Build Your First Spring AI Application with OpenAI Using Spring Boot
If you have been following this Spring AI series, you already understand the two most important abstractions: ChatClient and ChatModel.
In the previous article, we learned that:
Your Java Code
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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AI Provider
ChatClient gives us a developer-friendly API, while ChatModel handles the underlying model integration.
Now it is time to build something real.
In this article, we will build our first Spring AI application using OpenAI.
We will start from project setup and configuration, connect Spring Boot to OpenAI, create a REST API, send prompts to an AI model, and understand what happens behind the scenes.
By the end, you will have a working AI-powered Spring Boot API.
What We Are Building
Our application will expose a simple REST endpoint:
GET /api/chat?message=Explain dependency injection
The flow will look like this:
Client
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Spring Boot REST API
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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OpenAI
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AI Response
The goal is intentionally simple.
We want to understand the complete flow before adding more advanced concepts such as RAG, tools, memory, structured output, and AI agents.
Prerequisites
Before starting, you should have:
- Java installed
- Maven installed
- A Spring Boot project
- An OpenAI API key
- Basic knowledge of Spring Boot
- Basic understanding of REST APIs
You should also be comfortable with dependency injection and creating REST controllers.
If you have followed the previous articles in this series, most of this should already be familiar.
Step 1: Create a Spring Boot Project
The easiest way to create the project is through Spring Initializr.
Choose:
Project: Maven
Language: Java
Spring Boot: Your compatible Spring Boot version
Packaging: Jar
Java: 17 or later
For dependencies, we need Spring Web and the Spring AI OpenAI starter.
Your project will eventually look something like:
spring-ai-openai-demo
│
├── src
│ ├── main
│ │ ├── java
│ │ │ └── com.example.demo
│ │ │ └── DemoApplication.java
│ │ │
│ │ └── resources
│ │ └── application.properties
│
└── pom.xml
Step 2: Add the Spring AI OpenAI Dependency
Add the Spring AI OpenAI model starter to your Maven configuration.
For example:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.ai</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-ai-starter-model-openai</artifactId>
</dependency>
You will also need Spring Web:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
Your project now has the components required to build a simple AI REST API.
Conceptually:
Spring Boot
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+-- Spring Web
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+-- Spring AI
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+-- OpenAI integration
Step 3: Configure Your OpenAI API Key
Spring AI needs credentials to communicate with OpenAI.
You can configure the API key using an environment variable.
For example:
export OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key
On Windows PowerShell:
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
Then reference it from your Spring configuration:
spring.ai.openai.api-key=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
The important part is that your API key should not be hard-coded inside your Java source code.
Avoid doing this:
String apiKey = "sk-xxxxxxxx";
Instead, keep secrets outside your source code.
A better approach is:
Environment Variable
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Spring Configuration
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Spring AI
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OpenAI
This becomes even more important when deploying your application to production.
Step 4: Configure the Chat Model
Spring AI needs to know which OpenAI chat model your application should use.
You can configure the model through your application properties.
For example:
spring.ai.openai.chat.options.model=your-model
The exact model you choose depends on the models available to your OpenAI account and the requirements of your application.
The important concept is that your application does not need to manually construct OpenAI HTTP requests.
Spring AI handles that integration.
Step 5: Create the ChatController
Now let's create our first AI-powered controller.
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class ChatController {
private final ChatClient chatClient;
public ChatController(ChatClient.Builder chatClientBuilder) {
this.chatClient = chatClientBuilder.build();
}
@GetMapping("/chat")
public String chat(@RequestParam("message") String message) {
return chatClient
.prompt(message)
.call()
.content();
}
}
Let's understand this carefully.
Understanding ChatClient Injection
The constructor receives:
ChatClient.Builder chatClientBuilder
Spring AI provides this builder through Spring Boot auto-configuration when the appropriate model integration is configured.
We then create our ChatClient:
this.chatClient = chatClientBuilder.build();
Now the controller has a ready-to-use AI client.
The architecture looks like:
Spring Boot
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ChatClient.Builder
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| build()
v
ChatClient
This is the same concept we explored in Part 2 of this series.
Step 6: Send Your First Prompt
Now let's call the API.
Start your Spring Boot application.
Then send:
GET /api/chat?message=What is dependency injection in Spring?
The controller receives:
What is dependency injection in Spring?
and passes it to:
chatClient
.prompt(message)
.call()
.content();
The flow is:
HTTP Request
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ChatController
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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OpenAI
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AI Response
The generated response is returned to the client.
That's it.
You have now built a Spring Boot application that can communicate with an AI model.
Breaking Down the ChatClient API
Let's look at this code again:
chatClient
.prompt(message)
.call()
.content();
There are three important operations here.
prompt()
.prompt(message)
This defines the prompt that you want to send to the model.
For example:
.prompt("Explain Java interfaces")
or:
.prompt("Write a SQL query to find duplicate users")
or:
.prompt(message)
where message comes from an HTTP request.
call()
.call()
This executes the model interaction.
You can think about it as:
Build Prompt
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Call Model
content()
.content()
This extracts the generated text from the response.
So the entire chain:
chatClient
.prompt(message)
.call()
.content();
can be mentally understood as:
Create Prompt
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Call AI Model
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v
Extract Text
This fluent style is one of the reasons ChatClient is convenient for application developers.
Step 7: Add a Service Layer
Although putting the AI call directly inside a controller works for a small demonstration, it is not how I would structure a production application.
Instead, let's introduce a service.
Our architecture becomes:
Client
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Controller
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Service
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ChatClient
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OpenAI
Create:
@Service
public class ChatService {
private final ChatClient chatClient;
public ChatService(ChatClient.Builder builder) {
this.chatClient = builder.build();
}
public String generateResponse(String message) {
return chatClient
.prompt(message)
.call()
.content();
}
}
Then our controller becomes:
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class ChatController {
private final ChatService chatService;
public ChatController(ChatService chatService) {
this.chatService = chatService;
}
@GetMapping("/chat")
public String chat(@RequestParam String message) {
return chatService.generateResponse(message);
}
}
This separation is much cleaner.
The controller handles HTTP.
The service handles AI interaction.
Why Separate the AI Logic?
Imagine that six months from now your application has:
ChatController
EmailController
SupportController
DocumentController
If every controller directly interacts with the AI model, your code can quickly become difficult to maintain.
Instead:
Controllers
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AI Services
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
This keeps your application organized.
It also makes it easier to add features later.
Step 8: Add System Instructions
So far, we have only sent a user prompt.
But real AI applications usually need more control.
For example, imagine we are building a customer support assistant.
We don't want the model to behave like a generic chatbot.
We want to tell it:
You are a customer support assistant.
Answer clearly.
Keep responses concise.
Do not invent information.
We can do that with a system message.
For example:
return chatClient
.prompt()
.system("""
You are a helpful customer support assistant.
Answer clearly and concisely.
Do not invent information.
""")
.user(message)
.call()
.content();
Now we have two different types of instructions:
System Message
+
User Message
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Model
This distinction will become extremely important later in the series.
System Message vs User Message
Think about the two messages like this.
System message
Defines the behavior of the assistant.
You are a Java programming assistant.
Always provide production-quality examples.
User message
Contains the actual request.
Explain dependency injection.
Together:
System
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| "You are a Java assistant"
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User
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| "Explain dependency injection"
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AI Model
The PDF structure for this series introduces system and user messages as dedicated upcoming topics, so we will explore them in much more detail later.
Step 9: Build a Better AI Endpoint
Let's make our API slightly more realistic.
Instead of simply passing the user's message directly to the model, we can create a dedicated service method:
@Service
public class ChatService {
private final ChatClient chatClient;
public ChatService(ChatClient.Builder builder) {
this.chatClient = builder.build();
}
public String ask(String question) {
return chatClient
.prompt()
.system("""
You are a helpful Java and Spring Boot assistant.
Explain technical concepts clearly.
Use examples when appropriate.
""")
.user(question)
.call()
.content();
}
}
Then:
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/chat")
public class ChatController {
private final ChatService chatService;
public ChatController(ChatService chatService) {
this.chatService = chatService;
}
@GetMapping
public String chat(@RequestParam String message) {
return chatService.ask(message);
}
}
Now our API becomes:
GET /api/chat?message=What is Spring Boot?
and the service controls how the AI behaves.
What Happens Behind the Scenes?
This simple line:
chatClient
.prompt()
.user(message)
.call()
.content();
hides several operations.
Conceptually:
Spring Boot
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ChatClient
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Build Chat Request
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ChatModel
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OpenAI Integration
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OpenAI API
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AI Response
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ChatClient
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String
This abstraction is one of the major benefits of Spring AI.
You focus on your application.
Spring AI handles the model integration.
What If OpenAI Changes Its API?
This is another reason abstractions are useful.
Without Spring AI, you might build:
Spring Boot
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Custom HTTP Client
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OpenAI API
Your application would now contain provider-specific request and response handling.
With Spring AI:
Spring Boot
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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v
Provider
Your application code stays focused on the AI interaction rather than provider-specific implementation details.
This is the abstraction we discussed in the previous article.
A Better Mental Model
If you're a Spring Boot developer, think about Spring AI in layers.
Application Layer
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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AI Provider
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AI Model
Each layer has a responsibility.
Your application
Business logic.
ChatClient
Developer-friendly AI interaction.
ChatModel
Model/provider abstraction.
AI Provider
OpenAI, Ollama, AWS Bedrock, and other supported providers.
AI Model
The actual language model generating the response.
Handling API Keys Correctly
One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is committing API keys to Git.
Never do this:
spring.ai.openai.api-key=sk-your-secret-key
inside a repository that will be shared publicly.
Instead:
spring.ai.openai.api-key=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
and configure the environment variable separately.
For local development:
OPENAI_API_KEY
For production, use your deployment platform's secret management mechanism.
The principle is simple:
Source Code
X
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| No secrets
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Environment / Secret Store
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Spring Boot
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Putting the API Key in Git
Never commit secrets.
If your key is exposed, rotate it immediately.
Mistake 2: Calling the AI Model Directly From Every Controller
Avoid this structure:
Controller 1 -> AI
Controller 2 -> AI
Controller 3 -> AI
Controller 4 -> AI
Prefer:
Controllers
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Services
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ChatClient
Mistake 3: Treating ChatClient as the Model
Remember:
ChatClient != AI Model
ChatClient is the application-facing abstraction.
The underlying model integration is handled through ChatModel.
Mistake 4: Sending Every Prompt Without Instructions
A production AI application usually needs some control over model behavior.
Instead of:
.prompt(message)
you will often evolve toward:
.prompt()
.system("...")
.user(message)
Later, we will see how prompt templates, advisors, memory, RAG, and tools make this even more powerful.
Mistake 5: Starting With Complex AI Architecture
You don't need this on day one:
RAG
+
Vector Database
+
Tools
+
MCP
+
Memory
+
Agents
+
Multiple Models
Start with:
Spring Boot
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ChatClient
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OpenAI
Then add complexity when your application actually needs it.
From Simple Chat to Real AI Backend
Our application currently looks simple:
Client
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REST API
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ChatClient
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OpenAI
But this architecture can grow.
For example:
Spring Boot
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v
ChatClient
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+--------------+--------------+
| | |
v v v
Memory RAG Tools
| | |
v v v
History Vector Store Backend APIs
This is where Spring AI becomes much more interesting.
A simple chatbot can eventually become a complete AI backend.
The Complete Example
Here is a simple production-style starting point.
ChatService
@Service
public class ChatService {
private final ChatClient chatClient;
public ChatService(ChatClient.Builder builder) {
this.chatClient = builder.build();
}
public String ask(String question) {
return chatClient
.prompt()
.system("""
You are a helpful Java and Spring Boot assistant.
Explain concepts clearly and provide examples when useful.
""")
.user(question)
.call()
.content();
}
}
ChatController
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/chat")
public class ChatController {
private final ChatService chatService;
public ChatController(ChatService chatService) {
this.chatService = chatService;
}
@GetMapping
public String chat(@RequestParam String message) {
return chatService.ask(message);
}
}
Configuration
spring.ai.openai.api-key=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
spring.ai.openai.chat.options.model=your-model
The result is a clean architecture:
HTTP Client
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ChatController
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ChatService
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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OpenAI
What You Learned
In this article, we built our first Spring AI application using OpenAI.
We learned how to:
- Create a Spring Boot project
- Add Spring AI's OpenAI integration
- Configure an OpenAI API key
- Configure a chat model
- Inject
ChatClient.Builder - Build a
ChatClient - Send prompts to an AI model
- Create an AI-powered REST endpoint
- Separate controller and AI service logic
- Use system and user messages
- Keep API keys outside source code
Most importantly, you now understand the complete request flow:
Client
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Spring Boot
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Controller
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v
Service
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ChatClient
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ChatModel
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OpenAI
This is the foundation for everything we will build later.
What's Next?
A hosted AI model is useful, but what if you want to run an LLM locally?
Maybe you don't want to send your data to an external provider.
Maybe you want to experiment without paying for API usage.
Maybe you're building an application where local inference is important.
That's where Ollama comes in.
In the next article, we will explore:
Part 4: Run Local LLMs with Ollama and Spring AI
We will install Ollama, run a local model, connect it to Spring AI, and see how the same ChatClient application can work with a local LLM.
That is one of the most interesting parts of Spring AI:
Same Application
|
+------> OpenAI
|
+------> Ollama
|
+------> Other Providers
The application stays focused on the AI interaction while Spring AI handles the underlying model integration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Spring AI?
Spring AI is an abstraction layer that makes it easier for Spring applications to integrate with AI models and AI-related capabilities.
Can I use OpenAI with Spring Boot?
Yes. Spring AI provides an OpenAI integration that allows Spring Boot applications to communicate with OpenAI models.
Where should I store my OpenAI API key?
Do not hard-code it in your source code. Use environment variables or a proper secret-management solution.
Do I need ChatModel directly?
For most application-level use cases, you can work primarily with ChatClient. ChatModel remains important because it represents the underlying model integration.
Can I change the AI provider later?
One of the goals of Spring AI's abstraction model is to reduce application coupling to provider-specific implementation details.
What should I learn after this?
The next step in this series is running a local LLM with Ollama and Spring AI.
Spring AI Series
Part 1: Spring AI Tutorial: How Java Developers Can Build Generative AI Applications with Spring Boot
Part 2: ChatModel vs ChatClient in Spring AI
Part 3: Build Your First Spring AI Application with OpenAI
Part 4: Run Local LLMs with Ollama and Spring AI
Part 5: Run AI Models Locally with Docker Model Runner
Part 6: Using AWS Bedrock with Spring AI
Part 7: Working with Multiple Chat Models in Spring AI
Part 8: Understanding Message Roles in LLMs
Part 9: System Messages and User Messages in Spring AI
Part 10: Configuring Default Behavior in ChatClient
The series will continue into prompt templates, advisors, structured output, tokens, embeddings, chat memory, RAG, vector stores, tool calling, MCP, evaluation, observability, and AI agents.
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