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In the not-so-distant past, developing custom software was a luxury only large corporations could afford. The high costs, lengthy development cycles, and need for specialized coding skills put it out of reach for most small businesses and startups.
But the landscape is changing. The rise of no code app development platforms has leveled the playing field, empowering businesses of all sizes to create custom applications without breaking the bank or hiring an army of developers.
The Growing Popularity of No Code Platforms
According to Grand View Research, the no code platform market size was estimated at USD 3.83 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 30.6% from 2024 to 2030. This indicates a significant shift in the way businesses approach software development.
No code platforms offer a fundamentally different approach to software development. Instead of writing complex code, these tools provide intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, pre-built components, and customizable templates. This allows users to create and visualize their applications in real-time, using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) approach. By eliminating the need for coding knowledge, no code platforms accelerate development cycles, reduce the risk of costly errors, and enable even non-technical team members to bring their ideas to life.
Empowering Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
The true power of no code lies in its ability to give entrepreneurs, business leaders, and domain experts—the ones who understand their industries and customers best—the freedom to create custom software solutions to grow their businesses. Innovation is no longer limited to those with computer science degrees or large IT budgets. With no code, anyone with a great idea and the drive to see it through can build applications that improve core workflows, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth.
No code app builders allow organizations to respond quickly to changing market demands, test new ideas with minimal risk, and create tailored solutions that fit their unique workflows. By lowering the barriers to entry, these tools are fostering a culture of innovation and agility that’s essential in today’s market.
The Synergy Between No Code and AI
The real magic happens when no code meets artificial intelligence (AI). While both technologies are powerful on their own, together, they amplify the no code development process, making it easier than ever to build smart, adaptable AI applications.
At their core, no code and artificial intelligence share a common goal: to make building software easier, more powerful, and accessible to a wider audience. No code provides the foundation, offering an intuitive way to build custom apps without writing a single line of code. AI then builds on that foundation, infusing applications with intelligence and automation.
How AI Enhances No Code App Development
A study by Microsoft and LinkedIn reveals that more and more employees are struggling with the volume and pace of work. AI has become a go-to solution for many of them, with 78% of workers now bringing their own AI tools to work. Another 41% of leaders “extremely familiar with AI” expect to redesign business processes from the ground up with artificial intelligence. This accelerated rate of AI adoption presents a huge opportunity for businesses to incorporate artificial intelligence into their workflows in two key ways: developer-focused and user-focused AI.
Developer-Focused AI
Developer-focused AI acts as a smart assistant, suggesting features, optimizing layouts, and even generating code snippets based on the developer’s intent. This helps streamline workflows, reduce trial and error, and accelerate development cycles.
User-Focused AI
User-focused AI, on the other hand, is all about embedding intelligent capabilities directly into the application. This includes features like natural language processing (NLP), image recognition, and predictive analytics—all of which make applications more intuitive, responsive, and personalized to user needs.
The combination of developer-focused and user-focused artificial intelligence opens up a wide range of possibilities for businesses, allowing them to create applications that are powerful, easy to develop, and deeply tailored to their specific business requirements. This dual approach ensures that applications are optimized for both the development process and the end-user experience, leading to better adoption and satisfaction.
Generating Ideas and Jumpstarting App Development with AI
One of the most exciting use cases of AI in no code app development is its ability to generate ideas and inspire creativity. Glide started with a plain-text AI App Generator, which helped brainstorm app ideas.
That turned into an AI App Builder, which actually assembles a basic structure for your app. From there, you just have to tweak and customize instead of building the basic layout of your app from scratch.
The process is simple yet powerful. Begin with a plain English description of your app idea or the problem you’re trying to solve. The AI App Generator analyzes your description, generating a tailored schema with suggested data structures and relationships and providing a concrete starting point for your app. The generator also proposes layouts and features based on your app’s purpose and target audience. For example, if you’re building a project management app, it might suggest features like task prioritization, deadline reminders, and collaborative commenting.
Apart from brainstorming ideas, no code AI app builders can provide a further head start by automating basic steps and prototyping your app’s framework, without requiring any coding knowledge. By simply describing your app idea in plain language, AI handles the heavy lifting of the initial setup, transforming your vision into a fully functioning mobile or web app.
Based on your description, it can infer and display relations within the app, allow you to change your desired color theme, and generate relevant images to enhance the user-friendly interface. The AI-generated framework serves as a solid foundation that you can further refine to create an attractive and cohesive visual identity for your app, even if you don’t have a background in UX/UI design. Now, instead of getting bogged down in the technicalities of coding and design, you can concentrate on perfecting your app’s core features, user experience, and overall functionality.
Building Native AI Features into Your Apps
Unlike other no code app builders that help you use AI to build your apps, with Glide AI, you can integrate powerful AI capabilities directly into your app, without the need for complex APIs or external tools.
From automating data entry to performing complex calculations, and generating natural language summaries, you can easily add AI to your app’s core workflows via the Data Editor, Layout Editor, or Action Editor. One of Glide AI’s key abilities is transforming unstructured text into structured data like dates, numbers, boolean, or choice functions. This structured data can then be used in all sorts of tasks or to trigger further actions in your app.
Glide AI can also be used to extract information from images like receipts, process and categorize expenses, convert currencies, generate content from existing data, and transcribe audio recordings efficiently.
Most Glide AI features have an Input field where you must specify the information the AI should consider when generating its response, such as a question to answer, a prompt to complete, or data to analyze. You can also customize your app via the Instructions field, allowing you to shape the AI’s output—adding context, aligning responses with your brand’s tone, or specifying design requirements.
In conclusion, no code app development platforms combined with artificial intelligence are revolutionizing the way businesses build applications. These tools empower entrepreneurs and business leaders to create custom software solutions without the need for specialized coding skills or large budgets. With AI-infused no code app builders, the development process becomes even more powerful and accessible, allowing for the creation of smart, adaptable applications. Whether generating ideas, automating workflows, or embedding intelligent features, AI enhances the no code development experience and opens up new possibilities for businesses of all sizes.
