liveBook · Manning

Chat API

A chat API is an interface for exchanging conversational messages with a language model and receiving responses.

How 2 Manning books explain it

Generative AI in Action

A chat completion API is a programming interface that generates assistant responses from a sequence of conversational messages.

How it is used
Powers interactive assistants and also handles text-generation tasks that do not require a dialogue.
How deep it goes
Explains ordered role-and-content messages, shows API calls, and gives conversation-management guidance without detailing model internals.
Examples
Uses a Spanish translation request, a multiturn pet question, and Q&A over retrieved blog posts.
What you can do after
Build it from scratch with ordered messages, then manage token budgets and integrate retrieved context for Q&A.

Read how Generative AI in Action explains chat API →

AI Agents and Applications

How it is used
Supports conversational Q&A by sending questions and context to a language model and returning answers users can refine.
How deep it goes
Defines role-based messaging and shows a LangChain model integration, but stops short of showing raw chat API requests.
Examples
Uses a document-questioning exchange with follow-ups and a Python RAG chain built around ChatOpenAI.
What you can do after
Apply it via LangChain’s ChatOpenAI component in a retrieval-based Q&A chain.

Read how AI Agents and Applications explains chat API →

Related concepts

These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.