This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Most people use AI through a chat window. This course shows you how to put the same power inside your own code, safely, reliably, and without surprise bills.

Who this course is for

• Beginners and developers who want to use the OpenAI API in real projects

• Freelancers and agency owners who want to build AI features for clients

• Product managers and founders who need to understand what the API can do and cost

• Automation builders who want to move past no-code limits

• Students building a portfolio project with AI

What you will learn

• What the OpenAI API is and how it differs from ChatGPT

• How to create an account, set budget limits, and protect your API key

• How to make your first authenticated API call in Python

• How to compare models using your own test prompts, not guesswork

• How to choose the cheapest model that meets your quality bar

• How to write instructions and inputs that produce consistent output

• How to control response length and cost with token limits

• How to read responses, usage data, and response IDs

• How to handle 401, 400, 429, and 5xx errors with retries and backoff

• How to track spend per request and set a daily cost cap

Requirements

• Basic Python is helpful, but all code is provided and explained

• A computer with Python installed

• An OpenAI platform account (API usage is billed separately; a small budget is enough for the course)

Final project
You will build the Smart Reply Assistant, a command-line tool that classifies a customer message, drafts a reply in structured JSON, logs tokens and cost for every request, retries safely on errors, and stops when a daily spending cap is reached. You also get a rubric to grade your own work.