Syncfusion React AI AssistView Component

Component Overview

The Syncfusion React AI AssistView component is a comprehensive interactive chat component designed for building AI-powered conversational interfaces. It provides:

Core Capabilities

• Prompt-Response Management: Manage conversation history with automatic data collection
• Real-time Streaming: Stream AI responses character-by-character for live typing effects
• Template System: Customize every UI element (banners, prompt items, responses, suggestions, footer)
• Multi-View Support: Switch between conversation assist view and custom content views
• Voice Integration: Built-in Speech-to-Text (voice input) and Text-to-Speech (voice output)
• File Attachments: Upload and include files with prompts
• Advanced Toolbars: Configurable toolbars for header, footer, responses, and prompts
• AI Service Integration: Direct integration with OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, and other AI services
• Event-Driven Architecture: Hooks for prompt submission, changes, and component lifecycle

Key Features

• Markdown Support: Render AI responses as formatted HTML via markdown parsing
• Conversation History: Automatic tracking of all prompts and responses
• Suggestion System: Display helpful prompt suggestions to guide users
• Avatar Customization: Customize user and AI icons/avatars
• Scroll Management: Auto-scroll or manual scroll-to-bottom button
• Clear Functionality: Clear current prompt or entire conversation
• Responsive Design: Works on desktop and mobile with responsive layouts

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Install @syncfusion/ej2-react-interactive-chat package
• Add CSS theme imports
• Create basic component initialization
• Render component to DOM
• First working functional component example

Configuration Essentials

📄 Read: references/configuration-essentials.md

• Set initial prompt text and placeholders
• Configure prompt suggestions and suggestion headers
• Customize user and AI avatar icons
• Control clear button visibility
• Enable/disable scroll-to-bottom functionality
• Manage component instance via refs
• Set component dimensions (height and width)
• Apply custom CSS classes for styling
• Control header visibility
• Configure globalization (locale, RTL support)
• Enable state persistence across sessions

Conversation Management

📄 Read: references/conversation-management.md

• Initialize with pre-configured conversation data
• Add responses (string or object format)
• Access and manage conversation history
• Work with PromptModel data structure
• Render markdown in responses
• Persist and restore conversations

Events and Interactions

📄 Read: references/events-and-interactions.md

• Handle component lifecycle (created event)
• Respond to prompt submissions (promptRequest event)
• Track prompt text changes (promptChanged event)
• Access detailed event arguments (PromptChangedEventArgs, PromptRequestEventArgs)
• Cancel prompt submissions programmatically
• Handle stop responding events for long operations
• Modify suggestions and toolbar items dynamically
• Implement event-driven workflows
• Integrate with AI services via event handlers

Toolbar Customization

📄 Read: references/toolbar-customization.md

• Configure four toolbar types (header, footer, response, prompt)
• Add custom toolbar items
• Control toolbar positioning (Inline vs Bottom)
• Customize toolbar icons
• Handle item click events
• Configure all ToolbarItemModel properties (align, cssClass, disabled, tabIndex, template, type, visible)
• Create custom toolbar item templates
• Control item visibility and enabled state dynamically
• Set tab order for keyboard navigation
• Manage attachment button behavior

File Attachments

📄 Read: references/file-attachments.md

• Enable file attachment support
• Configure upload endpoints (saveUrl, removeUrl)
• Restrict file types (allowedFileType)
• Set file size limits (maxFileSize)
• Limit number of attachments (maximumCount)
• Access attached files via attachedFiles array (FileInfo interface)
• Handle attachment lifecycle events (beforeAttachmentUpload, attachmentUploadSuccess, attachmentUploadFailure, attachmentRemoved)
• Validate files before upload
• Initialize prompts with pre-attached files
• Handle server-side file processing

Custom Views

📄 Read: references/custom-views.md

• Create multiple views (Assist and Custom types)
• Set view names and icons
• Define view-specific templates
• Configure activeView property to set initial view
• Switch between views programmatically
• Persist active view across sessions
• Conditionally set initial view based on user role or state
• Display side-by-side content panels
• Use cases for multi-view layouts

Templating System

📄 Read: references/templating-system.md

• Customize banner templates (welcome content)
• Create prompt item templates (user message display)
• Design response item templates (AI response display)
• Build suggestion item templates
• Create custom footer templates
• Access template context data

AI Service Integration

📄 Read: references/ai-integration-setup.md

• Integrate with Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Gemini, Claude
• Configure API credentials and authentication
• Handle real-time prompt processing
• Stream responses for live typing effects
• Parse markdown responses with marked library
• Error handling and rate limiting
• Security considerations for API keys

Speech Capabilities

📄 Read: references/speech-capabilities.md

• Enable Speech-to-Text (voice input)
• Configure speech recognition language
• Handle interim transcripts while speaking
• Implement Text-to-Speech (voice output)
• Customize button labels and icons
• Handle speech events (start, stop, transcript, error)
• Browser compatibility notes

Methods and APIs

📄 Read: references/methods-and-apis.md

• Use addPromptResponse() method
• Execute prompts dynamically with executePrompt()
• Scroll to bottom programmatically
• Access component instance via refs
• Manage component state
• Common patterns and gotchas

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Quick Start Example

import { AIAssistViewComponent, PromptRequestEventArgs } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-interactive-chat';
import * as React from 'react';
import * as ReactDOM from "react-dom";

function App() {
    const assistInstance = React.useRef<AIAssistViewComponent>(null);
    
    const onPromptRequest = (args: PromptRequestEventArgs) => {
        setTimeout(() => {
            let defaultResponse = 'For real-time AI processing, connect to your preferred service (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, etc.).';
            assistInstance.current.addPromptResponse(defaultResponse);
        }, 1000);
    };
  
    return (
        <AIAssistViewComponent 
            id="aiAssistView" 
            ref={assistInstance} 
            promptRequest={onPromptRequest}
            prompt={'Welcome! How can I help?'}
            promptSuggestions={['Ask about features', 'Get started guide']}
        />
    );
}

ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('container'));

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Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Basic Chat with Suggestions

Create a simple conversational interface with predefined suggestions:

• Enable prompt suggestions to guide user interactions
• Handle promptRequest event with simple responses
• Display conversation history automatically

Pattern 2: AI Service Integration

Connect to real AI services for intelligent responses:

• Use promptRequest event to capture user input
• Call AI API with prompt text
• Stream response character-by-character for live effect
• Parse markdown responses for formatted output

Pattern 3: Multi-View Dashboard

Combine chat with supporting content:

• Create Assist view for conversation
• Add Custom view for settings/sidebar
• Switch activeView based on user interaction
• Share data between views

Pattern 4: Voice-Enabled Chat

Enable hands-free interaction with speech:

• Enable speechToTextSettings to capture voice
• Configure Text-to-Speech for response audio
• Use toolbar for voice control buttons
• Handle speech events for status feedback

Pattern 5: File-Attached Prompts

Support file uploads with prompts:

• Enable attachments with enableAttachments property
• Configure attachment endpoints and file restrictions
• Include file data in prompt context
• Send files to backend API

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Key Props & Configuration

Essential Props

• promptRequest: Event handler when user submits prompt
• prompt: Initial/default text in prompt input
• promptPlaceholder: Placeholder text for input area
• promptSuggestions: Array of suggested prompts
• prompts: Pre-configured conversation data

Customization Props

• promptIconCss: CSS class for user avatar
• responseIconCss: CSS class for AI avatar
• showClearButton: Show/hide clear button (default: false)
• showHeader: Show/hide component header (default: true)
• enableScrollToBottom: Show scroll-to-bottom button (default: true)
• height: Component height (string | number, default: '100%')
• width: Component width (string | number, default: '100%')
• cssClass: Custom CSS classes for styling
• activeView: Currently displayed view index (number, default: 0)

Template Props

• bannerTemplate: Welcome banner content
• promptItemTemplate: User message display
• responseItemTemplate: AI response display
• promptSuggestionItemTemplate: Suggestion styling
• footerTemplate: Custom prompt input area

Advanced Props

• enableAttachments: Enable file uploads (default: false)
• attachmentSettings: File upload configuration
• speechToTextSettings: Voice input configuration
• toolbarSettings: Header toolbar configuration
• footerToolbarSettings: Footer toolbar configuration
• responseToolbarSettings: Response action toolbar
• promptToolbarSettings: Prompt toolbar configuration
• locale: Localization/globalization setting (default: 'en-US')
• enableRtl: Enable right-to-left rendering (default: false)
• enablePersistence: Enable state persistence (default: false)

Event Props

• created: Component lifecycle event
• promptRequest: Prompt submission event
• promptChanged: Prompt text change event
• stopRespondingClick: Stop button click event
• beforeAttachmentUpload: Before file upload event
• attachmentUploadSuccess: File upload success event
• attachmentUploadFailure: File upload failure event
• attachmentRemoved: File removal event

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Common Use Cases

Chat Bot with AI Integration

Build a customer service chatbot connected to OpenAI or Azure services:

1. Set up component with suggestions
2. Handle promptRequest to send to AI API
3. Stream responses for real-time feedback
4. Use templates for branded appearance

Voice-Enabled Assistant

Create hands-free voice interaction:

1. Enable speechToTextSettings
2. Configure Text-to-Speech toolbar button
3. Handle speech events for status
4. Provide visual feedback during voice capture

File Analysis Chat

Allow users to upload and discuss files:

1. Enable attachments
2. Configure file restrictions (type, size, count)
3. Send files with prompts to backend
4. Display file information in conversation

Multi-Feature Dashboard

Combine chat with settings and content:

1. Create multiple views (Assist + Custom)
2. Use templates for custom view content
3. Implement view switching logic
4. Share conversation state between views

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