You Can Build an App! Who Knew?
Today I want to open the door and invite you into the amazing world of AI App Builders, AI that builds apps for us.
I’m not doing this because I think we should all start building apps — I don’t think that at all.
I’m doing it because I want you to know what’s possible, have awareness of what’s going on, and have that moment of 'wow, I made an app and it worked!'.
I also want you to understand what people are offering when they sell or develop an app for you, and what tools they have so that you know what’s at their disposal.
Let’s go!
In the video, I open the door and show the amazing world of AI app builders.
Lovable: build a tax calculator for Australia and New Zealand
The tool I am showing today is called Lovable.
I simply created an account and gave it a task: build an individual tax calculator for 2025/2026 comparing Australia and New Zealand.
I gave it a bit of detail on what I want it to show. Tax by bracket, total tax, and net pay for weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay.
It started by researching the current tax brackets and then building a clean, trustworthy interface — without me needing to provide the details or logic.
It came back with what it called the OZNZ Tax Buddy: a comprehensive calculator, professional design, key features, and the tax brackets all implemented.
What it built
The calculator worked!
I put in an amount and it showed the results for both Australia and New Zealand.
It even added Medicare levy at 2% for AU and ACC levy at 1.39% for NZ, which I had not even mentioned or thought about.
It displayed weekly, fortnightly and monthly amounts as well, as I requested.
I did cut the video a bit, removing the wait time. The actual wait time before editing was... three minutes.
Iterate and customise
From there, I could ask it to make changes.
Change the colours, adjust the layout, add explanations, add support for deductions or export a PDF.
Whatever I might need, it can quickly adapt.
Keep it and publish it
Once finished, the app lived inside my Lovable account.
I can come back anytime to use it, I can connect it to a database to save results between sessions or publish it so others can use it too.
Of course, I would still need to check that everything is correct.
Popular AI App Builders
There are many tools right now for building apps with AI.
The ones I see the most are Lovable, Base 44, Replit, and Curser which is a bit more technical, for those of us wanting to interact with the code.
Integrations
These platforms also have integrations.
You can connect AI models like OpenAI, Anthropic or Perplexity.
You can connect Stripe or PayPal for payments.
Slack to send or monitor messages.
Airtable for data.
Google Analytics and many other services.
What I think you should do next
I think you should go and have a play.
Not to build apps and sell them right away — that comes with big questions about security, data, publishing and monitoring.
And of course, testing.
But for small utilities for yourself, why not?
Even if you create something you never use again, you’ll have that experience of: 'I did it, I get it, I know what people are talking about.'
You’ll understand what it is, and it will feel less of a mystery.
When people offer to build you apps, you’ll know what options they have and what tools they’re likely using.
You’ll be a smarter buyer.
Share what you built
Let us all know what you built.
I’d love to hear, and I’m sure everybody else would too.
Make a screenshot.
Or a video.
Post it on LinkedIn.
If you mention me, I’ll come and comment, because you’re doing amazing and we should celebrate you in public!
Remember, the technology is there. But only those who pick it up and use it really enjoy the power it offers.
So use it. Do it!
—-
Inbal Rodnay
Guiding Firms in Adopting AI and Automation
Keynote speaker | AI Workshops | Executive briefings | Consulting CIO
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