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How to Implement an OpenAI Chatbot in React - A Developer’s Handbook

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Getting Started with React.js and Predictable Dialogs

To get started, you need to have an OpenAI Assistant configured on the OpenAI platform.
Haven't created your OpenAI assistant yet? Check out this guide to get started.
If you’ve already created your assistant, keep reading!

Introduction

Predictable Dialogs is a platform designed to swiftly deploy OpenAI Assistants to websites using open-source widget code. It offers a range of widget types and customizable themes, allowing users to integrate an AI-powered interface in under 5 minutes.

Predictable Dialogs is a powerful framework for building modern chatbots, it provides:

  • Ease of Use: It prioritizes ease of use, making it simple to add an AI-powered widget to a website quickly.
  • Customization: Offers flexibility and customization options, from colors and fonts to custom CSS, ensuring the chatbot integrates seamlessly with any website design.
  • Data Capture: Enables capturing conversation data with function calls, making the OpenAI assistant more useful.
  • Versatile Widget Design: Caters to various user preferences with standard, bubble-style, and popup widgets.
  • Brand Integration: Allows customization to align with brand identity, ensuring a consistent experience across all devices.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Seamlessly captures data from chatbot interactions to drive personalized experiences, generate leads, automate processes, and enhance customer support.
  • WhatsApp Integration: Facilitates integration with WhatsApp Business to expand reach and automate customer support.

Overview of React

React is a powerful JavaScript library for building user interfaces, particularly single-page applications. It is maintained by Meta and a community of developers. React is known for its component-based architecture, making it highly reusable and efficient for building complex UIs. It is widely used by companies like Facebook, Netflix, and Airbnb.

Setting Up Your React Project

To build a chatbot integration with Predictable Dialogs, starting with a fresh React project is recommended. This ensures you work with the latest features and optimizations offered by the library.
You can also refer to the OpenAI Assistant Chatbot In React sample code on GitHub for guidance.

Installation Command:

To set up a new React project with the latest configurations and best practices. Use the following command:

npm create vite@latest my-react-app -- --template react
cd my-react-app
npm install

Installing and Configuring the Predictable Dialogs Library

Predictable Dialogs is the key to integrating powerful AI chat functionality into your React application. It allows you to deploy OpenAI-powered chat widgets with customizable designs, ensuring your chatbot matches your brand's look and feel.

Installing the Library

To get started with Predictable Dialogs in your React project, you need to install the @agent-embed/react library. This library provides components that are easy to integrate, making it straightforward to add AI-powered chat functionality to your website.

Installation Command:

npm install @agent-embed/react@latest

This command installs the latest version of the Predictable Dialogs library, ensuring you have the most up-to-date features and bug fixes.

This library is optimized for React and works seamlessly with the latest React architecture.

Integrating the Code

After installing the library, it's time to integrate the chat widget into your React project. Here's how to do it step-by-step:

Step 1: Import the Required Modules

Start by importing the necessary modules from React and the Predictable Dialogs library. This includes the Standard component, which is a versatile chat widget type. Instead of the Standard component, you could also select Bubble or Popup. You can read here to learn more about the widget types and their customization options.

import { Standard } from '@agent-embed/react'
  • Standard Component: Renders the chat widget with a standard layout, suitable for most use cases.

Step 2: Using the <Standard> Component

Next, use the <Standard> component to display the chatbot on your page. Here's a basic example:

import React from 'react'
import { Standard } from '@agent-embed/react'

const Chatbot = () => {
  return (
    <div>
      <Standard
        id="Demo"
        apiHost={'https://app.predictabledialogs.com/web/incoming'}
        agentName={'Assistant OpenAI-18452'}
        initialPrompt={'Hi'}
        style={{ width: '700px', height: '300px' }}
        filterResponse={function (response) {
          const annotationRegex = /【\d+:\d+†[^\s】]+】/g
          return response.replace(annotationRegex, '')
        }}
      />
    </div>
  )
}

export default Chatbot

Code Breakdown:

  • id="Demo": Sets the unique identifier for this instance of the chatbot.
  • apiHost: Points to the Predictable Dialogs backend for message processing.
  • agentName: Refers to the configured assistant's name in the Predictable Dialogs dashboard.
  • initialPrompt="Hi": Starts the chat with a predefined message.
  • style: Sets the width and height of the chat widget.
  • filterResponse: Cleans up unwanted annotations from the chatbot's response.

Customization Options

You can fully customize the chat widget to match your brand’s design language, including:

  • Colors: Adjust the background and text colors to match your brand palette.
  • Fonts: Use custom fonts to maintain brand consistency.
  • Layout: Modify width, height, and positioning to fit your website's design.
  • Behavior: Control how the widget opens, closes, and interacts with users.

For more detailed customization options, refer to this guide.

Check out the OpenAI Assistant Chatbot In React GitHub repository for complete source code and examples.