Did you spot the last post was AI generated? You can smell it when you know – although that doesn’t invalidate it, it just flags a warning. After all, to smell rather than simply be wrong is no crime – and a human is usually ultimately responsible for validating it (with luck). Let’s add our comments [in bold square brackets] as the generated content is still pretty smart and useful.
Understanding Low Code Development
Low code development platforms enable users to create applications through visual interfaces and configuration rather than traditional hand-coding. These platforms use drag-and-drop components, pre-built templates, and automated workflows to simplify the development process. While they’ve already made app development more accessible, the integration of AI is taking these capabilities to an entirely new level. [All good.]
The AI Advantage: Five Key Accelerators [from a human]
1. Intelligent Code Generation and Completion
AI-powered low code platforms can now understand natural language descriptions and automatically generate the underlying logic and components. Instead of manually configuring every workflow or data model, developers can describe what they need in plain English, and the AI generates the appropriate structures. This dramatically reduces the time spent on routine configuration tasks and allows developers to focus on business logic and user experience. [This can be true, but often the text prompting takes more time to refine the code than simply doing it yourself with experience of what works and what doesn’t.]
2. Smart Component Recommendations
Modern AI systems analyze your application’s context and purpose to suggest relevant components, integrations, and design patterns. If you’re building a customer portal, the AI might recommend authentication modules, user profile components, and notification systems based on millions of similar applications. This intelligent recommendation system helps developers avoid reinventing the wheel and ensures they’re following best practices. [Technical components yes, business components… best left to client and solution provider].
3. Automated Testing and Quality Assurance
AI can automatically generate test cases, identify potential bugs, and even predict where issues are likely to occur based on code patterns. This proactive approach to quality assurance means fewer bugs make it to production, and developers spend less time on repetitive testing tasks. The AI learns from each application built on the platform, continuously improving its ability to catch issues early. [As long as the code is structured to allow it (not always the case), this is a great timesaver].
4. Natural Language Database Queries
One of the most time-consuming aspects of app development is working with databases. AI-powered low code platforms now allow developers to query and manipulate data using natural language. Instead of writing complex SQL queries or configuring intricate data relationships, you can simply ask the system to “show all customers who made purchases in the last 30 days,” and the AI handles the rest. [AI does write some good SQL from natural language, but it can get it horribly wrong without a load of prompting where you feel sometimes you are teaching it rather than the other way round].
5. Intelligent Integration Mapping
Connecting different systems and APIs is typically a complex, time-intensive process. AI can now automatically understand data schemas, suggest field mappings, and even handle data transformations between different systems. This makes it exponentially faster to build applications that need to communicate with multiple external services. [A good code-first AI can help here, although by the time everything is specified to it, the job is often pretty much done].
Real-World Impact: Time and Cost Savings
The combination of low code platforms and AI is delivering measurable benefits across industries. Organizations report reducing development time by 60-80% compared to traditional coding approaches. More importantly, they’re able to iterate faster, respond to business needs more quickly, and empower non-technical team members to contribute to application development.
Consider a typical business application that might take a traditional development team 3-4 months to build. With an AI-enhanced low code platform, the same application could be developed in 2-3 weeks. This isn’t just theoretical—companies across healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and retail are achieving these results today. [Agreed, although slightly optimistic].
Empowering Citizen Developers
Perhaps the most transformative aspect of AI-powered low code platforms is how they enable “citizen developers”—business users with limited coding experience. AI acts as a knowledgeable assistant, guiding these users through complex decisions, suggesting optimal approaches, and catching potential mistakes before they become problems. This democratization of development means businesses can tap into a much larger pool of creative problem-solvers. [Kind of agree, although in reality valuable time from business experts is better spent specifying requirements to skilled coders using AI themselves].
Looking Ahead: The Future of Development
As AI models become more sophisticated, we can expect even greater acceleration in low code development. Future platforms will likely offer capabilities like automatic performance optimization, predictive scaling recommendations, and even AI-driven user experience improvements based on behavio[u]ral analytics. [Indeed, in fact this may be where AI is better employed].
The goal isn’t to replace professional developers but to augment their capabilities and free them to focus on high-value, creative problem-solving. Meanwhile, business teams can build and iterate on applications that address their specific needs without waiting for development resources. [Agreed, where possible… taking the above notes into consideration!].
Getting Started
For organizations considering AI-powered low code platforms, the key is to start with a clear use case. Look for applications that are relatively straightforward but currently consume significant development time. These make ideal pilot projects that can demonstrate value quickly while teams build familiarity with the platform.
The fusion of AI and low code development isn’t just a trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how we build software. Organizations that embrace this approach will find themselves with a significant competitive advantage: the ability to turn ideas into working applications at unprecedented speed, while maintaining quality and reducing costs.
The question isn’t whether to adopt AI-powered low code development, but how quickly you can integrate it into your organization’s technology strategy.
[Absolutely – but when you get stuck with brittle code breaking and frustration from skilled and expensive business users… give us a shout to see how we can ensure delivery rollout is what you need without the hassle].
