Vercel AI SDK: The Complete TypeScript AI Toolkit

The Vercel AI SDK has revolutionized how developers build AI-powered web applications, providing a unified, type-safe interface for integrating AI capabilities across the entire JavaScript ecosystem.

Why Choose Vercel AI SDK?

Unified Provider Experience

One of the SDK's standout features is its unified API that abstracts away the differences between AI providers. This means you can start with OpenAI and seamlessly switch to Anthropic, Google AI, or any other supported provider without rewriting your application logic.

Framework Flexibility

Whether you're building with React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, or even vanilla Node.js, the AI SDK provides framework-specific optimizations while maintaining a consistent developer experience.

Production-Ready Streaming

The SDK's streaming capabilities ensure users see AI responses in real-time, creating engaging experiences that feel responsive and interactive.

Installation

npm install ai

Quick Start Examples

React Chat Interface

import { useChat } from 'ai/react'

export default function Chat() {
  const { messages, input, handleInputChange, handleSubmit } = useChat()

  return (
    <div>
      {messages.map(message => (
        <div key={message.id}>
          <strong>{message.role}:</strong> {message.content}
        </div>
      ))}
      
      <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
        <input value={input} onChange={handleInputChange} />
        <button type="submit">Send</button>
      </form>
    </div>
  )
}

Generative UI

import { generateObject } from 'ai'
import { WeatherCard } from './components/WeatherCard'

const result = await generateObject({
  model: openai('gpt-4'),
  schema: z.object({
    location: z.string(),
    temperature: z.number(),
    condition: z.string(),
  }),
  prompt: 'Get current weather for San Francisco',
})

return <WeatherCard {...result.object} />

API Route (Next.js)

import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai'
import { streamText } from 'ai'

export async function POST(req: Request) {
  const { messages } = await req.json()

  const result = await streamText({
    model: openai('gpt-4'),
    messages,
  })

  return result.toAIStreamResponse()
}

Provider Switching

// Easy provider switching
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai'
import { anthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic'

// Use OpenAI
const openaiResult = await generateText({
  model: openai('gpt-4'),
  prompt: 'Hello world'
})

// Switch to Anthropic with same API
const anthropicResult = await generateText({
  model: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022'),
  prompt: 'Hello world'
})

The Vercel AI SDK has become essential for modern web development teams building AI-powered applications, offering the perfect balance of simplicity and power needed for production applications.