Overview
Azure OpenAI is Microsoft's hosted OpenAI service – same models (GPT-4, GPT-3.5, DALL-E, embeddings) as openai.com but on Azure, with enterprise data residency and SLAs. The Automize Azure OpenAI connector covers chat completions, embeddings, image generation, and deployment listing.
- Regions: Models are region-specific – not every region has every model. Common: East US, Sweden Central, France Central for newest models. Pick the region matching your Azure OpenAI resource on the connection.
- Plans: Azure OpenAI requires manual approval – apply at aka.ms/oai/access. Pay-as-you-go after approval, with provisioned throughput options.
Setting up the connection
Auth type: API Key.
- Create an Azure OpenAI resource in Azure Portal (requires application approval).
- Deploy a model (e.g. gpt-4o, text-embedding-3-large) – note the deployment name (your alias for the model).
- Resource → Keys and Endpoint → copy KEY 1 + Endpoint URL.
- In Automize, open Settings → Connectors → Azure OpenAI → Add connection. Paste endpoint + API key.
Find your credentials at https://portal.azure.com/.
Rate limits
Token-based + request-based. Each deployment has TPM (tokens per minute) + RPM (requests per minute) – set when deploying. Connector retries 429 with Retry-After. For high throughput buy Provisioned Throughput Units (PTUs) – guaranteed capacity, no shared queue.
Data model
Azure OpenAI organises by deployments:
Resource (regional) ─── Deployments ─── Model (gpt-4o, gpt-3.5-turbo, etc.)
You call deployments by name, not models. Same deployment name in one
region maps to a specific model. Reuse names across resources for
consistent calling code.Available operations
4 operations available. Click any row to jump to its detail.
| Operation | Category | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Chat Completion | General | Generate a chat completion |
| Create Embedding | General | Generate text embeddings |
| Generate Image | General | Generate an image (DALL-E) |
| List Deployments | General | List model deployments |
Operations
Chat Completion
Generate a chat completion
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Deployment deployment | Yes | text | |
Messages messages | Yes | textarea | |
Temperature temperature | Yes | number | |
Max Tokens max_tokens | Yes | number | |
Tools tools | Yes | text |
Tips
- deployment: your deployment name (NOT the OpenAI model name).
- messages: array of {role: 'system'|'user'|'assistant', content: '...'}.
- tools: function-calling schemas; the model can call them and you handle the results.
- temperature 0-2 (0 = deterministic). top_p alt to temperature.
Errors
DeploymentNotFound– deployment name mismatch – check Azure Portal → your resource → Deployments.RateLimitExceeded– TPM or RPM hit. Either raise deployment limits, buy PTUs, or back off.
Create Embedding
Generate text embeddings
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Deployment deployment | Yes | text | |
Input input | Yes | text |
Tips
- deployment: an embedding-model deployment (e.g. text-embedding-3-large).
- input: string or array of strings. Returns vector(s).
- Batch up to 16 inputs per call for efficiency.
Generate Image
Generate an image (DALL-E)
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Deployment deployment | Yes | text | |
Prompt prompt | Yes | text | |
Size size | Yes | text | |
N n | Yes | text |
Tips
- deployment: a DALL-E deployment (dall-e-3 typical).
- size: '1024x1024', '1792x1024', '1024x1792' for DALL-E 3.
- n: number of images (max 1 for DALL-E 3; up to 10 for DALL-E 2).
List Deployments
List model deployments
No input parameters.
Tips
- Returns deployments in your resource – names + underlying models. Useful for runtime discovery.
FAQ
- Azure OpenAI vs OpenAI direct – when?
- Azure: enterprise data residency (no data used for training, region-pinned), Microsoft SLAs, integrates with Entra ID + Private Endpoint. OpenAI direct: simpler signup, sometimes newer models faster. Use Azure for enterprise compliance; OpenAI for prototyping.
- Why does my deployment name not work?
- Deployment names are case-sensitive + region-specific. The same name in Sweden Central isn't the same in East US. Verify in Azure Portal → your resource → Deployments.
- PTU (Provisioned Throughput Units) – when?
- Buy PTUs when you need guaranteed latency (no shared-pool throttling) – usually at >10k req/day. Pay per unit per hour, regardless of usage.