — which we recommend, because it is what lets it work for you — make a new, separate email address for it. Not your own one. It writes to your clients on behalf of your business and signs as your company agent, so your personal mailbox and your personal password stay yours. You can add it later from your dashboard; get one when you are ready.

Does my ChatGPT or Claude subscription give me a key?

No. This is the thing that confuses almost everyone. ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and X Premium are subscriptions to the chat websites. They do not include an API key, and you cannot use them here. A key comes from the provider's separate developer platform — platform.openai.com, console.anthropic.com, console.x.ai — and it is billed separately for what you actually use.

If that sounds like a hassle, choose OpenRouter instead: one free key, no card needed, and it reaches hundreds of models from many providers at once. Google Gemini also has a genuinely free tier if you do not mind your prompts being used to improve Google's models. Our signup page walks you through whichever you pick, step by step.

Why do I need my own key?

It makes the service honest and cheap. You pay your AI provider for exactly what you use — often a few rand a month — instead of a subscription that hides the cost. It also means you can switch providers whenever you like.

Which providers work?

OpenRouter (free key, easiest), Google Gemini (free tier), OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, DeepSeek, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. If it gives you an API key, it will most likely work. The signup page shows the exact steps for each one.

Is my key safe?

It is encrypted before it is stored, and it is used only to answer your messages. We never resell access to it and never use it for anyone else's traffic.

Can I change provider later?

Yes, at any time, from the chat. Send your agent the new key and it switches over.

What is the South African knowledge base?

A large curated database of South African questions and answers, free on every plan. Municipal accounts and rates, SARS and tax, medical aid claims, vehicle licensing, the Rental Housing Tribunal, UIF, and everyday administration. It answers with real figures and the real process, and it does not invent a contact number or a rating it cannot source.

What does the email feature do?

Your agent sends and receives email for you. Ask it to draft a letter, chase a supplier, or clear a backlog overnight. Every message is shown to you first, and nothing is sent without your approval.

What can web browsing do?

Research and comparisons, travel, restaurants, events, appointments and general admin. It gathers and prepares, then hands over at the payment step.

Can it pay for things or book without me?

No. Your agent never completes a payment, never holds a bank login, and never enters a card number or a verification code. That boundary is deliberate and permanent.

What are the plans?

There are five. Free (R0) runs on Telegram and carries brief offers; Ad-free (R99) is the same with no offers at all; Pro (R249) adds your agent’s own email, documents, full web browsing, your calendar, meetings written up and your bank statements; Premium (R499) adds the chasing of what you are owed and the back-office paperwork; and Enterprise (R2,499) is for a small business and above — three people, a mailbox each, one shared brain. Every paid plan works on WhatsApp and Telegram; the free plan is Telegram. All of them are on the pricing page.

Can I use WhatsApp on the free plan?

No — the free plan runs on Telegram, and WhatsApp is on every paid plan from Ad-free (R99) upwards. The reason is cost, not preference: every message we send on WhatsApp is billed per delivered message, and outside a 24-hour window it may only be an approved template. Telegram costs nothing to send on, which is what keeps the free plan free. Nothing else changes when you move — the same agent, the same memory, the same history.

What is the difference between a web lookup and full web browsing?

A web lookup reads what the search results say — the title, the address and the summary each result carries. It is on every plan, including Free, and it is quick. Full web browsing opens the page itself and reads it, including pages that only build themselves once a browser loads them and pages published as a picture, like a restaurant’s menu on its own site. It is on Pro and up, and because it reads the whole page it takes longer — a few seconds on a light page, up to a minute on a heavy one. If you ask for something that needs the page while you are on a lookup-only plan, your agent will tell you plainly and give you the link rather than guess at what the page said.

Is there a discount for paying for a year?

Yes - a year costs 15% less than twelve monthly payments, whichever plan you are on. Ad-free is R1,009.80 for the year instead of R1,188 (save R178.20); Pro is R2,539.80 instead of R2,988 (save R448.20); Premium is R5,089.80 instead of R5,988 (save R898.20); and Enterprise is R25,489.80 instead of R29,988, a saving of R4,498.20. Both the yearly and the monthly price are shown on every plan on the pricing page. You can pay monthly if you would rather.

Can I move between plans?

Yes, at any time from the chat. Upgrades apply immediately and downgrades at the end of the billing month.

What happens when my plan ends?

Nothing is deleted. Your records and everything your agent remembers stay where they are, and the paid skills simply pause until you renew. We will remind you a week before, and again the day before, in case the date slipped past you.

What does my AI provider charge?

That is between you and your provider. Typical conversational use costs a few rand a month, and you can see it on their dashboard because the account is yours.

Are my messages used to train models?

Not for public models. Your messages are stored so your agent has memory and context, and they are used only for your own service.

How does POPIA apply?

We process your personal information under POPIA and give you the rights it provides. See our privacy policy and data deletion instructions.

Can the agent act without asking me?

No. Every action that leaves the chat is confirmed with you first. It prepares and asks; you decide.

How long does it take?

About five minutes, and most of that is getting your AI key. The signup form itself is four things: your name, an email address, the number or Telegram handle your agent should message, and your AI key. If you also want your agent to have its own email address, make a new separate one for it before you start — or add it later, it is not needed on day one.

What happens after I sign up?

A welcome message arrives on Telegram, or on WhatsApp if you are on a paid plan. Send one message back — anything at all — and your agent answers. If you have not added a key yet, it explains how, right there in the chat, step by step. Once the key is in, your South African knowledge base goes live straight away.

Do I have to have the key before I sign up?

You do, because the account cannot work without one — and we will not run your questions on our account. Get a Gemini or Groq key first: both are free, neither needs a card, and both take under two minutes.

How do I see my dashboard?

Go to idatha.co.za/dashboard. It shows a short code. Send that code back to your agent in the chat as LOGIN 123456 and the browser page lets itself in. There is nothing to remember and no password to choose.

What can I change later?

Your AI key and provider, your mailbox, your calendar link, your business details and your daily briefing — all from the dashboard, without contacting anyone.

OpenRouter — the easiest, and free to try

Free: yes — no card, and free models available.

Go to openrouter.ai and click Sign in, using your Google account. Click your picture top-right, then Keys, then Create Key. Name it something like "IDATHA". A code starting sk-or- appears — copy it. One key reaches many AI providers at once. If you are unsure which AI to use, choose this.

Google Gemini — genuinely free to start

Free: yes — no card, roughly 500 questions a day.

Go to aistudio.google.com and sign in with any Google account. Click Get API key, then Create API key — make a new one rather than reusing an old key. Newer keys start AQ., older ones AIza; either is fine. Copy it.

Two things worth knowing: Google has been retiring its older key type, so a key created today is the safe kind; and on the free tier Google may use your prompts to improve their models. If that matters to you, use a paid provider.

Groq — free, and the fastest

Free: yes.

Go to console.groq.com, sign in, open API Keys and create one. It is the best free choice if you send voice notes, because Groq transcribes about two thousand a day at no cost.

DeepSeek — the best value if you are paying

Free: no — but very cheap, and no daily limit.

Go to platform.deepseek.com, create an account, add a small amount of credit under Billing, then create a key under API Keys. A few rand goes a long way, and unlike free tiers it will not stop mid-conversation when you hit a daily ceiling.

OpenAI (ChatGPT) — needs a card

Free: no. Your ChatGPT or Plus subscription does not include a key, and the subscription does not pay for one.

If you would rather not add a card, use Gemini or Groq instead. If you still want OpenAI: go to platform.openai.com — a different site from the ChatGPT app — open Settings, then Billing, add a card and buy at least $5 of credit. Then open API keys and create one. A code starting sk- appears and is shown only once.

Anthropic (Claude) — needs a card

Free: no. Claude Pro does not include a key either.

Go to console.anthropic.com, sign in, add a card under Billing and buy credit. Then open API Keys and create one. It starts sk-ant- and is shown only once.

xAI (Grok) — needs a card

Free: no. Go to console.x.ai, add credit, and create a key under API Keys.

Which should I pick?

Free and quick to start: Gemini, or Groq if you use voice notes. Free but able to reach many models: OpenRouter. Paying and want the lowest cost per question with no daily cap: DeepSeek. You can change provider at any time from your dashboard.

What if my key stops working?

The dashboard has a key-change screen. It checks your new key with the provider before it saves it, so you find out immediately if something is wrong rather than discovering it mid-conversation. The most common cause is simply that the credit ran out — a monthly chat subscription does not keep an API key funded.

What are the add-ons?

Three skills that sit outside your plan, available from Premium and Enterprise upwards: social media posting — write the post, measure it against each platform's limit, make the picture, and hand it to you to publish; image creation — make a picture on your own provider key; and ad creation — a short advertisement with the creative to go with it. Each one is switched on from your dashboard, only when you want it. What each one does, what it needs and how it is switched on is on the add-ons page.

What is an image brain, and do I need one?

Your chat AI writes words. It cannot draw. An image brain is a second key, from a provider that makes pictures, which your agent uses only when you ask for an image. Chat works exactly as before without one.

How do I add one?

It is an add-on, available from Premium and Enterprise upwards. On your dashboard, the AI keys section holds the card for pictures, and links straight through to the screen where you switch on Image creation and paste a key. Your key is checked with the provider before it is saved, so you know straight away whether it works.

Where do I get an image key?

OpenRouter at openrouter.ai — one key reaches Nano Banana, Seedream, Flux and Ideogram. A key starting sk-or-.

Google AI Studio at aistudio.google.com — Nano Banana / Gemini and Imagen, direct from Google. A key starting AIza.

OpenAI at platform.openai.com — GPT Image. A key starting sk-.

Who pays for the images?

You do, directly, on your own key — the same rule as your chat key. IDATHA does not pay for a user's image generation and does not mark it up. As a guide, an image on the usual model costs roughly a rand.

What about video and social posts?

Video and reels are composed from your own words and pictures, on the Pro plan. For social, your agent writes the post, counts it against the platform's character limit, and hands it to you to publish. It never posts to your account itself — you approve and you upload, so the account stays yours.