Supercharging Oracle APEX apps with Generative AI features (ChatBot, Text Generation etc.) – No Code Needed!

AI is no longer some fancy buzzword — it’s right inside Oracle APEX, waiting for us to unleash it. In this blog, I’ll walk you through two amazing features: Show AI Assistant and Generate Text with AI. We’ll build both without writing a single line of code. I’ll show you step by step how to set things up with Cohere API as our Generative AI service and how to use it to implement the mentioned 2 features.

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🎥 Watch It in Action: See how Oracle APEX integrates Generative AI with Cohere to build an AI Assistant & Text Generator — all without code!

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🔑 Step 1: Set up Generative AI Services

Before we can summon the AI magic inside APEX, we need an API key from Cohere:

1. Navigate to Cohere API Keys.
2. If you’re new, sign up. By default, one API key is already generated for you.
3. Read about Cohere’s Chat API to understand endpoints and models.
4. Pick a model that suits your case. I’m going with command-r for this walkthrough.
5. Now, head back to APEX → Workspace Utilities → Generative AI Services.
6. Create a new service, paste the endpoint and use your API key. The cool thing? The password you provide automatically creates Web Credentials, keeping it safe and reusable across your workspace.

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📄 Step 2: Create a Blank Page

Inside your application, create a simple Blank Page. This will serve as our playground for testing both AI features.

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🤖 Step 3: Build “Show AI Assistant”

First, let’s bring in the AI Assistant. Think of it as having a mini chatbot living inside your app.

Create a button on the blank page, and for its Dynamic Action, choose:

Action: Show AI Assistant
Service: [Your Cohere Service]
Default Prompt:
"You are Jeneral and you respond in less than 60 words and you are brilliant and funny. You sign out stating 'Regards, Jeneral'"

This prompt sets the personality and behavior of your AI assistant. Mine is “Jeneral” – short, witty, and always signing off in style.

✨ Extra Configurations

• Welcome Message: Hey &APP_USER., How may I enlighten you??
• Quick Actions: Predefined questions for faster interaction. Example:

"How is Oracle APEX accelerating AI driven development?"

This way, your users can just click and get answers instantly.

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✍️ Step 4: Build “Generate Text with AI”

Next up, we’ll use the Generate Text with AI feature — perfect for producing concise AI-powered responses.

1. Create a Textarea for input.
2. Create another Textarea for output.
3. Add a button with Dynamic Action Generate Text with AI.
4. Bind the input and output items, and set the System Prompt:

Respond in less than 20 words

And that’s it — type something in, hit the button, and watch APEX + AI do the work.

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⚖️ AI Assistant vs Generate Text

Both features sound similar, but here’s the difference:

• Show AI Assistant: A conversational chatbot experience. Great for continuous Q&A and user support inside your app.
• Generate Text with AI: A focused, one-shot text generator. Perfect for summaries, quick responses, or rephrasing content.

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🏁 Conclusion

And there you have it — in just a few clicks, we connected APEX with Cohere, set up a Generative AI Service, and built two awesome AI features without writing a single line of code.

So next time someone asks you, “Can your APEX app talk back?” — you know the answer 😉.