How to build AI Agents with Vercel and the AI SDK | Vercel Knowledge Base
vercel/ai: The AI Toolkit for TypeScript. From the creators of Next.js, the AI SDK is a free open-source library for building AI-powered applications and agents @GitHub
Apache v2 license, TypeScript only
| OpenAI AgentSDK | Fast | Medium | OpenAI only | Quick MVPs, managed solutions |
| Vercel AI SDK | Medium | High | Multiple | Web apps, streaming UX |
| Claude API | Medium | High | Anthropic only | Complex reasoning, safety-critical apps |
The core difference is that
the Vercel AI SDK provides a unified, multi-provider interface with built-in agent loop control for web frameworks, while the OpenAI Agents SDK offers a lightweight, specialized framework specifically for orchestrating multiple, powerful OpenAI agents with features like handoffs and guardrails. Vercel AI SDK Agentic Loop
The Vercel AI SDK is a comprehensive toolkit for building AI-powered applications. It supports TypeScript and is particularly suited for the Next.js ecosystem, but also works with React, Svelte, and Vue. The agentic loop features are part of a broader API that works with different providers.
- Multi-Provider Support: This feature removes the differences between various LLM providers, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini. This allows developers to switch between models with minimal code changes.
- Built-in Loop Control: Parameters like
stopWhenandprepareStepfine-tune and control the flow of multi-step tool calls. This offers flexibility in managing the agent's execution flow. - Web-focused: It integrates seamlessly with modern web frameworks. It includes client-side hooks (
useChat,useCompletion) for building streaming UIs. - Unified Developer Experience: It aims to provide a stable interface and end-to-end type safety. This allows developers to focus on outcomes rather than the mechanics of calling different models.
OpenAI Agents SDK
The OpenAI Agents SDK is a focused library designed for building AI agents using the OpenAI ecosystem.
- OpenAI-specific: It is designed to work exclusively with OpenAI models. This makes it ideal if you are already using the OpenAI stack.
- Agent Handoffs: This feature allows the transfer of control between multiple specialized agents. This is useful for solving complex problems more efficiently.
- Guardrails and Tracing: It includes built-in guardrails for input/output validation and tracing tools to monitor and debug agent behavior.
- Lightweight Primitives: It provides essential agent primitives. This facilitates rapid development of complex tool-using capabilities. Memory/history persistence is an implementation detail for the developer to manage.
Summary of Differences
| Feature | Vercel AI SDK | OpenAI Agents SDK |
|---|---|---|
| Provider Support | Multi-provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.) | OpenAI only |
| Primary Goal | Unified interface for building full AI apps with agent features | Specialized framework for orchestrating powerful OpenAI agents |
| Agent Orchestration | Built-in loop control (stopWhen, prepareStep) | Agent handoffs for multi-agent coordination |
| Integration | Tightly integrated with web frameworks (Next.js, React, etc.) | Web-friendly, but requires manual integration for UI hooks |
| Memory Management | Handled by developer, can be integrated with external services | Intentionally left to the developer to implement |
| Guardrails/Tracing | General tool-calling and structured output with Zod | Built-in guardrails and tracing tools |
The Vercel AI SDK provides a flexible foundation for building AI experiences across different providers. The OpenAI Agents SDK offers tools for building agent systems within the OpenAI ecosystem.
