Building an AI Chat Agent with OpenAI’s New Responses API
OpenAI recently released its new Responses API, and I decided to test its capabilities by building something useful for my kids' local soccer league; a chatbot for parents, coaches, and referees. This was a really fun project for me to get my hands dirty with the new api, build a chat agent, and implement real-time web search into it.
The Setup
With OpenAI's new API, getting up and running was relatively straightforward. I initially outlined my vision in a Product Requirements Document (PRD) to keep myself focused and then worked up some boiler-plate python chat agent code by going back and forth between Grok and Claude. I then integrated the Responses API and paired my chatbot with a pdf document of the local soccer league regulations in order to handle common very specific league-related questions.
I really liked how easy it was to pair the Responses API with the OpenAI built-in agent tools.
Supercharging It with Web Search
To take things a step further, I also leveraged OpenAI’s Web Search agent tool. This allowed the chatbot to provide up-to-date league information, like:
If a field is closed due to weather
The current prices and purchasing links for recommended equipment
By combining Responses API + Web Search, the chatbot became more than just a static FAQ bot, it could dynamically fetch relevant updates without requiring manual maintenance.
Some of the relevant API code:
# Initialize the OpenAI client with the API key from environment variables
client = OpenAI(api_key=os.getenv('OPENAI_API_KEY'))
# Responses API code
response = client.responses.create(
model="gpt-4o",
tools=[{"type": "web_search_preview"}],
input=user_input,
instructions=system_prompt
)
Key Takeaways
Overall, the project was relatively easy, and this seems like the start of many more built-in agent tools by the major AI platforms. I also can’t state enough how important it was to start with a PRD if you’re looking for the best result with some AI generated code. That helped me out a great deal during the Grok and Claude portions of my workflow.
I would love to hear what others are building with these APIs. Drop a comment or reply if you want to share.