When we talk about generative AI, most people think of text generation or image creation. Over the past weeks, I explored a different side: how these tools can lower barriers to software development. I experimented with Lovable, a platform that helps build web apps, to create a landing page and a sales page for a product that generates automatic outreach messages for LinkedIn ICPs.
Interestingly, my process began not in Lovable but in ChatGPT, since it was cheaper to draft the right prompts there before using Lovable’s more limited credits. In the backend, I connected Lovable to n8n workflows, which allowed customer inputs to trigger an AI agent that scanned LinkedIn profiles and generated personalized outreach messages.
Working with these tools came with clear advantages. Lovable felt intuitive and easy to use, even for someone without a coding background. The integration with n8n also worked more smoothly than expected, making it possible to put together something functional in a short time. It really gave me the sense that prototyping no longer needs to be reserved for professional developers.
At the same time, the difficulties were hard to miss. Setting up n8n workflows required understanding nodes and connections, which was a challenge without coding experience. The language model in Lovable also felt weaker compared to ChatGPT, and the credits were costly. Another drawback was latency: generating a personalized outreach message took up to 40 seconds, which would likely frustrate end users.
Reflecting on this, I see both the promise and the limits. On the one hand, tools like Lovable make it possible for almost anyone to create digital products. On the other, they reveal how important it still is to understand the underlying complexity. It makes me wonder: if building apps becomes accessible to everyone, will the role of professional developers fade, or will they remain crucial as the architects behind these ecosystems?
Thank you for sharing this, I’m also very interested in creating prototypes without programming experience, so I found your post and perspective really insightful. Also completely agree with your point that building applications is becoming easier and more accessible nowadays, but I’m still a bit unsure whether it’s realistic to build a fully functional application (so not just a prototype) without any technical background. I’d also imagine that once a project starts to scale, you would still need developers to design, optimize, and maintain a more complex system.
So I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well: based on your experience (and assuming you only used these tools to create university assignment related prototypes for now), do you think it’s possible to build a fully functional application (one that’s ready for market launch) without needing to learn many additional technical skills? Also did these tools change your approach to designing applications, or did you already have a clear idea in mind and mainly use them to visualize it?