Ably AI Transport x Vercel AI SDK

Every dropped connection, device switch, or handoff breaks the AI experience.

Vercel AI SDK handles the interface. AI Transport handles the session. Drop it into your existing Next.js app - no rewrites, no new infrastructure - and your sessions survive everything your users throw at them.

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Better Together

What Vercel AI SDK was built to do - and where AI Transport steps in

HTTP streaming is the right default for most early builds. But as session requirements grow, the stateless model starts to fail. The ChatTransport interface exists for exactly this moment: swap the transport layer to Ably AI Transport without touching your application code.

Capability	Vercel + HTTP streaming	Vercel + Ably AI Transport
useChat hooks	Vercel + HTTP streaming Yes Unchanged	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Unchanged
streamText calls	Vercel + HTTP streaming Yes Unchanged	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Unchanged
Tool calling	Vercel + HTTP streaming Yes Unchanged	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Unchanged
Streaming protocol	Vercel + HTTP streaming SSE over HTTP	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes WebSocket > SSE > long-poll fallback
Enterprise proxies	Vercel + HTTP streaming No SSE blocked by corporate proxies	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Automatic fallback - works everywhere
Tab switch/reconnect	Vercel + HTTP streaming No Stream lost	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Automatic recovery - zero data loss
Retry behavior	Vercel + HTTP streaming No Replays from start, corrupts UI	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Idempotent - clean UI every time
Multi-device	Vercel + HTTP streaming No One connection, one tab	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Pub/sub fan-out to all devices
Mobile / React native	Vercel + HTTP streaming No SSE breaks in background	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Native SDK + push when offline
Message persistence	Vercel + HTTP streaming No Developer-managed	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Session history built in
Barge-in/cancel	Vercel + HTTP streaming No AbortController only	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Explicit cancel, redirect, steer signals
Agent health	Vercel + HTTP streaming No No signal - agents fail silently	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Presence events - thinking/stalled/crashed
Human takeover from agent	Vercel + HTTP streaming No User-side gates only	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Warm & cold transfer - context intact
Observability	Vercel + HTTP streaming No No session diagnostics	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes Session diagnostics + audit trail
Certifications	Vercel + HTTP streaming Vercel platform - varies by plan	Vercel + Ably AI Transport Yes SOC 2 Type II + HIPAA compliance

AI UX Capabilities

The session layer your AI app needs in production

Add Ably AI Transport to your Vercel AI SDK stack and these capabilities become available in production across every device, connection type, and session length.

Multi-device sessions

useChat() ties the conversation to the tab. AI Transport makes it follow the user instead — same session, any device, instantly.

Reconnection and recovery

SSE drops the stream when the connection breaks. AI Transport resumes from the exact token, with nothing lost.

Interruption and barge-in

streamText() locks input until it's done. AI Transport gives users the controls: redirect mid-stream, context intact, no restart.

Agent presence and visibility

Tool calls run server-side, out of sight. AI Transport makes every step visible - streamed to the client as it happens.

Multi-agent coordination

streamText() has no concept of other agents. AI Transport adds the coordination layer — agents see each other's presence, handoffs carry full context, and no two agents step on the same response.

Human handover

The agent's context lives in the stream. AI Transport makes it persistent. The operator joins with full history, mid-stream if needed. No cold start.

Integration

Three lines. That's the integration.

Vercel AI SDK's ChatTransport interface was designed for exactly this. AI Transport implements it. Swap the transport, the rest of your application code stays the same.

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JavaScript

// Before: default HTTP transport
const { messages } = useChat()

// After: Ably transport (everything else stays the same)
const transport = useClientTransport({ channelName: chatId })
const chatTransport = useChatTransport(transport)
const { messages } = useChat({ transport: chatTransport })