What is Semantic Kernel?

System Requirements

Key Features

Installation

export AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=AAA....

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Python

pip install semantic-kernel

.NET

dotnet add package Microsoft.SemanticKerneldotnet add package Microsoft.SemanticKernel.Agents.core

Java

Quickstart

Basic Agent - Python

importasynciofromsemantic_kernel.agentsimportChatCompletionAgentfromsemantic_kernel.connectors.ai.open_aiimportAzureChatCompletionasyncdefmain():# Initialize a chat agent with basic instructionsagent=ChatCompletionAgent(service=AzureChatCompletion(),name="SK-Assistant",instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",    )# Get a response to a user messageresponse=awaitagent.get_response(messages="Write a haiku about Semantic Kernel.")print(response.content)asyncio.run(main())# Output:# Language's essence,# Semantic threads intertwine,# Meaning's core revealed.

Basic Agent - .NET

usingMicrosoft.SemanticKernel;usingMicrosoft.SemanticKernel.Agents;varbuilder=Kernel.CreateBuilder();builder.AddAzureOpenAIChatCompletion(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT"),Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"),Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"));varkernel=builder.Build();ChatCompletionAgentagent=new(){Name="SK-Agent",Instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",Kernel=kernel,};awaitforeach(AgentResponseItem<ChatMessageContent>responseinagent.InvokeAsync("Write a haiku about Semantic Kernel.")){Console.WriteLine(response.Message);}// Output:// Language's essence,// Semantic threads intertwine,// Meaning's core revealed.

Agent with Plugins - Python

importasynciofromtypingimportAnnotatedfrompydanticimportBaseModelfromsemantic_kernel.agentsimportChatCompletionAgentfromsemantic_kernel.connectors.ai.open_aiimportAzureChatCompletion,OpenAIChatPromptExecutionSettingsfromsemantic_kernel.functionsimportkernel_function,KernelArgumentsclassMenuPlugin:@kernel_function(description="Provides a list of specials from the menu.")defget_specials(self)->Annotated[str,"Returns the specials from the menu."]:return"""        Special Soup: Clam Chowder        Special Salad: Cobb Salad        Special Drink: Chai Tea        """@kernel_function(description="Provides the price of the requested menu item.")defget_item_price(self,menu_item:Annotated[str,"The name of the menu item."]    )->Annotated[str,"Returns the price of the menu item."]:return"$9.99"classMenuItem(BaseModel):price:floatname:strasyncdefmain():# Configure structured output formatsettings=OpenAIChatPromptExecutionSettings()settings.response_format=MenuItem# Create agent with plugin and settingsagent=ChatCompletionAgent(service=AzureChatCompletion(),name="SK-Assistant",instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",plugins=[MenuPlugin()],arguments=KernelArguments(settings)    )response=awaitagent.get_response(messages="What is the price of the soup special?")print(response.content)# Output:# The price of the Clam Chowder, which is the soup special, is $9.99.asyncio.run(main())

Agent with Plugin - .NET

usingSystem.ComponentModel;usingMicrosoft.SemanticKernel;usingMicrosoft.SemanticKernel.Agents;usingMicrosoft.SemanticKernel.ChatCompletion;varbuilder=Kernel.CreateBuilder();builder.AddAzureOpenAIChatCompletion(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT"),Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT"),Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY"));varkernel=builder.Build();kernel.Plugins.Add(KernelPluginFactory.CreateFromType<MenuPlugin>());ChatCompletionAgentagent=new(){Name="SK-Assistant",Instructions="You are a helpful assistant.",Kernel=kernel,Arguments=newKernelArguments(newPromptExecutionSettings(){FunctionChoiceBehavior=FunctionChoiceBehavior.Auto()})};awaitforeach(AgentResponseItem<ChatMessageContent>responseinagent.InvokeAsync("What is the price of the soup special?")){Console.WriteLine(response.Message);}sealedclassMenuPlugin{[KernelFunction,Description("Provides a list of specials from the menu.")]publicstringGetSpecials()=>"""        Special Soup: Clam Chowder        Special Salad: Cobb Salad        Special Drink: Chai Tea        """;[KernelFunction,Description("Provides the price of the requested menu item.")]publicstringGetItemPrice([Description("The name of the menu item.")]stringmenuItem)=>"$9.99";}

Multi-Agent System - Python

importasynciofromsemantic_kernel.agentsimportChatCompletionAgent,ChatHistoryAgentThreadfromsemantic_kernel.connectors.ai.open_aiimportAzureChatCompletion,OpenAIChatCompletionbilling_agent=ChatCompletionAgent(service=AzureChatCompletion(),name="BillingAgent",instructions="You handle billing issues like charges, payment methods, cycles, fees, discrepancies, and payment failures.")refund_agent=ChatCompletionAgent(service=AzureChatCompletion(),name="RefundAgent",instructions="Assist users with refund inquiries, including eligibility, policies, processing, and status updates.",)triage_agent=ChatCompletionAgent(service=OpenAIChatCompletion(),name="TriageAgent",instructions="Evaluate user requests and forward them to BillingAgent or RefundAgent for targeted assistance."" Provide the full answer to the user containing any information from the agents",plugins=[billing_agent,refund_agent],)thread:ChatHistoryAgentThread=Noneasyncdefmain()->None:print("Welcome to the chat bot!\n  Type 'exit' to exit.\n  Try to get some billing or refund help.")whileTrue:user_input=input("User:> ")ifuser_input.lower().strip()=="exit":print("\n\nExiting chat...")returnFalseresponse=awaittriage_agent.get_response(messages=user_input,thread=thread,        )ifresponse:print(f"Agent :>{response}")# Agent :> I understand that you were charged twice for your subscription last month, and I'm here to assist you with resolving this issue. Here’s what we need to do next:# 1. **Billing Inquiry**:#    - Please provide the email address or account number associated with your subscription, the date(s) of the charges, and the amount charged. This will allow the billing team to investigate the discrepancy in the charges.# 2. **Refund Process**:#    - For the refund, please confirm your subscription type and the email address associated with your account.#    - Provide the dates and transaction IDs for the charges you believe were duplicated.# Once we have these details, we will be able to:# - Check your billing history for any discrepancies.# - Confirm any duplicate charges.# - Initiate a refund for the duplicate payment if it qualifies. The refund process usually takes 5-10 business days after approval.# Please provide the necessary details so we can proceed with resolving this issue for you.if__name__=="__main__":asyncio.run(main())

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