AI Tools Lesson 5

AI APIs Explained

Understand how apps send prompts to AI models through APIs and receive structured responses.

Developer40 min

Lesson Guide

AI APIs connect apps to models

An application sends a request to an AI provider through a backend service. The request includes model choice, prompt input, settings, and expected output format.

Backend sends the request.
Provider returns output.
App validates before display.

Requests and responses

AI API requests usually use JSON. Responses can include generated text, structured output, token usage, status codes, and error details.

Validate input.
Parse response safely.
Handle rate limits.

Security first

Never call provider APIs directly from public frontend code. Use a backend or AI gateway that protects keys, applies limits, and logs safely.

No frontend keys.
No keys in URLs.
Redact sensitive logs.

Practice Task

Draw a request flow from frontend form to backend AI gateway to provider API and back to the user interface.

Ready Checklist

The provider key stays server-side.
Errors are handled clearly.
Token usage and rate limits are considered.