How Can AI Chatbots Be Integrated Into PHP Applications?
I’m exploring AI chatbot development for PHP applications and would like to know the best approach for integration.
What is the recommended way to connect an AI/LLM API with a PHP application while handling conversation history, API security, database integration, and user authentication?
Would you recommend using a PHP-based backend with an external AI API, or a separate AI service connected through REST APIs?
Any practical suggestions or examples would be appreciated.

One approach I’m leaning toward is keeping the PHP application responsible for authentication, user management, business logic, and database access, while using an external AI/LLM API for generating responses.
The main challenge seems to be deciding how much application data should be sent to the AI service. For example, instead of giving the model direct access to the entire database, a PHP backend could retrieve only the relevant information based on the user's request and provide that as context.
Conversation history is another area I'm interested in. For longer conversations, would developers recommend storing the full history in the database, or summarizing older messages to keep API requests more manageable?
I'm also curious whether a separate AI service becomes worthwhile as the application grows, particularly when multiple features or applications need to use the same AI capabilities.