Artificial Intelligence Why your ChatGPT app will need a no-code rescue
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Josh Haas
In Why Your ChatGPT App Will Need a No-Code Rescue, Josh Haas reveals how pairing generative AI with no-code platforms bridges gaps like iteration, security, and usability, enabling founders to build scalable, secure apps quickly and collaboratively.
Josh Haas explains how generative AI falls short in app development, leaving founders to face challenges like iteration, security, and usability. He highlights how pairing AI with no-code platforms enables faster, scalable, and secure app creation.
Why your ChatGPT app will need a no-code rescue
Every day, we see YouTube videos of people using AI to turn plain English into code in seconds. No wonder the tech world can't stop buzzing about AI's promise to revolutionize software development -- or maybe demolish app coding altogether. But while generative AI can magically transform a prompt into software code, it can't do everything founders need it to.
What founders actually need is a fast, cheap, and easy way to manage the app over its lifetime as they respond to the market, grow, and scale. They also need to make sure they're building something customers will actually trust and want to use.
Founders are growing frustrated with AI app building
Right now, companies are facing substantial obstacles building with AI. 72% of tech leaders report significant obstacles in translating AI's potential into practical solutions. Meanwhile, 80% of companies have adopted generative AI -- but 50% say they launched before they were really prepared to use it.
The problem is that generative AI can't do all the work of building a successful app. After the initial magic of speaking a prompt and seeing the code, there's a frustrating gap between AI's promise and its practical implementation. At the AWS RE:invent conference recently, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted, "It's actually quite difficult to build a really good generative AI application."
Steve Sewell from Builder.io blogged about his frustration: "Things start fast and awesome: the basic scaffold of your page or site, or even some of the basic functionality, comes in seconds. But then you start prompting more and more, and you struggle to get what you want out of it.
As the application gets more complex, the behaviors you're looking for don't come out quite as easily.
Eventually, some prompt you use breaks everything. Nothing works, and no matter what you try, the AI cannot get out of this corner. The reality is LLMs are good at code generation, but that's only one part of many in software development. There's truly only one fix for these situations: you've got to roll up your sleeves, get in the code, and fix whatever the AI couldn't."
Three ways generative AI code falls short for founders 1. Iteration
The biggest problem with "prompt to code" AI is that you still need to iterate. The code that a founder uses AI to generate is just a prototype. Nothing is ever perfect from inception -- software always requires critical refinement and building to turn it from a prototype to a working product.
That's the work that needs to get done on the second day, after AI has given you that code. You still need to test, debug, maintain, and update your app. You'll still need to handle edge cases, optimize performance, and adapt to changing requirements. Some Generative AI tools will try to help you iterate, but re-prompting over the same codebase gets increasingly fragile and bug prone.
2. Protecting customer security
Data privacy and keeping personal information are key to building an app people trust and want to use. Chat GPT and other gen AI tools have limited security checking features, and the reality is that they are prone to errors. This can leave you with security vulnerabilities you don't even know about.
3. Code is still code
Founders want to use AI to make their apps using plain English. But once AI spits out your code, you still have to understand it. If you're non-technical, that AI-generated code might as well be ancient hieroglyphics. This slows down your ability to test, get feedback, iterate, and improve as soon as possible.
A better alternative: AI + the no-code trend
No-code is an approach to software development that uses visual logic -- like drag and drop -- instead of traditional programming language. It also uses plain English, just like ChatGPT. And just like ChatGPT, no-code doesn't require developers or a background in computer science -- the interface updates the code behind the scenes.
This is why no-code is overtaking traditional development. The low-code/no-code market is projected to grow significantly, with Gartner predicting a 24% increase in 2024, reaching $12 billion. Enterprise adoption is also growing as companies see the strategic value as an accessible way to build.
No-code transformed how founders build products. Now, AI is supercharging no-code development, letting you build and deploy custom apps at the speed of thought. No technical debt, no developer bottlenecks, and no switching between tools -- just seamless creation from concept to launch.
No-code lets founders improve their apps forever
With no-code platforms, you can improve your app based on testing and user feedback immediately. It's far faster than coding because it's visual, and it lets you see changes in real time. Instead of having to describe what you need to a dev team and wait for them to implement it, you can do it yourself exactly the way you picture it. These are the refinements that transform a good prototype into a great, usable app, and no-code lets you do them immediately.
While AI doesn't allow for human oversight of your bug fixing at all, no-code lets you use minimal human oversight. With no-code as the foundation, it's easy for humans to inspect and understand what changes are happening -- regardless of whether those changes are made by a human or an AI
Consider a startup developing a mobile app for event planning. Using a no-code platform, they can quickly prototype different user interfaces, test and iterate various features, and deploy to production - all without writing a single line of code. This agility allows them to refine their product much faster than traditional development methods.
Founders and customers get security
No-code platforms like Bubble are SOC 2 Type II compliant, meaning that their platforms are audited regularly to make sure they're able to protect customer data efficiently. They also include ways to stay compliant with the mandatory GDPR regulations for Europe and the UK, and provide safeguards for user authentication and robust administrative controls.
As you build your app, the visual programming also makes it easy to clearly see and control data flows so you can properly encrypt and restrict access to sensitive information the way you need to.
These features are key to establishing customer trust, especially in sensitive industries. Take a financial services company building an internal dashboard for risk assessment. This transparency allows for easier compliance with financial regulations and builds trust with both regulators and clients.
No-code is a logical, intuitive way for stakeholders to communicate
The visual interface and plain English of no-code platforms gives clarity that's essential for stakeholders who need to grasp project developments quickly. It fosters collaboration between non-technical team members across levels, which can give you valuable insights and feedback immediately
For example, imagine a marketing team working on a customer segmentation tool. With visual programming, they can easily understand and modify the segmentation logic, adjusting parameters and seeing results in real time, without needing to decipher complex code.
The future of app building is changing
The most successful tech has always been about solving human problems with human innovation. The future of software development isn't about replacing humans with AI; it's about creating tools that work the way we think. Both AI and no-code are revolutionary tech tools.
No-code programming enhanced by AI is the future of app building. AI can generate an app in minutes. With its visual programming interface, no-code then lets people manage their apps themselves instead of having to rely on technical teams to deal with the code AI puts out. As their businesses scale, their entire team -- technical or not -- can collaborate on debugging, iterating, and deploying faster and more strategically.
As Steve Sewell concluded in his blog, "I think the biggest unlock that's coming is better connecting the AI tools with your existing teams and workflows. This will enable us to build and iterate on real applications faster than traditional methods, maximizing the skills of everyone.
We'll all build better products faster together, focus on our unique skills and creativity, and spend less time on redundant menial work."
The skills landscape is transforming dramatically and quickly. Developers are no longer code writers -- they are architects of complex systems. Founders with a vision can now use these tools to be developers all by themselves. They can create exactly what their businesses need: the best, most secure, and most efficient app they can build, without being slowed down by developer roadblocks or technical debt. This shift isn't just about technology -- it's about empowering more people to bring their ideas to life. And it's about building the future at the speed of imagination.
About Josh Haas
Josh Haas is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bubble. Inspired by a passion for empowering people through technology, he previously served as the Co-Founder and CTO of another startup. In 2012, Josh co-founded Bubble with Emmanuel Straschnov. Together, they bootstrapped the company for seven years without venture funding, leveraging word-of-mouth to grow Bubble's no-code platform to its first half a million users.
This content is made possible by a guest author, or sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of App Developer Magazine's editorial staff.
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Why your ChatGPT app will need a no-code rescue, Generative AI, No Code Platforms, App Development, Tech Innovation, AI App Building, Iterative Design, Data Security, Visual Programming share
