Ask your warehouse a question
“Which items are below their reorder level?” “What expires this month?” The assistant answers from your own data — and it is the least important reason to buy this app, which is why it is off until you turn it on.
The assistant is optional and unconfigured out of the box. To use it you add a key from a provider you already pay: OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or OpenRouter. There is no markup and no middleman — BasicInventory neither charges for nor resells that usage, and the cost lands on your own account.
It can read and only read. The assistant queries your inventory to answer; it cannot create, modify or delete anything, so a misunderstood question cannot cost you stock. The interface says so before your first question, and repeats under the message box that AI can get things wrong and answers are worth checking.
Your key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key stored outside the database, so a backup you send to support carries no usable credential. Questions and the inventory rows needed to answer them go to the provider you chose, under your agreement with them, and nowhere else.