diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 395b6ee3..f81f4321 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -305,6 +305,7 @@ whoosh==2.7.4
 zope.cachedescriptors==5.1.0
 qrcode==7.4.2
 configupdater~=3.2
+openai~=1.100.2
 
 ## uncomment to add the debug libraries
 #-r requirements_debug.txt
diff --git a/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/__init__.py b/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_service.py b/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_service.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2b1dc4f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_service.py
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+import json
+from abc import abstractmethod
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from functools import wraps
+
+from openai import OpenAI
+
+from rhodecode.apps.ai_agents.ai_settings import AISettings, GPTVersion, AIModelName
+
+
+class AIServiceError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+def wrap_ai_exceptions(f):
+    @wraps(f)
+    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+        try:
+            return f(*args, **kwargs)
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise AIServiceError(e) from e
+
+    return wrapper
+
+
+class AIServiceBase:
+    def __init__(self, model_settings: AISettings):
+        self.model_settings = model_settings
+        self._validate_mandatory_settings()
+
+    @wrap_ai_exceptions
+    def _validate_mandatory_settings(self):
+        api_key = self.model_settings.api_key
+        assert api_key is not None and api_key, "API key is required"
+
+        name = self.model_settings.model_name
+        assert name is not None and name, "Model name is required"
+
+        version = self.model_settings.model_version
+        assert version is not None and version, "Model version is required"
+
+    @wrap_ai_exceptions
+    def ping(self):
+        resp = self._get_ping_response()
+        return self._transform(resp)
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def _get_ping_response(self):
+        # TODO: maybe just response
+        pass
+
+    def _transform(self, resp):
+        return resp
+
+
+@wrap_ai_exceptions
+def get_gpt_service(api_key: str, model_name=AIModelName.GPT, version=GPTVersion.V5_nano):
+    assert api_key, "API key is required"
+    if model_name is AIModelName.GPT:
+        return GPTService(
+            AISettings(
+                model_name=AIModelName.GPT,
+                model_version=version,
+                api_key=api_key,
+            )
+        )
+
+    raise ValueError("Unknown model name: %s" % model_name)
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Response:
+    model: str
+    message: str
+    error: bool = False
+
+
+class GPTService(AIServiceBase):
+    def __init__(self, model_settings: AISettings):
+        super().__init__(model_settings)
+        self._client = OpenAI(api_key=self.model_settings.api_key)
+
+    def _get_ping_response(self):
+        return self._client.responses.create(
+            model=self._get_json_model_name(),
+            input=[{"role": "user", "content": "ping"}],
+            tools=[
+                self._get_function("ping"),
+            ],
+            tool_choice={"type": "function", "name": "ping_pong"},
+            parallel_tool_calls=False,
+        )
+
+    def _transform(self, resp):
+        for item in resp.output:
+            if item.type == "function_call" and item.name == "ping_pong":
+                return json.loads(item.arguments)
+
+    def _get_function(self, name):
+        """
+        this is a GPT-specific function - AKA fine-tuning prompt
+        """
+        match name:
+            case "ping":
+                return {
+                    "type": "function",
+                    "name": "ping_pong",
+                    "description": "Always return pong",
+                    "strict": True,
+                    "parameters": {
+                        "type": "object",
+                        "properties": {"response": {"type": "string", "enum": ["pong"]}},
+                        "required": ["response"],
+                        "additionalProperties": False,
+                    },
+                }
+            case _:
+                raise ValueError("Unknown function name: %s" % name)
+
+    def _get_json_model_name(self):
+        name = self.model_settings.model_name.value
+        version = self.model_settings.model_version.value
+        return "%s-%s" % (name.strip().lower(), version.strip().lower())
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    s = get_gpt_service(
+        api_key="",
+        version=GPTVersion.V5_nano,
+    )
+    print(s.ping())
diff --git a/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_settings.py b/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0b9bd6fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rhodecode/apps/ai_agents/ai_settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import enum
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+
+class AIModelName(enum.StrEnum):
+    GPT = enum.auto()
+
+
+class GPTVersion(enum.StrEnum):
+    V5 = "5"
+    V5_mini = "5-mini"
+    V5_nano = "5-nano"
+    V4_1 = "4.1"
+    V4_1_mini = "4.1-mini"
+    V4_1_nano = "4.1-nano"
+    V4o = "4o"
+    V4o_mini = "4o-mini"
+
+
+@dataclass
+class AISettings:
+    model_name: AIModelName
+    model_version: enum.StrEnum
+    api_key: str