Lesson 1 — Overview & Prerequisites (page 1)
Lesson 1: What You'll Build & What You Need
Goal
Build a **web chatbot** that calls a **large language model** (LLM) through Google Cloud Vertex AI, return answers like ChatGPT, and host it behind a URL you can share with your team.
- Frontend: a simple chat UI (prompt box + responses)
- Backend: Python
Flaskapp running locally (PyCharm) and deployable to cloud - LLM: Vertex AI pre-built text model (no training required)
Prerequisites
- Google account (Gmail or Workspace) to access GCP
- Billing enabled on your GCP project (free credits often available for new accounts)
- PyCharm installed on your laptop
- Python 3.10+ recommended (
python --version) - Basic knowledge of Python functions, packages, and virtual environments
Course Map (6 Lessons)
- Overview & Prereqs (this page)
- GCP Project, Vertex AI API, Credentials
- PyCharm Project + First Vertex AI Call
- Build the Chatbot UI (Flask + HTML)
- Conversation Memory, Logging, Simple Styling
- Deployment (Cloud Run) + Connect to Your Website
Tip: Keep a dedicated folder for this course, e.g.
C:/VertexChatbot/.