This guide will help you understand and leverage the included integrations in your CREAO apps. Building on the concepts from our Getting Started Guide, you'll learn how to expand your app's capabilities and how to leverage them effectively in your builds.

Understanding CREAO's Three Types of Integrations

Before diving in, it's helpful to understand how CREAO categorizes integrations. This knowledge helps you choose the right tools for your app.

CREAO supports integrations through three distinct approaches:

MCP Connections: Connect your own subscriptions to applications like Gmail, Slack, Google Calendar, Reddit, and many more. These use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to access your personal accounts and data. We'll cover these in detail in a future guide.

Included Integrations: Powerful services built right into your CREAO subscription. These require no external accounts. This is what we'll focus on in this guide.

Custom APIs (Pro): For Pro subscribers, bring your own APIs to extend functionality beyond our standard offerings.

This guide focuses specifically on the included integrations; the professional capabilities that come with your CREAO subscription at no additional cost.

The Power of Included Integrations

Unlike platforms that require separate subscriptions for each capability, CREAO includes professional-grade integrations directly in your subscription. These integrations give your apps sophisticated features right out of the box:

• File Upload: Enable users to upload files directly within your app

• Web Search: Incorporate live web search capabilities

• GPT Text Model: Leverage AI for text generation, analysis, and summarization

• GPT Image-to-Text Model: Extract descriptions and information from images

• Text-to-Image Model (nano-banana): Generate custom images from text descriptions

These aren't trial features or limited demo. They're fully functional services included with your CREAO subscription. You only pay a small credit amount per operation, making them incredibly cost-effective for building feature-rich applications.

The real power emerges when you combine multiple integrations in creative ways.

How to Add Integrations to Your App

Adding integrations follows the same conversational approach as building your initial app. No technical expertise is required, just communicate clearly with the Build Agent.

Describe Your Goal: Write a clear description of what you want your app to accomplish. Instead of technical terminology like "Integrate a text-to-image API," use natural language: "Build an app to generate an image of a 'robot eating spaghetti' and then tell me what's in the picture."

Confirm Your Integrations: The Build Agent will analyze your request and present a checklist of required integrations. This is a critical step—only select the integrations you actually need. For the example above, you'd confirm "Text-to-Image Model (nano-banana)" and "GPT Image-to-Text Model." This focused selection helps the Build Agent optimize its work.

Review the Plan: The Build Agent will present a detailed plan showing exactly how your requested features will connect to the selected integrations. Review this carefully. If something doesn't align with your vision or you'd like adjustments, communicate your feedback in the chat. You can refine the plan iteratively before giving final approval.

Practical Applications: Integration Use Cases

Here are several examples demonstrating how these included integrations can work together:

Content Creation Workflow: Build an app where users upload documents with rough notes (File Upload). The app uses Web Search to identify current trends on the topic, feeds this information to the GPT Text Model to generate compelling article titles, and uses the Text-to-Image Model (nano-banana) to create accompanying blog post visuals. This single app replaces multiple separate tools—a file manager, search engine, AI writing assistant, and image generator.

Automated Image Analysis: Create a tool where users upload images (File Upload). The GPT Image-to-Text Model analyzes the photo and generates descriptions. The GPT Text Model can then refine these descriptions into properly formatted alt-text for accessibility compliance. Organizations managing hundreds of images can process them efficiently instead of creating alt-text manually.

Research and Fact-Checking Assistant: Build an app that summarizes articles from URLs. Using Web Search and the GPT Text Model, it extracts key points and cross-references claims against multiple sources to verify accuracy. What typically takes 30+ minutes of manual research condenses to under a minute.

Powering your App and The AI Copilot

Integrations are a key differentiator for CREAO. They connect your apps to essential tools and services, dramatically expanding what's possible. But integrations serve a dual purpose in CREAO: they power both your app's features and the AI copilot that comes with every build.

Your app's copilot can perform the same actions as your user-facing features, but in a more autonomous way, handling batch operations or scheduling tasks for later execution. This makes integrations particularly powerful for automation workflows.

Understanding CREAO Credits

CREAO uses a straightforward credit system. Building your app requires credits upfront. After deployment, each integration action—whether it's an AI text generation request or an image creation—consumes a small amount of credits on a pay-as-you-go basis.

If you used separate API services for AI text, image generation, and web search, you'd typically be paying extra for those subscriptions, regardless of actual usage. With CREAO, everything is included in your subscription, and you simply use credits as you go. You're never paying for unused capacity.

Your credit balance updates after each operation, providing full transparency into your usage.

Advanced Option: Custom API Integration

For Pro subscribers, CREAO supports custom API integration beyond the included services. This is useful when you need specialized services not available in our library, or when you want to integrate proprietary business systems.

This requires an OpenAPI schema—a structured specification that defines your API's inputs and outputs. If you don't have an existing OpenAPI schema, you can use AI tools (such as Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude) to generate one. Simply provide sample API calls, response data, or documentation links, and the AI can create the necessary schema for you.

Next Steps

Now that you understand how included API integrations work in CREAO, explore our full integration library and consider how you might combine different services in your next build. Remember, these powerful capabilities are already part of your subscription—ready to use whenever you need them.

Frequently Asked Questions About CREAO Integrations

What's the difference between included API integrations and MCP connections? Included API integrations (like Web Search, GPT models, and image generation) are built into your CREAO subscription and require only credits to use. MCP connections allow you to link your personal accounts from services like Gmail, Slack, or Google Calendar to your apps. We'll cover MCP in detail in an upcoming guide.

Do I need separate accounts for the included API integrations? No. That's the beauty of these integrations—they're included with your CREAO subscription. You don't need accounts with separate AI services or search providers.

Can I use multiple integrations in one app? Yes. The most powerful CREAO apps typically combine several integrations. The Build Agent helps you identify which combinations make sense for your use case.

How do I know which integrations my app needs? Browse the integration library before building. As you describe your app's functionality to the Build Agent, it will recommend appropriate integrations based on your requirements.

What happens if I select too many integrations? The Build Agent works best when you select only the integrations you actually need. Unnecessary integrations can make the build less focused and may increase credit usage without adding value.

Can I add integrations after my app is built? Yes. Like all aspects of CREAO apps, you can iterate and add new integrations through follow-up messages in the Build Agent chat.

How much do these integrations cost? The integrations themselves are included with your CREAO subscription. You only pay a small amount of credits each time an integration is used—for example, when generating an image or performing a web search. This pay-as-you-go model ensures you only pay for actual usage.

How do included integrations compare to using external APIs? Building with external APIs typically requires creating accounts, obtaining API keys, and managing separate billing. CREAO eliminates this complexity—you describe what you want, and the Build Agent handles all technical implementation. You get professional-grade capabilities without the setup burden.

Stay tuned to our blog for more installments in our Builder Series, including our upcoming deep dive into MCP connections. Happy building!

Related Resources:

• Integrations: https://creao.ai/integration

• Templates: https://creao.ai/marketplace

• Feature Overview: https://docs.creao.ai