I use OpenAI and Anthropic APIs every day for work. I have never used google Gemini precisely because there seems to be a whole different set of friction involved in getting an account. First I don’t want to tie anything to my google account, especially any form of payment (no idea if I actually need to do this). Second I don’t want AI studio or whatever, I just want a similar api to the others I can hit.

I admit I’m completely ignorant about what’s really involved, I have never tried and am just going on vague things I’ve heard but stories like this definitely reinforce my perception. I even have a mistral account, grok, etc, but google feels like a whole other level of complication.

I feel you on not wanting to tie anything additional to your Google account. Will I somehow do something “naughty” (say spam an emoji during a livestream) that gets me permanently banned for life from all services?

Google really needs to evaluate separating service bans. I cannot be the only one who would rather go to a competitor than risk angering the black box and destroying my digital life.