ChatGPT clones are everywhere. From startups launching AI-powered customer support bots to developers building personalized assistants, the demand for conversational AI interfaces has skyrocketed. The good news? You don't need to reinvent the wheel.

Building a ChatGPT-style application used to require weeks of backend setup, custom UI components, and complex message handling. Today, with AI SDK and AI Elements, you can create a fully functional chat interface in under 30 minutes.

This guide will walk you through building a ChatGPT clone that handles streaming responses, renders markdown, and looks professional out of the box. Whether you're a developer exploring AI integration or building the next big conversational app, this tutorial gives you a solid foundation to start from.

What Are AI SDK and AI Elements? #

Before diving into code, let's understand the tools that make this build possible.

AI SDK is a TypeScript-first library that handles the backend complexity of AI applications. It provides unified interfaces for multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more), streaming responses, and automatic message formatting. Instead of wrestling with different API formats, you get consistent methods regardless of which AI model you're using.

AI Elements offers prebuilt React components designed specifically for AI chat interfaces. Think of it as a UI component library that understands how AI conversations work. It includes components for messages, streaming responses, markdown rendering, and even citation handling.

Together, these tools eliminate most of the boilerplate code needed for AI chat applications. AI SDK handles the data flow while AI Elements takes care of the presentation layer.

Prerequisites #

You'll need a few things before starting:

Node.js v18+ installed on your machine
A Next.js project (we'll create one if needed)
An API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, or another supported provider
Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui for styling (optional but recommended)

If you don't have an API key yet, head to OpenAI's platform and create one. The free tier provides enough credits to test your clone thoroughly.

Step 1: Setting Up the Project #

Let's start with a fresh Next.js project:

npx create-next-app@latest chatgpt-clone
cd chatgpt-clone

Now install the required packages:

npm install ai @ai-sdk/openai @ai-sdk/ui-react

Create a .env.local file in your project root and add your API key:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

That's all the setup you need. The AI SDK handles provider configuration automatically based on your environment variables.

Step 2: Add the Chat Hook #

The heart of any ChatGPT clone is the chat functionality. AI SDK provides a useChat hook that manages the entire conversation state.

Create a new file app/page.tsx and add this basic chat implementation:

'use client';

import { useChat } from 'ai/react';

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

  return (
    <div className="max-w-2xl mx-auto p-4">
      <div className="space-y-4 mb-4">
        {messages.map((message) => (
          <div key={message.id} className="p-3 rounded-lg bg-gray-100">
            <strong>{message.role}:</strong> {message.content}
          </div>
        ))}
      </div>
      
      <form onSubmit={handleSubmit} className="flex gap-2">
        <input
          value={input}
          onChange={handleInputChange}
          placeholder="Type your message..."
          className="flex-1 p-2 border rounded"
        />
        <button type="submit" className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded">
          Send
        </button>
      </form>
    </div>
  );
}

You'll also need to create the API route. Add this to app/api/chat/route.ts:

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-3.5-turbo'),
    messages,
  });

  return result.toAIStreamResponse();
}

This basic setup gives you a working chat interface with streaming responses. The useChat hook automatically handles message history, input management, and API calls.

Step 3: Upgrade the UI with AI Elements #

The basic implementation works, but it doesn't look like ChatGPT. AI Elements provides components that handle markdown rendering, proper message styling, and streaming indicators.

Update your app/page.tsx to use AI Elements:

'use client';

import { useChat } from 'ai/react';
import { Message, MessageContent, Response } from '@ai-sdk/ui-react';

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

  return (
    <div className="max-w-4xl mx-auto p-4">
      <div className="space-y-4 mb-4 min-h-96">
        {messages.map((message) => (
          <Message key={message.id} role={message.role}>
            <MessageContent>
              {message.role === 'assistant' ? (
                <Response content={message.content} />
              ) : (
                message.content
              )}
            </MessageContent>
          </Message>
        ))}
      </div>
      
      <form onSubmit={handleSubmit} className="flex gap-2">
        <input
          value={input}
          onChange={handleInputChange}
          placeholder="Ask me anything..."
          className="flex-1 p-3 border border-gray-300 rounded-lg focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
        />
        <button 
          type="submit" 
          className="px-6 py-3 bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white rounded-lg font-medium"
        >
          Send
        </button>
      </form>
    </div>
  );
}

The Response component automatically handles markdown rendering, code syntax highlighting, and streaming text animation. Your chat now displays formatted responses that look professional and are easy to read.

Step 4: Optional Enhancements #

AI Elements includes several optional components that can enhance your ChatGPT clone:

Citations and Sources: If your AI model provides source information, use the Sources component:

import { Sources } from '@ai-sdk/ui-react';

// In your message rendering:
<Sources sources={message.sources} />

Multiple Roles: Support system messages for better AI behavior:

const { messages, input, handleInputChange, handleSubmit, setMessages } = useChat({
  initialMessages: [
    {
      id: 'system',
      role: 'system',
      content: 'You are a helpful assistant specialized in web development.'
    }
  ]
});

Custom Styling: AI Elements works seamlessly with Tailwind CSS. Customize the appearance to match your brand:

<Message role={message.role} className="my-custom-message-style">
  <MessageContent className="prose prose-sm max-w-none">
    <Response content={message.content} />
  </MessageContent>
</Message>

Step 5: Run and Test Your ChatGPT Clone #

Start your development server:

npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 and test your ChatGPT clone. You should see a clean chat interface that:

Accepts user messages
Streams AI responses in real-time
Renders markdown formatting
Maintains conversation history
Handles code blocks with syntax highlighting

Try asking complex questions, requesting code examples, or having multi-turn conversations to see how well it performs.

Next Steps #

Your ChatGPT clone is functional, but there's room for enhancement:

Authentication: Add user accounts with Clerk or Supabase to save conversation history and provide personalized experiences.
Deployment: Deploy to Vercel with a single command. The platform automatically handles environment variables and scaling.
Extended Features: Consider adding file uploads, custom prompt templates, conversation export, or integration with vector databases for RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) capabilities.
Multi-Model Support: Experiment with different AI providers. Switch from OpenAI to Anthropic's Claude or Google's Gemini by changing just a few lines in your API route.

Launch Your AI-Powered Application #

Building a ChatGPT clone with AI SDK and AI Elements proves that modern AI development doesn't require extensive infrastructure or months of development time. In less than an hour, you've created a fully functional conversational AI interface that handles streaming, markdown, and professional styling.

The real power comes from customization. Take this foundation and adapt it for your specific use case—whether that's customer support, educational tutoring, or creative writing assistance.

Ready to take your clone live? Start experimenting with different AI models, add your own branding, and deploy it for the world to use. The hardest part is already behind you.

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Written by Aman

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