How third-party AI services can elevate your app

In plain terms, a third-party AI service is a tool or platform created by an external company that you can tap into through an API (Application Programming Interface). Think of it like plugging a kettle into the mains rather than building your own power station.

You send data to the service (like an image, a voice note, or a chunk of text), and it returns a clever result; maybe a transcription, a product recommendation, or a safety alert. It’s fast, scalable, and lets your app act smarter without reinventing the wheel.

Popular third-party AI tools include:

• OpenAI’s GPT models for text generation and natural language understanding
• Google Cloud Vision for image analysis
• Amazon Rekognition for facial detection and content moderation
• Microsoft Azure’s Speech Services for real-time transcription and translation

These tools are already trained on vast datasets and backed by billions in research and development. When you work with experienced app developers, they can help you integrate these capabilities in a way that feels seamless to your users.

AI development is… let’s just say not light work. Training your own AI models requires:

• Massive datasets (often millions of examples)
• High-powered computing resources
• A team of specialist data scientists
• Time. Lots of time.

For most businesses, especially those launching or scaling an app, it’s simply not practical. That’s why using pre-trained, cloud-hosted models makes so much sense. You still get powerful results, without the complexity, cost, or delays.

Plus, these third-party tools are constantly improving. OpenAI’s models, for instance, now handle over 100 million users per week and are updated frequently with new safety features and capabilities. You’re effectively renting brainpower from the best minds in tech.

It depends on what problem you’re trying to solve. Here are a few real-world examples of how third-party AI services are already levelling up apps across industries:

Want your app to answer customer questions or support bookings? Natural language tools like GPT-4 can handle real-time queries, generate responses, and even translate between languages. According to Gartner, by 2027 chatbots will become the primary customer service channel for 25% of organisations.

Apps in travel, fashion, or fitness often need to “see” what users are sharing. With tools like Google Vision or Amazon Rekognition, your app can tag images, detect logos, blur explicit content, or even count steps from a video. These tools are trained on millions of examples, meaning your app doesn’t have to be.

Think Netflix or Spotify. By plugging into machine learning APIs, your app can serve up tailored content based on behaviour, location, and preferences, boosting engagement and retention. McKinsey estimates that personalisation can drive a 10–15% increase in revenue.

Speech-to-text, translation, or even tone detection are now widely available via services like Azure or AssemblyAI. For example, apps that support field engineers, healthcare workers, or users with accessibility needs can benefit massively from voice-enabled functionality.

Security and privacy are big talking points, and rightly so.

When you integrate a third-party AI service, you’re sending data to an external system. That means you need to know how that data is being stored, processed, and protected. The good news is that most of the major providers meet strict global compliance standards (GDPR, HIPAA, ISO/IEC 27001, and more).

That said, it’s not one-size-fits-all. A good app developer will help you assess:

• What data you’re sending
• How long it’s stored
• Whether it can be used for training
• What opt-ins you need from users

Being upfront with your users and choosing the right provider is key. We often advise partners to opt for services that offer full data control or on-premise deployment where needed.

Another common question: how much is this going to add to my app budget?

Most AI services are priced based on usage (e.g., number of API calls, characters processed, or minutes of audio). That means you can start small and scale as needed, perfect for MVPs or early-stage products. Pricing is usually transparent and flexible, especially compared to building your own tools.

For example:

• OpenAI’s GPT-4o can cost as little as $5 per million tokens for input
• Google Vision API charges around $1.50 per 1,000 images analysed
• AssemblyAI offers transcription starting at $0.015 per minute

It’s important to factor these costs into your roadmap, but for most partners, the value far outweighs the expense, especially when you’re seeing faster delivery and a better user experience.

That’s where your app development agency comes in.

Whether you're searching for app developers near you or working with a remote team, what matters is that they understand both the tech and your business goals. At The Distance, we’ve helped partners integrate a wide range of AI tools into their apps, from chat and content moderation to image and video analysis.

The process typically looks like this:

1. Scoping your feature – What do you want your app to do? (e.g. summarise meeting notes, flag unsafe content)
2. Choosing the right AI service – We evaluate providers based on price, accuracy, security, and licensing.
3. Integration and testing – Our team handles the backend setup, API calls, and interface design to make everything feel native.
4. Monitoring and updates – AI is always evolving. We keep a close eye on changes to ensure long-term performance.

You don’t need to worry about how the model is trained or what a token is; that’s our job.

You don’t need to build AI to benefit from it. By integrating third-party AI services into your app, you can deliver intelligent, intuitive experiences faster and without burning your entire dev budget.

It’s not just about being “on trend.” It’s about using the best tools available to build something better for your users.

So whether you’re planning a new product or looking to level up an existing one, our team of expert app developers are ready to help you get smart, the smart way.

Ready to bring AI into your app?

Let’s talk about how we can make it work, without overcomplicating things.