DEV Community

Cover image for How to Add AI Agents to Your React App (Without Rewriting Everything)
Ali Farhat
Ali Farhat Subscriber

Posted on

How to Add AI Agents to Your React App (Without Rewriting Everything)

You don’t need to rebuild your app to add AI agent functionality. Here’s how to plug AI agents into your existing React frontend — and make it actually useful.

Why AI Agents Are Worth Adding to React Apps

AI agents aren’t just chatbots or support helpers. They’re autonomous systems that can:

You can integrate these directly into your React UI — without overengineering or refactoring your entire codebase.


Where Do AI Agents Fit in React?

Here are practical places to plug in agents:

  • Contact/lead forms → pre-qualify inputs and send structured data to your CRM
  • Dashboards → generate summaries or decisions from data
  • Support sections → handle user questions before human handoff
  • User onboarding → guide users dynamically using real-time logic

Example Setup: React + Node + OpenAI

Let’s say you want to ask an AI agent a question from your frontend.

1. Backend endpoint in Node.js

import express from 'express';
import bodyParser from 'body-parser';
import OpenAI from 'openai';

const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());

const openai = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY });

app.post('/agent', async (req, res) => {
  const userInput = req.body.input;

  const chat = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    model: 'gpt-4',
    messages: [{ role: 'user', content: userInput }]
  });

  res.json({ reply: chat.choices[0].message.content });
});

app.listen(3001, () => console.log('Agent backend running'));

2. React component to connect to the agent

import { useState } from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';

export default function AgentChat() {
  const [input, setInput] = useState('');
  const [reply, setReply] = useState('');

  const askAgent = async () => {
    const res = await axios.post('http://localhost:3001/agent', { input });
    setReply(res.data.reply);
  };

  return (
    
       setInput(e.target.value)} />
      Ask the Agent
      

Reply: {reply}

); }

You can expand this with state management, loading indicators, or a full chat history.


Bonus: Add Voice or Workflow Agents

Want to go further?

At Scalevise, we’ve built agents that:

  • Talk over the phone (Vapi + Twilio)
  • Automate backend ops (via Make.com)
  • Sync with Airtable, CRMs, email, calendars, and more

These agents can live independently or behind a React interface. The frontend becomes a UI shell; the logic lives in your AI backend.


Want Help Finding the Right AI Agent Use Case?

Use our free AI Opportunity Scan

You’ll get:

  • A personalized report
  • Stack recommendations based on your current tech
  • Use case ideas with real ROI

Wrap-Up

React isn’t going anywhere. But your frontend can do more than just display forms and dashboards.

With AI agents:

  • You reduce code complexity
  • You automate decision-making
  • You give users real-time value

Explore working AI agent examples

→ Or try the scan: scalevise.com/scan

Questions or stuck on integration? Drop a comment — we’ve helped dev teams ship agents in days, not weeks.

Top comments (0)