Microsoft has launched the second preview of its .NET AI Chat Web App template, which aims to ease the development of cloud-native, AI-driven chat applications. This follows the initial preview released on March 6 and introduced on April 17. The updated template enhances the development process by integrating with the .NET Aspire cloud-ready stack, boosting AI capabilities, and offering robust integration options.
Key improvements in Preview 2 include support for the Qdrant vector database, which allows developers to prototype and scale applications with vector data more effectively. Additionally, the template now supports configuration options in the Visual Studio Code editor. This enables developers to set additional options, choose a model service provider, and select a vector store when using the C# Dev Kit extension.
Future updates to the template will introduce Console and Minimal API templates, expand support for Azure AI Foundry, and offer deeper integration with the Semantic Kernel team. Microsoft also plans to include the template by default in the .NET SDK, aiming to streamline the development process for AI-powered chat applications further.
This update underscores Microsoft’s commitment to enhancing AI-driven application development by providing integrated tools and extensive support. It reflects a broader trend within the company to bolster AI capabilities across its software ecosystem.
