How you handle data between the client and the AI provider determines your app's security, cost, and user experience.
1The Power of Streaming
Waiting 30 seconds for a full AI response is a bad user experience. By using server-sent events (SSE) or the Fetch Streams API, you can display text to the user as it's being generated. This makes the app feel instantaneous, even if the total generation time is long.
2Backend Proxies & Secrets
Exposing your OpenAI or Anthropic API key in the frontend is a critical security failure. A backend proxy acts as a secure middleman, receiving the request from your authenticated user, adding the secret API key, and forwarding it to the AI provider.
