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Building Chat Applications

Glean's Chat API enables you to build powerful conversational AI applications that can access your organization's knowledge. Whether you're creating a simple chatbot or a complex conversational interface, Glean provides the tools you need.

Key Features

  • Conversational AI: Natural language conversations with context awareness
  • Enterprise Knowledge: Access to your organization's indexed content
  • Streaming Responses: Real-time response streaming for better user experience
  • Citation Support: Automatic source citations for transparency
  • Multi-turn Conversations: Maintain context across conversation turns

Getting Started

Common Use Cases

Customer Support Chatbot

Build a chatbot that can answer customer questions using your help documentation, FAQs, and knowledge base.

Internal Knowledge Assistant

Create an internal tool that helps employees find company policies, procedures, and documentation.

Developer Assistant

Build a coding assistant that can search through your codebase, documentation, and best practices.

Sales Enablement Tool

Develop a tool that helps sales teams find relevant case studies, product information, and competitive intelligence.

Architecture Patterns

Simple Request-Response

For basic Q&A scenarios where each query is independent.

Conversational with Memory

For multi-turn conversations that maintain context.

RAG Pattern

For responses that need specific document context.

Best Practices

Message Structure

  • Use clear, specific queries for better results
  • Include relevant context in system messages
  • Structure conversations with proper message types

Error Handling

  • Implement retry logic for transient failures
  • Handle rate limiting gracefully
  • Provide fallback responses for API errors

Performance Optimization

  • Use streaming for real-time responses
  • Implement caching for frequently asked questions
  • Optimize message history length

Security Considerations

  • Validate and sanitize user inputs
  • Implement proper authentication
  • Respect user permissions and data access

Next Steps

  1. Start Simple: Begin with the Chatbot Example
  2. Explore APIs: Review the Chat API Reference
  3. Choose Your Stack: Select a Client Library
  4. Deploy: Consider hosting and scaling requirements