---
title: AI chat widget | Stainless
description: Add a conversational AI assistant to your documentation site to help users find answers.
---

Our AI chat widget is a paid feature. See our [pricing page](https://stainless.com/pricing) for details.

The AI chat widget is currently an experimental feature. The API may change in future releases.

The Stainless Docs Platform includes an optional AI-powered chat widget that allows users to ask questions in natural language and receive contextual answers based on your documentation content.

## How it works

The built-in AI chat widget appears as a collapsible input field in the bottom-right corner of your documentation site. When users type a question, the widget:

1. Sends the query to the Stainless AI backend
2. Searches your indexed documentation for relevant content
3. Generates accurate, SDK-aware responses using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
4. Streams the response to the user in real-time

The AI assistant understands your SDK structure, API endpoints, and documentation content, providing answers that are tailored to your specific API.

## Enabling the built-in chat

To enable the Stainless-provided AI chat widget in your `astro.config.ts` file, add the `aiChat` configuration:

astro.config.ts

```
import { defineConfig } from "astro/config";
import { stainlessDocs } from "@stainless-api/docs";
import aiChat from "@stainless-api/docs-ai-chat/plugin";


export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [
    stainlessDocs({
      title: "My API Docs",


      experimental: {
        aiChat: aiChat(),
      },


      // ... other options
    }),
  ],
});
```

After you save the configuration and rebuild your site, the AI chat widget appears in the bottom-right corner of your documentation pages.

The built-in AI chat requires your documentation site to be indexed by Stainless. Stainless automatically indexes your documentation when you host with Stainless or configure your site with a Stainless project.

## Features

The built-in AI chat widget includes:

- **Streaming responses**: Answers appear in real-time as they are generated
- **Markdown rendering**: Responses include formatted text, code blocks with syntax highlighting, and tables
- **Tool visibility**: Users can see when the AI searches your documentation
- **Feedback collection**: Thumbs up/down buttons allow users to rate responses
- **Copy to clipboard**: Users can copy responses for use elsewhere
- **Keyboard shortcuts**: Press `Escape` to close the chat interface

## Using a custom chat widget

If you prefer to use your own AI assistant or chatbot instead of the built-in Stainless chat widget, you can implement a custom chat interface. This allows you to use a different AI model, custom backend, or branded chat experience.

For an example of how to build a custom chat widget in Astro, see the [AI Chat Bot theme on Astro](https://astro.build/themes/details/ai-chat-bot/).

## Examples

The following documentation sites use the Stainless AI chat widget:

- [Stainless](https://stainless.com/docs)
- [Beeper](https://developers.beeper.com)
- [SendBlue](https://docs.sendblue.com)
- [SafetyKit](https://docs.safetykit.com)
- [Lark](https://lark.stldocs.app/)
- [Val Town](https://sdk.val.town/api/typescript)

## Disabling the chat widget

If you have enabled the AI chat but want to disable it, remove or comment out the `aiChat` configuration from your `astro.config.ts` file:

astro.config.ts

```
export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [
    stainlessDocs({
      title: "My API Docs",


      experimental: {
        aiChat: aiChat(),
      },
    }),
  ],
});
```