diff --git a/src/fastapi_poe/client.py b/src/fastapi_poe/client.py
index c2b8696..cdde64c 100644
--- a/src/fastapi_poe/client.py
+++ b/src/fastapi_poe/client.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
     Identifier,
     MetaResponse as MetaMessage,
     PartialResponse as BotMessage,
+    ProtocolMessage,
     QueryRequest,
     SettingsResponse,
 )
@@ -55,16 +56,16 @@ def _safe_ellipsis(obj: object, limit: int) -> str:
 @dataclass
 class _BotContext:
     endpoint: str
-    access_key: str = field(repr=False)
     session: httpx.AsyncClient = field(repr=False)
+    api_key: Optional[str] = field(default=None, repr=False)
     on_error: Optional[ErrorHandler] = field(default=None, repr=False)
 
     @property
     def headers(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
-        return {
-            "Accept": "application/json",
-            "Authorization": f"Bearer {self.access_key}",
-        }
+        headers = {"Accept": "application/json"}
+        if self.api_key is not None:
+            headers["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {self.api_key}"
+        return headers
 
     async def report_error(
         self, message: str, metadata: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None
@@ -275,10 +276,10 @@ def _default_error_handler(e: Exception, msg: str) -> None:
 async def stream_request(
     request: QueryRequest,
     bot_name: str,
-    access_key: str = "",
-    *,
     api_key: str = "",
-    api_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel: int = 2,
+    *,
+    access_key: str = "",
+    access_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel: int = 2,
     session: Optional[httpx.AsyncClient] = None,
     on_error: ErrorHandler = _default_error_handler,
     num_tries: int = 2,
@@ -286,21 +287,19 @@ async def stream_request(
     base_url: str = "https://api.poe.com/bot/",
 ) -> AsyncGenerator[BotMessage, None]:
     """Streams BotMessages from a Poe bot."""
-    if api_key != "":
+    if access_key != "":
         warnings.warn(
-            "the api_key param is deprecated, pass your key using access_key instead",
+            "the access_key param is no longer necessary when using this function.",
             DeprecationWarning,
-            stacklevel=api_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel,
+            stacklevel=access_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel,
         )
-        if access_key == "":
-            access_key = api_key
 
     async with contextlib.AsyncExitStack() as stack:
         if session is None:
             session = await stack.enter_async_context(httpx.AsyncClient())
         url = f"{base_url}{bot_name}"
         ctx = _BotContext(
-            endpoint=url, access_key=access_key, session=session, on_error=on_error
+            endpoint=url, api_key=api_key, session=session, on_error=on_error
         )
         got_response = False
         for i in range(num_tries):
@@ -324,12 +323,48 @@ async def stream_request(
                 await asyncio.sleep(retry_sleep_time)
 
 
+async def get_bot_response(
+    messages: List[ProtocolMessage],
+    bot_name: str,
+    api_key: str,
+    *,
+    temperature: Optional[float] = None,
+    skip_system_prompt: Optional[bool] = None,
+    logit_bias: Optional[Dict[str, float]] = None,
+    stop_sequences: Optional[List[str]] = None,
+    base_url: str = "https://api.poe.com/bot/",
+) -> AsyncGenerator[BotMessage, None]:
+    additional_params = {}
+    # This is so that we don't have to redefine the default values for these params.
+    if temperature is not None:
+        additional_params["temperature"] = temperature
+    if skip_system_prompt is not None:
+        additional_params["skip_system_prompt"] = skip_system_prompt
+    if logit_bias is not None:
+        additional_params["logit_bias"] = logit_bias
+    if stop_sequences is not None:
+        additional_params["stop_sequences"] = stop_sequences
+
+    query = QueryRequest(
+        query=messages,
+        user_id="",
+        conversation_id="",
+        message_id="",
+        version=PROTOCOL_VERSION,
+        type="query",
+        **additional_params,
+    )
+    return stream_request(
+        request=query, bot_name=bot_name, api_key=api_key, base_url=base_url
+    )
+
+
 async def get_final_response(
     request: QueryRequest,
     bot_name: str,
-    access_key: str = "",
-    *,
     api_key: str = "",
+    *,
+    access_key: str = "",
     session: Optional[httpx.AsyncClient] = None,
     on_error: ErrorHandler = _default_error_handler,
     num_tries: int = 2,
@@ -341,9 +376,9 @@ async def get_final_response(
     async for message in stream_request(
         request,
         bot_name,
-        access_key,
-        api_key=api_key,
-        api_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel=3,
+        api_key,
+        access_key=access_key,
+        access_key_deprecation_warning_stacklevel=3,
         session=session,
         on_error=on_error,
         num_tries=num_tries,