Skip to content
Jents Academy
Connect your AI 3 min read

Gateway vs. account import — which to use

Two ways to get your AI into Jents — and they're not competitors, they're a staircase. In one line: an account import is your bill (broad, zero-setup, daily); a gateway is a checkpoint every call passes through (deep, live, controllable). Most teams start with the account to see everything, then route their important agents through a gateway for the detail.

The one-line difference

  • Account import = connect the account where your AI is billed (OpenAI / Anthropic / cloud) → Jents reads the bill. Broad, but only as deep as a daily statement.
  • Gateway = your AI's calls flow through a gateway → Jents sees each call as it happens. Deep and live, but only sees what you route.

Side by side

Account import (the bill)Gateway (the checkpoint)
SetupPaste one key — no codeRoute your traffic through it
Time to valueMinutesA config change per app
CoverageEverything that bills to the accountOnly what you route through it
Cost✅ Real $ (daily, from the bill)✅ Real $ (per call, live)
Models used
Per-call detail❌ daily totals only✅ every individual call
Speed / latency
Errors & retries✅ (the wasted spend)
Who triggered each call❌ (a key isn't a person)
Sessions / runs
FreshnessHours behind (daily)Live
Control (block · budget · route)❌ read-only

When to use which

  • Start with the account import when you want to see everything fast — every agent and what it costs, across your whole org, with zero setup. Great for discovery, cost, and a first ROI picture.
  • Add a gateway for the agents you want to act on — where you need live per-call detail (latency, errors, who), or the power to block a key, set a budget, or route a model.

Why it's a staircase, not a choice

The account tells you what you run and what it costs. The gateway tells you how each call behaves — and lets you change it. You don't pick one: connect the account to map everything, then route your most important agents through a gateway to go deep where it pays.

An account-imported agent even says so — its page shows the daily cost + models, and points you at a gateway for the live detail, so the upgrade path is always one click away.

Related: Connect an account · Connect your own gateway.