How to Build Real-Time AI Chatbots with Next.js in 2025

Introduction

Building AI chatbots has become essential for modern web applications. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through creating a production-ready chatbot using Next.js 13+ and OpenAI's GPT-4 API.

What You'll Learn

• Setting up Next.js with App Router
• Integrating OpenAI GPT-4 API
• Implementing real-time streaming responses
• Adding chat history and context management
• Deploying to production

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• Node.js 18+ installed
• An OpenAI API key
• Basic knowledge of React and TypeScript

Step 1: Project Setup

First, create a new Next.js project:

npx create-next-app@latest ai-chatbot
cd ai-chatbot
npm install openai ai

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env.local file:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Step 3: Create the API Route

Build the backend API route that handles chat completions:

// app/api/chat/route.ts
import OpenAI from 'openai';
import { OpenAIStream, StreamingTextResponse } from 'ai';

const openai = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY,
});

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { messages } = await req.json();
  
  const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: 'gpt-4',
    stream: true,
    messages,
  });
  
  const stream = OpenAIStream(response);
  return new StreamingTextResponse(stream);
}

Step 4: Build the Chat Interface

Create a beautiful, responsive chat UI component.

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional AI chatbot! This foundation can be extended with features like user authentication, chat history persistence, and custom AI personalities.

Need help building a custom AI solution for your business? Contact Nivetix for professional development services.