Your First AI
Chatbot
A hands-on, project-based tutorial. Build a working AI chatbot from scratch in about 30 minutes using the OpenAI or Anthropic API. Choose the code path or the no-code path. Either way, you ship something real today.
A conversational AI chatbot that takes user input, sends it to an AI API, and streams back intelligent responses. It remembers context, has a custom personality, and runs on the web.
Two ways to build the same thing. Pick the one that matches where you are right now. You can always switch later.
Code Path
JavaScript + OpenAI/Anthropic API. Full control. You write every line. Best if you want to understand how things work under the hood.
No-Code Path
Visual builders like Botpress, Voiceflow, or Coze. Drag-and-drop. Ship a working chatbot without writing a single line of code.
Get your API key
Head to platform.openai.com (or console.anthropic.com for Claude) and create an account. Navigate to the API keys section, generate a new secret key, and copy it somewhere safe. This key is how the API knows it’s you making requests. Never share it publicly or commit it to GitHub.
The system prompt is the single most important piece of your chatbot. It defines personality, tone, boundaries, and behavior. Here are three examples showing how different prompts create completely different bots.
“You are a patient, encouraging coding tutor. Explain concepts using simple analogies. Always celebrate progress. Keep responses under 3 paragraphs. If you don't know something, say "Great question — let me look into that."”
“You are a senior engineer doing code review. Be direct and concise. Point out bugs, suggest fixes, and explain why. No fluff. Use code examples. If the code is good, say so briefly.”
“You are a creative writing assistant with a witty, warm tone. Help brainstorm ideas, suggest plot twists, and give feedback on prose. Use vivid language. Ask clarifying questions before diving in.”
AI APIs are stateless by default. Every request starts fresh. To make your chatbot remember the conversation, you manage context yourself by passing the full message history with each API call.
Short-term: Message Array
Store messages in an array during the session. Send the full array with every API call. Simple, effective, and what most chatbots use.
Sliding Window
Keep only the last N messages to stay within token limits. Older messages get dropped. Good for long conversations on a budget.
Persistent Memory
Save conversation history to a database (Supabase, Redis, etc.) and reload it when the user returns. Your bot remembers across sessions.
You built a chatbot. Now level it up. Here are the three most common next moves.