# How to set up Discourse AI for internal-only usage **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-set-up-discourse-ai-for-internal-only-usage/393030 **Category:** Support **Tags:** ai **Created:** [January 9, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-set-up-discourse-ai-for-internal-only-usage/393030 "2026-01-09T04:39:32Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 1
### Author: ![Thefacto](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/thefacto/32/537948_2.png) [@Thefacto](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Thefacto) #### Post date: [January 9, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-set-up-discourse-ai-for-internal-only-usage/393030/1 "2026-01-09T04:39:32Z")
I’m using Discourse AI and have it connected to an external LLM API, along with some extensions (which come with additional costs). Because of that, I’d like to configure it so that it does not use those extensions, and instead relies only on the LLM itself as a forum helper—for things like internal search, summarization, or other features that work purely within the forum. The main reason is to reduce the cost of paid add-ons(eg.external web search), so I’m looking for guidance on how to set things up this way. Thank Edit: I got a reply from the provider saying that this request was charged for web search because the AI cited sources like BBC and Reuters, Others, which automatically triggered the model’s evidence/search mode. So does this mean this isn’t related to Discourse settings, and there’s no way to disable this behavior from the provider side? Is there any workaround for this? The provider suggested switching to a model with less “thinking,” and avoiding flash or instinct models, but that also means reduced reasoning and computation capability. \*\*This message was translated from Thai using a translation tool, so I apologize in advance if anything is unclear or slightly incorrect. --- _[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-set-up-discourse-ai-for-internal-only-usage/393030)._