How to Build AI ChatBot Using Google Gemini AI with Custom Knowledge Base

In today’s digital landscape, chatbots have become pivotal for businesses seeking to enhance customer interaction. While widely-used chatbots like ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude are effective for general queries, they often lack the specificity needed for business-related inquiries. For instance, if you run an e-commerce site, these bots cannot efficiently handle tasks like tracking an order. This is where building a custom AI chatbot can fill that gap, allowing for specialized, task-specific interactions tailored to your business.

In this article, we’ll dive into how to create a personalized AI chatbot using the Google Gemini API, Node.js, and Google AI Studio. By the end, you’ll have the skill set to design your own chatbot capable of performing specific tasks for your business or clients.

Getting Started with Prerequisites

Before we initiate the chatbot-building process, ensure you have:

A Google account for accessing Google AI Studio and Vertex AI.
A Google Cloud account with billing enabled for Vertex AI (optional for beginners).
Node.js version 18 or above, which can be downloaded from nodejs.org.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building the Chatbot

Access Google AI Studio: Open your browser and navigate to maker suite.google.com. Sign in or create a Google account to access the interface.
Understanding the Interface: Google AI Studio is designed for prototyping with generative models, providing various interfaces for creating prompts suited to different use cases. For our chatbot, we’ll use the chat prompts which allow for interactive conversations.

Creating a Custom Knowledge Context: To create a chatbot, you’ll need to provide a unique knowledge base and examples of user-bot interactions. For instance, let's design a prompt for a chatbot named "Coding Money," which provides coding tutorials and advice.

Your name is Sam, a friendly assistant for Coding Money. Your task is to capture the user's name and email address before answering their questions. After acquiring this, verify the email, thank the user, and output their personal information. Finally, answer questions related to Coding Money.

Testing Your Chatbot: After setting this up, start a conversation with your bot in the provided interface. For example, when asking, "Hi," the bot should reply, prompting for a name and email.
Refining Responses: You can fine-tune the bot’s tone and manner of speaking by editing examples. This leads to more coherent and friendly interactions.
Generating Code: Once you’re satisfied with your bot’s responses, click on “Get Code” and select JavaScript. Detailed installation instructions will be provided to set up the Node.js application.
Adding a Web Interface: Using Google's AI capabilities, you can enhance your code by requesting modifications to include a web interface, making the chatbot accessible through your website.
Final Adjustments and Repository: After minor adjustments (like including JSON middleware), you can create a GitHub repository for your final code setup. A sample repository can be found at github.com/codingmoney/codingmoney-chatbot.
Run Your Application: Start your application and test it thoroughly. For example, by providing an email, the chatbot should verify it and respond appropriately while maintaining its specific knowledge context.

Conclusion

Building a custom chatbot provides a tailored experience for your users, significantly optimizing how your business interacts with clients. With tools like Google Gemini, you can create a commerce-friendly AI capable of specific tasks, which is a substantial improvement over general-purpose bots.

Keywords

AI Chatbot
Google Gemini
Node.js
Custom Knowledge Base
Google AI Studio
E-commerce Chatbot
Coding Money
Programming
Personalized Assistant
Generative Models

FAQ

1. Why should I build a custom AI chatbot instead of using existing ones?
Existing chatbots are built for general use and often fail to address business-specific queries, making custom chatbots more suitable for specialized tasks.

2. What tools do I need to create a chatbot?
You will need a Google account, a Google Cloud account (with billing), Node.js (version 18 or above), and a code editor like Visual Studio Code.

3. Where can I find the code for the chatbot?
You can access the code on GitHub at github.com/codingmoney/codingmoney-chatbot, which includes installation instructions.

4. How can I test my chatbot?
You can test your chatbot within the Google AI Studio interface to ensure it responds correctly to user queries.

5. Can I modify my chatbot later?
Yes, you can add more examples, refine responses, and adjust parameters anytime to enhance your chatbot's performance over time.