How To Build an App With AI: A Step-by-Step Guide

To create your own app with AI, follow these 6 key steps.

Step 1: Define Your Core Idea

Before you start, you need to conduct market research, and prepare a clear idea of what you want to build and why. This core idea will lay the foundation of your app, since it’ll help you construct tailored prompts that get the AI to create exactly what you’ve envisioned.

Here are some industry-specific ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Education: Learning games, student performance tracker
• Healthcare: Symptom checker app, all-in-one bookings system, personalized treatment plans
• Ecommerce: Inventory tracker, personalized shopping recommendations, gamified shopping experiences
• Customer service: Chatbot app for improved customer experience via AI
• Real estate: Property evaluation tool, mortgage calculator
• Hospitality: Hotel bookings assistant

Map out what key features and design elements you’d like your app to have, too, so you remember to include these requirements in your prompt.

Step 2: Choose Your AI App Builder

As you research the right tool for your needs, there are three different types of AI app builders you should know about: prompt-first builders, data-first builders, and visual builders.

• Prompt-first builders: AI app builders that use natural language to create apps.
  • You’d write a prompt to start.
  • Examples include Base44, Hostinger Horizons, Bolt, and Lovable.
• Data-first builders: AI app builders that use your own data to create apps.
  • You’d start by connecting your data from platforms like Airtable or Google Sheets.
  • Examples include Glide and Softr.
• Visual builders (with AI): AI app builders that have you drag-and-drop specific elements onto the page to build your app with.
  
  • AI tools are typically integrated with this type of builder.
  • Examples include Bubble and Flutterflow.

For complete beginners, I recommend starting with an intuitive prompt-first AI app builder such as Base44 or Lovable. These user-friendly platforms will start building your app as soon as you input your first prompt.

I will be using a prompt-based platform in the following steps. 

Step 3: Experiment With Different Prompts

When you’re learning how to create an AI app, don’t let prompting intimidate you. Though it can be tricky to create effective prompts at first, experimenting with your AI app builder of choice will help you learn through trial and error.

As a beginner prompter, it’s best to keep things simple and take the AI through a logical, step-by-step process.

Here’s how I did it with Base44.

In my first prompt, I described what I wanted to build in plain English. For example:

“Create a personalized fitness plan app and start by building the main dashboard page. It should include an app navigation bar, and a list of daily, home workouts the user can choose from.”

Once I’d submitted my prompt, the AI started generating the app for me.

💻 Did you know that you can also create websites with AI prompts? Read our guide to the best AI prompt examples for building websites.

Step 4: Continue the Conversation

The next step is refining your design. With further prompting, I could tell the AI to tweak parts of my app’s design, add more features, and fix specific issues I’d noticed. Here are some examples:

“Add a feature to the navigation bar that lets users track their water intake.”

“The navigation buttons don’t work when I click on them. Fix them.”

“Make all of the app’s buttons this color: (hex code: 3D7FF5)”

I continued this back-and-forth conversation with the AI until I was happy with my app.

Step 5: Connect Your Data

When you create an app on a platform like Base44, it’ll automatically generate a database for you. The database is where the builder stores important information that’s needed for your app to function.

For example, if you’ve asked the AI to create an inventory tracker, it will create a database for you, which is where you’ll store your inventory.

You’ll first need to locate your data before you connect it with your app. You might’ve already stored it on a Google Sheets document, on an Airtable base, or on a simple text file.

But how do you add this data to your app? Most AI app builders come with built-in tools that let you easily add your own data. As an example, here’s how I connected my data with my own fitness app when using Base44.

1. I clicked on the “dashboard” tab.
2. I selected “data”.
3. Underneath the “data” dropdown, I selected the database I wanted to add my data to (e.g. the “workout” database that stores different workout routines).
4. From here, I could manually add data by clicking the “Add” button, or select “…” and click “export” to download a CSV file to add my data to. I went down the CSV route.
5. I opened the CSV file. It included database columns that the AI had generated for me, such as “title,” “description,” and “calories burned”.
6. I could then add my own data underneath the correct columns.
7. To connect my data, I clicked on “…” again, but this time selected “import” and uploaded my edited CSV file.
8. My app was now populated with all the workouts I wanted to add.

Always remember to test out your app after you’ve connected your data to make sure that it’s still running smoothly.

Step 6: Test and Go Live!

Testing your app before it goes live is key, since you should never assume that the AI has gotten everything right the first time round. It’s your chance to look for any bugs, smooth out the user journey, and make sure that every button and login form works properly.

The best way to test your app is by putting yourself in the shoes of who it’s made for, be it your colleagues or your customers.

• Does the app fulfill its purpose?
• And does it fit in with the customer journey?

During your review, note down anything that could be improved. This will help you prepare additional prompts for the AI to make key improvements.

Happy? Go ahead and publish your app.

On Base44, I could click the “Publish” button to access a public, shareable link to my app that I could send to customers, or a private access link I could send to my colleagues. If you want to create a QR code that links to your app, you can use a free online QR code generator like QRcodemonkey.

An AI app builder is a tool that enables you to create a web or mobile app out of a single text prompt, whereas vibe coding describes the process of using these tools to create your desired outcome. Think of your AI app builder as your artistic tool, and vibe coding as the artistic process itself.

AI app builders take care of all the heavy-lifting for you. All you need to do is type out a prompt in natural language that describes what app you’d like it to create. As you use these tools and direct the AI through conversational language, you’re vibe coding.

Whether your business is restricted by time constraints, a tight budget, or a lack of technical know-how, AI app building tools are a stepping stone that can help you overcome these limitations with ease. The main benefits of building an app with AI include:

Automating Your Busywork

Your pipeline is likely packed with repetitive, time-consuming tasks, so why not use AI to build internal tools that can help you improve your efficiency? Here are a few examples:

• A dashboard app that constantly updates with current industry news and market trends.
• A data management app that can help you organize raw information into specific categories.
• An app that assists you with customer follow-up and sorts comments into different categories, such as “Urgent,” “Feature Request,” and “Positive”.

Launching New Services Instantly

Depending on your industry and target audience, you could introduce customer-facing apps as a new service on your website. However, it’s important that the app you create solves a specific problem for your customers, since that will incentivize your audience to engage with it in the first place. App-based services might include:

• A self-service portal where customers can schedule in bookings, manage dates and times, and pay for appointments.
• A central rewards hub for your customer loyalty program, making it easy for your customers to collect points and redeem exclusive rewards.
• A calculator tool that can help your customers calculate specific costs. For example, a realtor could build an app helping customers work out how much their home is worth.

Saving Thousands on Development Costs

With an AI app builder, your total costs will be rolled into a monthly subscription plan that can save your business money in the long run. Research each option carefully to find a plan that fits your budget.

Can You Build an App Without AI?

You can build an app without AI, but you’ll need to hire a professional team to complete this work for you – and costs will vary depending on your industry and project scope.

According to topflight’s app cost estimates, building a mobile app could cost you anywhere between $80,000 and $250,000 due to the prototyping, development, and testing required.

Knowing how to build an app with AI comes with plenty of trial and error, but to help you out, here are some common mistakes to avoid.

Blindly Trusting the AI

Though it’s impressive that AI can create entire apps based on natural language prompts, it isn’t a perfect system. Your AI-generated code could be littered with errors, or contain vulnerabilities that won’t keep your company and customer data secure.

So, I highly recommend leaning on a professional’s help before you make your app widely available. On freelancer sites like Upwork or Fiverr, you can find reputable developers who can review, debug, and secure your app. However, remember to vet your choices first and inspect their reviews carefully.

🧪 Testing Notes

I was super impressed with Base44’s ability to process my prompts and action feedback accurately. Its built-in database, security settings, and user management controls made me feel confident in the safety of my project, even as a beginner. While I could confidently publish simple Base44 apps without checks, more complex projects should always be checked over by a professional, no matter what vibe coding tool you’re using.

Annie Angus Writer

Not Knowing Vibe Coding Fundamentals

With vibe coding, you no longer need to be a developer to know how to create an app. That said, it does help if you understand coding fundamentals, like what a database, tech stack, and user interface (UI) is, or where you can find the error log.

The more you know, the easier it’ll be for you to successfully direct the AI. Don’t forget to research your vibe coding basics and familiarize yourself with key terminology.

Forgetting About Credits

Most AI app builders are subscription-based, and you’ll likely have a limited number of credits to use per day depending on your plan. For example, if you’re on Lovable’s free plan, you’ll only have five free credits per day. This translates to just five prompts each day.

So, be mindful of your credit limit. You don’t want to waste your credits on vague, unhelpful prompts that won’t help create the app you have in mind.

The best prompt-based AI app builders on the market include Base44, Lovable, Replit, Bolt, and Hostinger Horizons. I’ve outlined these options in more depth in the table below:

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Hostinger Horizons	Base44	Lovable	Tempo Labs	Bolt
Starting Price $6.99/mo	Starting Price $16/mo	Starting Price $25/mo	Starting Price $30/mo	Starting Price $25/mo
Free Plan or Free Trial 7-day free trial	Free Plan or Free Trial Free plan, with 25 credits/mo	Free Plan or Free Trial Free plan, with 30 credits/mo	Free Plan or Free Trial Free plan, with 30 credits/mo	Free Plan or Free Trial Free plan, with 1 million tokens/mo
Key Integrations Google AdSense Stripe Supabase	Key Integrations Google Calendar OpenAI eToro Hubspot Monday.com Zapier Slack Stripe	Key Integrations Figma OpenAI Shopify Square Stripe Supabase	Key Integrations Jira Gantt	Key Integrations AdobeCommerce BigCommerce WooCommerce Figma MailChimp PayPal Stripe
GitHub Integration	GitHub Integration	GitHub Integration	GitHub Integration	GitHub Integration
Key Features Built-in hosting Built-in SEO for app visibility Design app pages from a single image Version control Visual editor for app design	Key Features Analytics dashboard Built-in file storage Buy and connect custom domain Database management User authentication Version control	Key Features Analytics dashboard Built-in SEO for app visibility Chat mode for debugging Security scans Visual editor for app design	Key Features Visual editor for app design Works with pre-existing React codebases Free templates to start with Free error fixes	Key Features Built-in hosting Built-in SEO for app visibility Visual editor for app design

Though AI app builders have made it possible for anyone to create fully functional apps, these tools aren’t a magic wand. To create and launch a successful project that’ll give value to your team or customers, you still need to spend time selecting the right tool, perfecting your prompting skills, rigorously testing your app before hitting publish, and building your knowledge of vibe coding basics.

As the technology continues to develop, now is the perfect time to build your expertise. Start small and experiment often, working out the specific strengths and limitations of each platform along the way.

Ready to start vibe coding?

You can get started with Base44. Just click on the link below and enter your first prompt!

Try Base44