AI Assistant Chat History - CometChat Docs

Overview

CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory displays past conversations between users and AI assistants. Users can review previous AI interactions and start new conversations.

Prerequisites

Install CometChat UI Kit

Add to your Podfile:

pod 'CometChatUIKitSwift', '5.1.7'

Run pod install

Enable AI Features

Go to CometChat Dashboard → AI → Enable AI features

Initialize CometChat

import CometChatUIKitSwift

let uikitSettings = UIKitSettings()
    .set(appID: "YOUR_APP_ID")
    .set(authKey: "YOUR_AUTH_KEY")
    .set(region: "YOUR_REGION")
    .build()

CometChatUIKit.init(uiKitSettings: uikitSettings) { result in
    switch result {
    case .success:
        CometChatUIKit.login(uid: "USER_ID") { _ in }
    case .failure(let error):
        print(error.localizedDescription)
    }
}

Basic Implementation

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift
import CometChatSDK

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    
    var user: CometChat.User!
    
    func showAIChatHistory() {
        let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
        chatHistory.user = user  // Required!
        
        navigationController?.pushViewController(chatHistory, animated: true)
    }
}

You must set either user or group. Without this, only a loading indicator will display.

Production-Ready Implementation

Complete implementation with all features:

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift
import CometChatSDK

class AIAssistantViewController: UIViewController {
    
    // MARK: - Properties
    private var user: CometChat.User!
    private var chatHistoryComponent: CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory!
    
    // MARK: - Initialization
    convenience init(user: CometChat.User) {
        self.init()
        self.user = user
    }
    
    // MARK: - Lifecycle
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        setupChatHistory()
    }
    
    // MARK: - Setup
    private func setupChatHistory() {
        chatHistoryComponent = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
        chatHistoryComponent.user = user
        
        // Configure callbacks
        setupCallbacks()
        
        // Configure styling
        setupStyling()
        
        // Configure date formatting
        setupDateFormatting()
        
        // Configure empty/error states
        setupStateViews()
        
        // Present
        navigationController?.pushViewController(chatHistoryComponent, animated: true)
    }
    
    // MARK: - Callbacks
    private func setupCallbacks() {
        // New chat button tapped
        chatHistoryComponent.onNewChatButtonClicked = { [weak self] in
            self?.startNewAIChat()
        }
        
        // Message tapped
        chatHistoryComponent.onMessageClicked = { [weak self] message in
            self?.handleMessageTap(message)
        }
        
        // Data loaded successfully
        chatHistoryComponent.set(onLoad: { messages in
            print("✅ Loaded \(messages.count) AI messages")
        })
        
        // No data available
        chatHistoryComponent.set(onEmpty: { [weak self] in
            print("📭 No AI chat history")
        })
        
        // Error occurred
        chatHistoryComponent.set(onError: { [weak self] error in
            self?.showError(error.localizedDescription)
        })
    }
    
    // MARK: - Styling
    private func setupStyling() {
        let style = AiAssistantChatHistoryStyle()
        
        // Background
        style.backgroundColor = .systemBackground
        
        // Item text
        style.itemTextFont = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 16, weight: .medium)
        style.itemTextColor = .label
        
        // New chat button
        style.newChatTitleFont = UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: 18, weight: .bold)
        style.newChatTitleColor = .systemBlue
        
        chatHistoryComponent.style = style
    }
    
    // MARK: - Date Formatting
    private func setupDateFormatting() {
        // Today's messages
        chatHistoryComponent.dateTimeFormatter.today = { timestamp in
            let date = Date(timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(timestamp))
            let formatter = DateFormatter()
            formatter.timeStyle = .short
            return "Today at \(formatter.string(from: date))"
        }
        
        // Yesterday's messages
        chatHistoryComponent.dateTimeFormatter.yesterday = { timestamp in
            let date = Date(timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(timestamp))
            let formatter = DateFormatter()
            formatter.timeStyle = .short
            return "Yesterday at \(formatter.string(from: date))"
        }
        
        // Older messages
        chatHistoryComponent.dateTimeFormatter.otherDay = { timestamp in
            let date = Date(timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(timestamp))
            let formatter = DateFormatter()
            formatter.dateFormat = "MMM d, yyyy 'at' h:mm a"
            return formatter.string(from: date)
        }
    }
    
    // MARK: - State Views
    private func setupStateViews() {
        // Empty state text
        chatHistoryComponent.emptyStateText = "No AI conversations yet"
        chatHistoryComponent.emptyStateSubtitleText = "Tap 'New Chat' to start talking with AI"
        
        // Error state text
        chatHistoryComponent.errorStateText = "Couldn't load history"
        chatHistoryComponent.errorStateSubtitleText = "Please check your connection and try again"
    }
    
    // MARK: - Actions
    private func startNewAIChat() {
        // Option 1: Open messages view for new AI chat
        let messagesVC = CometChatMessages()
        messagesVC.user = user
        navigationController?.pushViewController(messagesVC, animated: true)
        
        // Option 2: Show action sheet with options
        // showNewChatOptions()
    }
    
    private func handleMessageTap(_ message: BaseMessage) {
        print("Tapped message ID: \(message.id)")
        print("Message text: \(message.text ?? "No text")")
        
        // Show message details or continue conversation
        let alert = UIAlertController(
            title: "Message",
            message: message.text,
            preferredStyle: .alert
        )
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Continue Chat", style: .default) { [weak self] _ in
            self?.continueChat(from: message)
        })
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Close", style: .cancel))
        present(alert, animated: true)
    }
    
    private func continueChat(from message: BaseMessage) {
        let messagesVC = CometChatMessages()
        messagesVC.user = user
        navigationController?.pushViewController(messagesVC, animated: true)
    }
    
    private func showError(_ message: String) {
        let alert = UIAlertController(
            title: "Error",
            message: message,
            preferredStyle: .alert
        )
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Retry", style: .default) { [weak self] _ in
            self?.setupChatHistory()
        })
        alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .cancel))
        present(alert, animated: true)
    }
}

Custom Views

Custom Loading View

Swift

let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
chatHistory.user = user

// Custom loading indicator
let loadingView = UIActivityIndicatorView(style: .large)
loadingView.color = .systemBlue
loadingView.startAnimating()

chatHistory.set(loadingView: loadingView)

Custom Empty State View

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift

class CustomEmptyView: UIView {
    
    private let imageView: UIImageView = {
        let iv = UIImageView()
        iv.image = UIImage(systemName: "sparkles")
        iv.tintColor = .systemBlue
        iv.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
        iv.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return iv
    }()
    
    private let titleLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        label.text = "No AI Conversations"
        label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 20, weight: .bold)
        label.textAlignment = .center
        label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return label
    }()
    
    private let subtitleLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        label.text = "Start a conversation with AI to see it here"
        label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16)
        label.textColor = .secondaryLabel
        label.textAlignment = .center
        label.numberOfLines = 0
        label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return label
    }()
    
    let startChatButton: UIButton = {
        let button = UIButton(type: .system)
        button.setTitle("Start New Chat", for: .normal)
        button.titleLabel?.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16, weight: .semibold)
        button.backgroundColor = .systemBlue
        button.setTitleColor(.white, for: .normal)
        button.layer.cornerRadius = 12
        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return button
    }()
    
    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)
        setupUI()
    }
    
    required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }
    
    private func setupUI() {
        addSubview(imageView)
        addSubview(titleLabel)
        addSubview(subtitleLabel)
        addSubview(startChatButton)
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            imageView.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerXAnchor),
            imageView.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: -80),
            imageView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 80),
            imageView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 80),
            
            titleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: imageView.bottomAnchor, constant: 24),
            titleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 32),
            titleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor, constant: -32),
            
            subtitleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: titleLabel.bottomAnchor, constant: 8),
            subtitleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 32),
            subtitleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor, constant: -32),
            
            startChatButton.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: subtitleLabel.bottomAnchor, constant: 24),
            startChatButton.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerXAnchor),
            startChatButton.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 180),
            startChatButton.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 48)
        ])
    }
}

// Usage
let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
chatHistory.user = user

let emptyView = CustomEmptyView()
emptyView.startChatButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(startNewChat), for: .touchUpInside)

chatHistory.set(emptyView: emptyView)

Custom Error State View

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift

class CustomErrorView: UIView {
    
    private let iconView: UIImageView = {
        let iv = UIImageView()
        iv.image = UIImage(systemName: "exclamationmark.triangle")
        iv.tintColor = .systemRed
        iv.contentMode = .scaleAspectFit
        iv.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return iv
    }()
    
    private let titleLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        label.text = "Something went wrong"
        label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 18, weight: .semibold)
        label.textAlignment = .center
        label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return label
    }()
    
    private let messageLabel: UILabel = {
        let label = UILabel()
        label.text = "We couldn't load your AI chat history.\nPlease check your connection."
        label.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 14)
        label.textColor = .secondaryLabel
        label.textAlignment = .center
        label.numberOfLines = 0
        label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return label
    }()
    
    let retryButton: UIButton = {
        let button = UIButton(type: .system)
        button.setTitle("Try Again", for: .normal)
        button.titleLabel?.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16, weight: .medium)
        button.backgroundColor = .systemBlue
        button.setTitleColor(.white, for: .normal)
        button.layer.cornerRadius = 10
        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return button
    }()
    
    override init(frame: CGRect) {
        super.init(frame: frame)
        setupUI()
    }
    
    required init?(coder: NSCoder) {
        fatalError("init(coder:) has not been implemented")
    }
    
    private func setupUI() {
        addSubview(iconView)
        addSubview(titleLabel)
        addSubview(messageLabel)
        addSubview(retryButton)
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            iconView.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerXAnchor),
            iconView.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerYAnchor, constant: -60),
            iconView.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 60),
            iconView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 60),
            
            titleLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: iconView.bottomAnchor, constant: 16),
            titleLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 24),
            titleLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor, constant: -24),
            
            messageLabel.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: titleLabel.bottomAnchor, constant: 8),
            messageLabel.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: leadingAnchor, constant: 24),
            messageLabel.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: trailingAnchor, constant: -24),
            
            retryButton.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: messageLabel.bottomAnchor, constant: 20),
            retryButton.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: centerXAnchor),
            retryButton.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 140),
            retryButton.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 44)
        ])
    }
}

// Usage
let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
chatHistory.user = user

let errorView = CustomErrorView()
errorView.retryButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(retryLoading), for: .touchUpInside)

chatHistory.set(errorView: errorView)

Filter Messages

Customize which messages are displayed:

Swift

import CometChatSDK
import CometChatUIKitSwift

let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
chatHistory.user = user

// Create custom message request builder
let builder = MessagesRequest.MessageRequestBuilder()
    .set(uid: user.uid ?? "")
    .set(limit: 50)

chatHistory.set(messagesRequestBuilder: builder)

These parameters are always overridden by the component:

uid / guid
types
categories

Embed in Your App

As a Tab

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift
import CometChatSDK

class MainTabBarController: UITabBarController {
    
    var currentUser: CometChat.User!
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        fetchUserAndSetupTabs()
    }
    
    private func fetchUserAndSetupTabs() {
        // Get current logged in user
        guard let user = CometChat.getLoggedInUser() else { return }
        currentUser = user
        setupTabs()
    }
    
    private func setupTabs() {
        // Chats Tab
        let chatsVC = CometChatConversationsWithMessages()
        let chatsNav = UINavigationController(rootViewController: chatsVC)
        chatsNav.tabBarItem = UITabBarItem(
            title: "Chats",
            image: UIImage(systemName: "message"),
            selectedImage: UIImage(systemName: "message.fill")
        )
        
        // AI Assistant Tab
        let aiVC = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
        aiVC.user = currentUser
        aiVC.onNewChatButtonClicked = { [weak self] in
            self?.startNewAIChat()
        }
        let aiNav = UINavigationController(rootViewController: aiVC)
        aiNav.tabBarItem = UITabBarItem(
            title: "AI Assistant",
            image: UIImage(systemName: "sparkles"),
            selectedImage: UIImage(systemName: "sparkles")
        )
        
        // Users Tab
        let usersVC = CometChatUsersWithMessages()
        let usersNav = UINavigationController(rootViewController: usersVC)
        usersNav.tabBarItem = UITabBarItem(
            title: "Users",
            image: UIImage(systemName: "person.2"),
            selectedImage: UIImage(systemName: "person.2.fill")
        )
        
        viewControllers = [chatsNav, aiNav, usersNav]
    }
    
    private func startNewAIChat() {
        let messagesVC = CometChatMessages()
        messagesVC.user = currentUser
        
        if let nav = selectedViewController as? UINavigationController {
            nav.pushViewController(messagesVC, animated: true)
        }
    }
}

As a Button Action

Swift

import UIKit
import CometChatUIKitSwift
import CometChatSDK

class ProfileViewController: UIViewController {
    
    var user: CometChat.User!
    
    private let aiHistoryButton: UIButton = {
        let button = UIButton(type: .system)
        button.setTitle("View AI Chat History", for: .normal)
        button.setImage(UIImage(systemName: "sparkles"), for: .normal)
        button.backgroundColor = .systemBlue
        button.tintColor = .white
        button.layer.cornerRadius = 12
        button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
        return button
    }()
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        setupUI()
    }
    
    private func setupUI() {
        view.backgroundColor = .systemBackground
        view.addSubview(aiHistoryButton)
        
        NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
            aiHistoryButton.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerXAnchor),
            aiHistoryButton.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerYAnchor),
            aiHistoryButton.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 250),
            aiHistoryButton.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 50)
        ])
        
        aiHistoryButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(showAIHistory), for: .touchUpInside)
    }
    
    @objc private func showAIHistory() {
        let chatHistory = CometChatAIAssistanceChatHistory()
        chatHistory.user = user
        
        chatHistory.onNewChatButtonClicked = { [weak self] in
            let messagesVC = CometChatMessages()
            messagesVC.user = self?.user
            self?.navigationController?.pushViewController(messagesVC, animated: true)
        }
        
        navigationController?.pushViewController(chatHistory, animated: true)
    }
}

API Reference

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
`user`	`CometChat.User`	Yes*	User for AI chat history
`group`	`CometChat.Group`	Yes*	Group for AI chat history
`style`	`AiAssistantChatHistoryStyle`	No	Custom styling
`emptyStateText`	`String`	No	Empty state title
`emptyStateSubtitleText`	`String`	No	Empty state subtitle
`errorStateText`	`String`	No	Error state title
`errorStateSubtitleText`	`String`	No	Error state subtitle
`hideDateSeparator`	`Bool`	No	Hide date separators
`backButton`	`UIButton`	No	Custom back button

*Either user or group is required

Callbacks

Method	Parameters	Description
`onNewChatButtonClicked`	`() -> Void`	New chat button tapped
`onMessageClicked`	`(BaseMessage) -> Void`	Message tapped
`set(onLoad:)`	`([BaseMessage]) -> Void`	Data loaded
`set(onEmpty:)`	`() -> Void`	No data
`set(onError:)`	`(Error) -> Void`	Error occurred

Custom Views

Method	Parameters	Description
`set(loadingView:)`	`UIView`	Custom loading view
`set(emptyView:)`	`UIView`	Custom empty state
`set(errorView:)`	`UIView`	Custom error state
`set(messagesRequestBuilder:)`	`MessagesRequestBuilder`	Filter messages

Style Properties (AiAssistantChatHistoryStyle)

Property	Type	Description
`backgroundColor`	`UIColor`	Background color
`itemTextFont`	`UIFont`	Message text font
`itemTextColor`	`UIColor`	Message text color
`newChatTitleFont`	`UIFont`	New chat button font
`newChatTitleColor`	`UIColor`	New chat button color

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Only loading indicator shows	Set `user` or `group` property
No messages displayed	Enable AI features in CometChat Dashboard
Styling not applied	Apply style before presenting view
Callbacks not firing	Set callbacks before pushing to navigation
Empty state not showing	Check `set(onEmpty:)` callback

AI Features Overview - All AI features
Message List - Chat message display
Message Composer - Message input
Components Overview - All components

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Basic Implementation

​Production-Ready Implementation

​Custom Views

​Custom Loading View

​Custom Empty State View

​Custom Error State View

​Filter Messages

​Embed in Your App

​As a Tab

​As a Button Action

​API Reference

​Properties

​Callbacks

​Custom Views

​Style Properties (AiAssistantChatHistoryStyle)

​Troubleshooting

​Related

Overview

Prerequisites

Basic Implementation

Production-Ready Implementation

Custom Views

Custom Loading View

Custom Empty State View

Custom Error State View

Filter Messages

Embed in Your App

As a Tab

As a Button Action

API Reference

Properties

Callbacks

Custom Views

Style Properties (AiAssistantChatHistoryStyle)

Troubleshooting

Related