---
title: Introduction
description: What is AI Elements and why you should use it.
type: overview
summary: What AI Elements is and why you should use it.
related:
  - /docs/benefits
  - /docs/philosophy
  - /docs/setup
---

# Introduction



[AI Elements](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ai-elements) is a component library and custom registry built on top of [shadcn/ui](https://ui.shadcn.com/) to help you build AI-native applications faster. It provides pre-built components like conversations, messages and more.

Installing AI Elements is straightforward and can be done in a couple of ways. You can use the dedicated CLI command for the fastest setup, or integrate via the standard shadcn/ui CLI if you've already adopted shadcn's workflow.

<Callout title="Starting a new project? Use shadcn/ui." type="warn">
  AI Elements is moving to shadcn/ui and this project will be deprecated at the
  end of November 2026. New projects should install [AI Elements from
  shadcn/ui](https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/ai-elements) instead.
</Callout>

<ElementsInstaller />

## Quick Start

Here are some basic examples of what you can achieve using components from AI Elements.

<ElementsDemo />

## Prerequisites

Before installing AI Elements, make sure your environment meets the following requirements:

* [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/download/), version 18 or later
* A [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) project with the [AI SDK](https://ai-sdk.dev/) installed.
* [shadcn/ui](https://ui.shadcn.com/) installed in your project. If you don't have it installed, running any install command will automatically install it for you.
* We also highly recommend using the [AI Gateway](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway) and adding `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` to your `env.local` so you don't have to use an API key from every provider. AI Gateway also gives $5 in usage per month so you can experiment with models. You can obtain an API key [here](https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%2Fapi-keys\&title=Get%20your%20AI%20Gateway%20key).

<Callout>
  AI Elements is built targeting React 19 (no `forwardRef` usage) and Tailwind
  CSS 4.
</Callout>

## Installing Components

You can install AI Elements components using either the AI Elements CLI or the shadcn/ui CLI. Both achieve the same result: adding the selected component’s code and any needed dependencies to your project.

The CLI will download the component’s code and integrate it into your project’s directory (usually under your components folder). By default, AI Elements components are added to the `@/components/ai-elements/` directory (or whatever folder you’ve configured in your shadcn components settings).

After running the command, you should see a confirmation in your terminal that the files were added. You can then proceed to use the component in your code.