#267 - Step-by-Step: Build a Real AI Project with Next.js & RAG

What does it actually mean to be an “AI Engineer”? 

Honestly—not much. The title is overloaded and vague. 

But what is meaningful right now is knowing how to build real projects with AI that go beyond toy chatbots and portfolio fluff.

In this episode, I walk you through the exact project I’ve been building at two different AI startups: a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) app. You’ll learn how to:

• Scrape and store content in a vector database
• Use embeddings to turn your text into something a model can understand
• Stream responses back to your frontend with Next.js + TypeScript
• Reduce hallucinations and add structured, reliable outputs
• Understand why this is the skillset employers are actually hiring for right now

👉 Check out the repo and code from this episode here: https://www.parsity.io/ai-with-rag

If you’ve been wondering how to actually learn AI engineering skills that matter in 2025, this is the place to start.

Send us a text

Shameless Plugs

🧑‍💻 Free 5 day email course to go from HTML to AI

🤔 Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here

Apply for 1 of 12 spots at Parsity - Learn to build complex software with AI integrations.

AI Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI