The OpenAI API Has Become the Standard Love it or hate it, the OpenAI API format has become the de facto standard for AI APIs. Almost every AI provider now offers an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. What Does OpenAI-Compatible Mean? It means you can use the same code, same SDK, and same request format to talk to different AI providers. Just change the base_url and api_key. The format is simple: POST to /v1/chat/completions Send messages array with role and content Get back a response with choices and usage Who Supports It? OpenAI (obviously) Anthropic Claude (via wrappers) DeepSeek (native) Google Gemini (via adapters) Groq, Together AI, Fireworks (native) Many Chinese providers (native) Why This Matters for You No vendor lock-in. Switch providers by changing one line of code. Best price per request. Use the cheapest provider for each task. Resilience. If one provider goes down, switch to another instantly. Future-proof. New providers drop in without code changes.…