Designing AI Systems

AI applications need much more than a connection to a model. To work well in the real world, they need memory, access to company knowledge, safe ways to take action, clear rules, and reliable operations behind the scenes. Rather than rebuilding those pieces for every project, organizations can create a shared AI platform that supports all their AI applications.

Designing AI Systems shows you how to build that platform. Starting from scratch, you’ll create the core services that real AI applications depend on: a way to connect to different AI providers, a way to remember earlier interactions, a way to bring in your organization’s own data, and a way to let AI systems use tools and act safely within company rules. By the end, you’ll understand not just how to call an AI model but how to build the full system around it.

This book focuses on the part of AI development that usually gets overlooked: everything required to make an AI system reliable, manageable, and ready for production. With complete Python code in every chapter, you’ll build a working reference implementation you can adapt to your own needs. You’ll also learn the practical operational skills that matter in production, including managing costs, routing requests, enforcing safety controls, and evaluating system quality.

The result is a solid foundation for AI applications that can use company knowledge, carry out multi-step work, connect to outside tools, and remain trustworthy and governable as they scale.