Switching from AssistantsAPI to ResponseAPI - No way of using/creating Prompts & Conversations

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Switching from AssistantsAPI to ResponseAPI - No way of using/creating Prompts & Conversations

David Captur 170

As of 20th of August 2025, OpenAI has released a further extension in the Responses API, which gives a much stronger like-with-like conversation from the now deprecated Assistants API (https://platform.openai.com/docs/changelog/changelog):

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What was previously the assistant, is now a prompt. What was a thread, is now a conversation (https://platform.openai.com/docs/assistants/migration):
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I tried to use these new APIs via Azure REST API Calls and via AI Foundry, but could not. I do not believe they are yet available/usable in Azure. Is there any plan to have these in Azure soon? They are required to do a proper changeover.

Kind Regards,

David

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Answer 1

Sina Salam 29,021 Volunteer Moderator

Hello David Captur,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A and thank you for posting your questions here.

I understand that Switching from AssistantsAPI to ResponseAPI - No way of using/creating Prompts & Conversations.

Regarding your concerns:

Azure does support conversational flows via the Responses API. The Responses API is a new stateful API introduced in Azure AI Foundry that combines capabilities from the Chat Completions API and Assistants API - https://ai-sdk.dev/providers/ai-sdk-providers/azure It supports chaining responses, function calling, tool use, and file search, enabling conversational and agentic flows. - https://ai-sdk.dev/providers/community-providers/azure-ai
There are no standalone “Prompts API” or “Conversations API” surfaces. Azure does not have APIs explicitly named "Prompts API" or "Conversations API". Instead, it uses the Responses API to manage stateful interactions and conversational continuity - https://ai-sdk.dev/providers/community-providers/azure-ai
Tooling and UI support are still catching up, especially for search, editing, and SDK integration. While the backend APIs are powerful, tooling (like SDKs and UI frameworks) is still evolving. For example, the AI SDK for Azure supports the Responses API but requires manual configuration for chaining and tool use - https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/ai-sdk-ui/chatbot-tool-usage

You can read more from the following references:

I hope this is helpful! Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions or clarifications.

Please don't forget to close up the thread here by upvoting and accept it as an answer if it is helpful.

David Captur 170 Reputation points

2025-08-26T07:31:17.0566667+00:00

Points 2, 3 and 4 are not relevant to my query and are noise.

Point 1 appears to be incorrect. There is nothing in those links describing Conversations API or Prompts API.

This appears to be an AI-generated response which does not address my query.
Sina Salam 29,021 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-26T13:14:52.23+00:00

Hello David Captur,

Thanks for your feedback.

Check out the edited answer.

Thank you.
David Captur 170 Reputation points

2025-08-26T14:25:50.9366667+00:00

Hi @Sina Salam thanks for your reply. Are you aware of plans on Azure's end to start supporting Conversations and Prompts, as we need them to be able to make a like-with-like switch from Assistants.

Kind Regards,

David
Sina Salam 29,021 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-26T15:12:25.8333333+00:00

Hello David Captur,

Thanks for your feedback.

Regarding your questions.

Yes, Microsoft support Conversations and Prompts in a way that enables a like-for-like switch from OpenAI's Assistants API.
David Captur 170 Reputation points

2025-08-26T15:32:13.9033333+00:00

Hi Sina,

This latest reply completely contradicts what you wrote a few hours before and again appears to be a copy and past response taken from an AI Model and is not helpful unfortunately.

Kind Regards,

David
Sina Salam 29,021 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-26T15:46:43.97+00:00

The issues are from what you tell yourself about it. Tell us specific information that you want, if the first have answered your question, close the thread and ask more in another question.
David Captur 170 Reputation points

2025-08-27T05:19:04.1833333+00:00

This latest reply makes no sense, like the previous one. Please stop responding on this thread, you are not helping at all, you are muddying the waters. Allow someone else to potentially answer the issue.
Michael Xie 0 Reputation points

2026-03-24T18:53:32.2066667+00:00
Any updates on this?

I still don't see anything to do proper migration on Azure from Assistant to Prompts
https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/assistants/migration

Practical migration steps

Identify each existing Assistant’s instruction + tool bundle.

In the dashboard, recreate that bundle as a named prompt.

Store the prompt ID (or its exported spec) in source control so application code can refer to a stable identifier.

During rollout, run A/B tests by swapping prompt IDs—no need to create or delete assistant objects programmatically.

Main mappings:

What’s changed? |Before|Now|Why?| | -------- | -------- | -------- | |Assistants|Prompts|| |||| Prompts hold configuration (model, tools, instructions) and are easier to version and update || || |Assistants|Prompts||

Prompts hold configuration (model, tools, instructions) and are easier to version and update |Threads|Conversations|Streams of items instead of just messages| |||| |Runs|Responses||

Responses send input items or use a conversation object and receive output items; tool call loops are explicitly managed |Run steps|Items|| |||| Generalized objects—can be messages, tool calls, outputs, and more

Should we just be using Responses API as is and maybe pair with conversations?

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Switching from AssistantsAPI to ResponseAPI - No way of using/creating Prompts & Conversations

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