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General comparison
| Aspect | Assistants API | Chat Completions API |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Setup | Create an Assistant with defined capabilities. | No explicit setup of an Assistant is required. |
| Session Management | Initiate and manage a thread for ongoing conversations. | No explicit session or thread management; each request is independent. |
| Interaction Handling | Interact through the Runs API, considering the entire conversation context. | Send the entire chat history in each request, including system prompts and previous interactions. |
| Context Management | Persistent context through the thread, suitable for extended conversations. | Context is provided in each request; best for single interactions or where full context is included each time. |
| Complexity | More complex setup, offering detailed control and customization. | Simpler and more straightforward, with less granular control. |
| Ideal Use Cases | Best for detailed, context-heavy conversational applications. | Suited for simpler chatbots or applications where each response is standalone. |
| Capabilities | Advanced capabilities like integration with a code interpreter, online search for information queries, the ability to retrieve knowledge from uploaded files, and function calling. | Primarily focused on function calling, with less emphasis on extended capabilities beyond generating text responses. |