name: neo4j-genai-plugin-skill description: Use Neo4j GenAI Plugin ai.text.* functions and procedures for in-Cypher embedding generation, text completion, structured output, chat, tokenization, and batch ingestion. Covers ai.text.embed(), ai.text.embedBatch(), ai.text.completion(), ai.text.structuredCompletion(), ai.text.aggregateCompletion(), ai.text.chat(), ai.text.tokenCount(), ai.text.chunkByTokenLimit(), and provider configuration for OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, VertexAI, and Amazon Bedrock. Requires CYPHER 25. Replaces deprecated genai.vector.encode(). Use when writing pure-Cypher GraphRAG, embedding nodes in-graph, generating structured maps from prompts, or calling LLMs inside Cypher queries. Does NOT handle neo4j-graphrag Python library pipelines — use neo4j-graphrag-skill. Does NOT handle vector index creation/search — use neo4j-vector-index-skill. version: 1.0.1 status: active allowed-tools: Bash WebFetch
When to Use
- Generating embeddings inside Cypher without external Python (
ai.text.embed()) - Batch-embedding nodes/chunks during ingestion (
ai.text.embedBatch()) - Calling LLMs directly in Cypher for completions or GraphRAG (
ai.text.completion()) - Extracting structured JSON maps from LLM inside Cypher (
ai.text.structuredCompletion()) - Aggregating LLM summaries over grouped rows (
ai.text.aggregateCompletion()) - Stateful chat sessions in Cypher (
ai.text.chat()) - Counting tokens or chunking text by token limit (
ai.text.tokenCount(),ai.text.chunkByTokenLimit())
When NOT to Use
- Python-based GraphRAG pipelines (VectorCypherRetriever, HybridCypherRetriever) →
neo4j-graphrag-skill - Vector index CREATE / kNN search / SEARCH clause →
neo4j-vector-index-skill - GDS embeddings (FastRP, Node2Vec) →
neo4j-gds-skill - Fulltext / keyword search →
neo4j-cypher-skill
Prerequisites
CYPHER 25 required for all ai.* functions. Two ways to enable:
// Per-query prefix (self-managed, no admin rights needed):
CYPHER 25 MATCH (n:Chunk) ...
// Per-database default (admin; applies to all sessions):
ALTER DATABASE neo4j SET DEFAULT LANGUAGE CYPHER 25
Installation:
- Aura: GenAI plugin enabled by default — no action needed
- Self-managed JAR: copy plugin JAR to
plugins/directory - Docker:
--env NEO4J_PLUGINS='["genai"]'
Provider Config Quick Reference
All ai.text.* functions accept a configuration :: MAP as last argument.
| Provider string | Required keys | Notes |
|---|---|---|
'openai' |
token, model |
token = OpenAI API key |
'azure-openai' |
token, resource, model |
token = OAuth2 bearer; resource = Azure resource name |
'vertexai' |
model, project, region, token or apiKey |
publisher defaults to 'google' |
'bedrock-titan' |
model, region, accessKeyId, secretAccessKey |
Embedding only |
'bedrock-nova' |
model, region, accessKeyId, secretAccessKey |
Completion only |
Optional for all: vendorOptions :: MAP passes provider-specific extras (e.g. { dimensions: 1024 } for OpenAI).
❌ Never hardcode API key literals. ✅ Always use $param passed via driver parameters dict.
Full provider config table → references/providers.md
Embedding
Single embed [2025.11]
CYPHER 25
MATCH (c:Chunk)
WHERE c.embedding IS NULL
WITH c
CALL {
WITH c
SET c.embedding = ai.text.embed(c.text, 'openai', {
token: $openaiKey,
model: 'text-embedding-3-small'
})
} IN TRANSACTIONS OF 500 ROWS
ai.text.embed() returns VECTOR — directly storable and queryable in a vector index.
Batch embed procedure [2025.11]
CYPHER 25
MATCH (c:Chunk) WHERE c.embedding IS NULL
WITH collect(c) AS chunks
UNWIND chunks AS c
WITH c.text AS text, c AS node
CALL ai.text.embedBatch(text, 'openai', { token: $openaiKey, model: 'text-embedding-3-small' })
YIELD index, resource, vector
MATCH (c:Chunk {text: resource})
SET c.embedding = vector
Procedure signature: CALL ai.text.embedBatch(resource, provider, config) YIELD index, resource, vector
List configured embed providers
CYPHER 25
CALL ai.text.embed.providers()
YIELD name, requiredConfigType, optionalConfigType, defaultConfig
RETURN name, requiredConfigType
Text Completion [2025.11]
CYPHER 25
RETURN ai.text.completion(
'Summarize: ' + $text,
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS summary
Returns STRING.
Aggregate completion — summarize across rows [2026.03]
CYPHER 25
MATCH (c:Chunk)-[:PART_OF]->(a:Article {id: $articleId})
RETURN ai.text.aggregateCompletion(
c.text,
'Summarize the following article chunks in 3 sentences',
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS summary
value parameter = each row's STRING fed to the LLM. Uses toString() for non-string values.
Pure-Cypher GraphRAG Pattern
Embed question → vector search → graph traverse → LLM completion — all in one Cypher query:
CYPHER 25
WITH ai.text.embed($question, 'openai', { token: $openaiKey, model: 'text-embedding-3-small' }) AS qEmbedding
CALL db.index.vector.queryNodes('chunk_embedding', 10, qEmbedding) YIELD node AS chunk, score
MATCH (chunk)<-[:HAS_CHUNK]-(article:Article)
OPTIONAL MATCH path = shortestPath((article)-[*..3]-(other:Article))
WITH chunk, article, collect(DISTINCT other.title) AS related, score
ORDER BY score DESC LIMIT 5
WITH collect(chunk.text + '\n[Source: ' + article.title + ']') AS context, $question AS question
RETURN ai.text.completion(
'Answer based on context:\n' + reduce(s='', c IN context | s + c + '\n') + '\nQuestion: ' + question,
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS answer
Key insight (Bergman): shortest path between seed nodes surfaces relationships not visible from direct neighbors alone.
Structured Output [2026.02]
Returns MAP — directly storable as node properties or used downstream in Cypher.
CYPHER 25
MATCH (p:Product {id: $productId})
WITH p,
ai.text.structuredCompletion(
'Extract key attributes from: ' + p.description,
{
type: 'object',
properties: {
category: { type: 'string' },
tags: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
priceRange: { type: 'string', enum: ['budget', 'mid', 'premium'] }
},
required: ['category', 'tags', 'priceRange'],
additionalProperties: false
},
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS extracted
SET p.category = extracted.category,
p.priceRange = extracted.priceRange
WITH p, extracted.tags AS tags
UNWIND tags AS tag
MERGE (t:Tag {name: tag})
MERGE (p)-[:TAGGED]->(t)
Aggregate structured completion — extract across multiple rows [2026.03]
CYPHER 25
MATCH (:User {id: $userId})-[:ORDERED]->(o:Order)-[:CONTAINS]->(p:Product)
RETURN ai.text.aggregateStructuredCompletion(
p.name + ': ' + p.category,
'Build a shopping profile for this user',
{
type: 'object',
properties: {
preferredCategories: { type: 'array', items: { type: 'string' } },
spendingTier: { type: 'string', enum: ['economy', 'standard', 'premium'] }
},
required: ['preferredCategories', 'spendingTier']
},
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS profile
Chat [2025.12]
Supported providers: openai and azure-openai only.
// Start new conversation (chatId = null → new session)
CYPHER 25
WITH ai.text.chat(
'Hello, who are you?',
null,
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS result
RETURN result.message AS reply, result.chatId AS sessionId
// Continue conversation (pass returned chatId)
CYPHER 25
WITH ai.text.chat(
'What did I just ask you?',
$chatId,
'openai',
{ token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }
) AS result
RETURN result.message AS reply, result.chatId AS sessionId
Returns MAP { message: STRING, chatId: STRING }. Store chatId to continue session.
Tokenization & Chunking [2026.04]
// Count tokens before sending to LLM
CYPHER 25
RETURN ai.text.tokenCount($text, 'openai', { token: $openaiKey, model: 'gpt-4o-mini' }) AS tokenCount
// Chunk text by token limit (no external dependencies)
CYPHER 25
UNWIND ai.text.chunkByTokenLimit($longText, 512, 'gpt-4', 50) AS chunk
MERGE (c:Chunk { text: chunk })
// List providers supporting tokenCount
CYPHER 25
CALL ai.text.tokenCount.providers() YIELD name, requiredConfigType
RETURN name, requiredConfigType
Signatures:
ai.text.tokenCount(input, provider, configuration = {}) :: INTEGER— provider-driven tokenizer; uses provider config (token/model).ai.text.chunkByTokenLimit(input, limit, model = 'gpt-4', overlap = 0) :: LIST<STRING>— local tokenizer keyed offmodel; no provider call, notokenrequired.
Write Gate
SET node.embedding = ai.text.embed(...) and SET node.* = ai.text.structuredCompletion(...) write to the graph.
Before bulk writes:
- Count nodes first:
MATCH (c:Chunk) WHERE c.embedding IS NULL RETURN count(c) - Verify config with one test node before batch
- Use
CALL { ... } IN TRANSACTIONS OF 500 ROWSfor batches > 1000 nodes - Require explicit confirmation before executing
Deprecated — Do NOT Use
| Old function | Replacement |
|---|---|
genai.vector.encode() [deprecated] |
ai.text.embed() |
genai.vector.encodeBatch() [deprecated] |
CALL ai.text.embedBatch() |
genai.vector.listEncodingProviders() [deprecated] |
CALL ai.text.embed.providers() |
Common Errors
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Unknown function 'ai.text.embed' |
Missing CYPHER 25 prefix OR plugin not installed | Add CYPHER 25 prefix; verify plugin installed |
Cypher version not supported |
Using CYPHER 25 on Neo4j < 5.20 or missing plugin |
Upgrade Neo4j; ensure GenAI plugin loaded |
Configuration key 'token' missing |
Provider config map incomplete | Check required keys for provider (see table above) |
null returned from embed |
Wrong model name or provider auth failed | Test with RETURN ai.text.embed('test', 'openai', {token:$k, model:'text-embedding-3-small'}) standalone |
Unsupported provider |
Provider string typo (case-sensitive, lowercase) | Use 'openai' not 'OpenAI'; run CALL ai.text.embed.providers() |
ai.text.chat fails on VertexAI |
Chat only supported on openai/azure-openai | Switch to openai/azure-openai for chat |
Checklist
-
CYPHER 25prefix present on every ai.text.* query - GenAI plugin installed (Aura: automatic; self-managed: JAR in plugins/)
- API key passed as
$param, never as literal string -
modelkey explicit in config (no silent defaults) - Provider string lowercase (
'openai','vertexai','bedrock-titan') - Bulk writes use
IN TRANSACTIONS OF 500 ROWS; count target nodes first -
genai.vector.encode()replaced withai.text.embed()[2025.11+] - Chat sessions: store returned
chatIdfor continuation; only openai/azure-openai supported - Structured output schema uses
additionalProperties: falseto prevent hallucination keys
References
- Full provider config — all required/optional keys per provider
- Official docs
- API reference