We all have that friend who’s always ahead of the curve. They’re the first to discover the new restaurant everyone raves about, spot the next big trend in fashion, or casually drop a term like cheugy (you know, when something goes from trendy to too out of style).

In the tech world, my trendsetter is rUv—short for Reuven Cohen (if you’re feeling formal). Over the past few years, rUv has been at the forefront of large-scale AI projects, accumulating a wealth of bleeding-edge insights that are as fascinating as they are forward-thinking.

This week, while he demoed some of his latest projects, it struck me just how far ahead he is in leveraging AI. His work feels like a sneak preview of what’s to come—a real glimpse into the future of AI and application development.

In true rUv fashion, he described himself as the Forrest Gump of tech—a humble yet fitting title for someone quietly in the background of some of the industry’s biggest technology trends.

Right now, it feels like we’re in a bit of an AI winter doldrums. The pace of innovation remains fast but perhaps less furious. Yet watching rUv work reminded me there’s still plenty of game-changing progress happening, just under the radar.

Let’s dive into it and explore what’s quietly reshaping the the way apps are being developed.

Create Your Own AI Micro Apps

Why settle for one-size-fits-all solutions when you can create tailor-made micro apps to solve your daily productivity challenges?

Turning repetitive tasks into automated, efficient workflows is easier than you think with Claude AI.

Whether it's managing your time with a Pomodoro timer, streamlining email replies, or customizing to-do lists, Claude empowers you to design apps that work the way you do. Learn how to identify your pain points, outline solutions, and integrate Claude’s powerful tools to build apps that fit seamlessly into your routine—and supercharge your efficiency.

Outline Your App

Map out the interface and basic user interactions for your app. Use tools like Balsamiq, Figma, or even just paper and pen to sketch out what the app should look like and how it should function.

For a Pomodoro timer, you would need buttons to start, pause, resume, and reset the timer and indicators for work and break mode.

Use Claude Artifacts

Here’s how.

Log in to your Claude AI account and ask Claude to create an app based on your outline. You can provide detailed prompts, such as:

• "Create a Pomodoro timer app with 25-minute work sessions and 5-minute breaks."

• "Include buttons to start, pause, resume, and reset the timer."

• "Automatically switch between work and break modes and indicate when the mode switches."

Claude will generate an Artifact containing your app, which you can edit and refine.

Edit and Refine Your App

Claude works best when used iteratively. If the initial output isn't exactly what you need, you can ask Claude to generate a new Artifact or modify the existing one. You can highlight specific elements in the Code view of the Artifact and use the "Improve" option to make changes.

Integrate with Other Apps

To maximize productivity, integrate your custom app with other tools you use. For example, you can use Zapier or Make to connect your app with Google Sheets, Notion, or other project management tools. This allows you to automate tasks such as sending summaries of meeting minutes or analyzing form responses.

Example Workflow

Here’s an example of how you could automate a repetitive task using Claude AI and Zapier:

• Create a custom app using Claude Artifacts that generates a daily to-do list based on your priorities.

• Use Zapier to connect this app to your task management tool (like Todoist or Trello).

• Set up a Zap that automatically adds tasks from your Claude-generated list to your task management tool.

• Additionally, you can set up another Zap to send reminders or notifications based on the tasks and deadlines generated by Claude.

Why rely on generic tools when you can design bespoke solutions tailored to your workflow? With Claude AI, building custom micro apps has never been more accessible. By transforming repetitive tasks into automated workflows, you free up your time to focus on what truly matters.

From mapping out user-friendly interfaces to refining your app's functionality and integrating it with your favorite tools, the process is streamlined and efficient. Whether you're managing time with a Pomodoro timer, organizing priorities with a dynamic to-do list, or automating routine tasks, Claude empowers you to be both the architect and beneficiary of your productivity ecosystem.

The tools are at your fingertips, and the possibilities are endless. Start small, think big, and watch your personalized AI solutions redefine the way you work.

Additional Resources on Building Microspps

• Turn a Screenshot Into a Working App with Claude - No Code Required!

• NEW Claude Projects Full Guide! (Amazing Results)

• Use Claude to Create a fully deployed web app in less than 5 minutes

• More Advanced - I can't believe we coded an app with AI in 67 mins (V0, Cursor AI, Replit, Claude AI)

Brought to You in Partnership with Zilliz

AI Coding Is Not Just for Coders

Lessons Learned from the Forest Gump of Artificial Intelligence

In early August, I wrote about the rise of No Code AI, tools that democratize software development by allowing non-developers to create complex applications. While the broader AI landscape appears to be stabilizing, one corner of the market—AI coding—is showing no signs of slowing down. If anything, it's gaining momentum, fueled by open source innovation and an expanding toolkit of specialized large language models (LLMs).

In my opinion developers shouldn’t just be using AI for autocompleting snippets of code—they should be orchestrating it to write entire applications. Tools like GitHub Copilot may have paved the way for AI-assisted coding, but the real leap forward is in leveraging advanced models that generate high-quality code based on specifications, not just filling in blanks. Watching my friend rUv (Reuven Cohen) at work this week was a revelation: he wasn’t writing code in the traditional sense; he was conducting it.

Instead of piecing together individual components or relying solely on auto-suggestions, modern AI tools allow developers to describe what they want, and the AI does the heavy lifting. This isn’t just faster—it’s transformational. AI can now create architecture, define libraries, and even solve for edge cases, leaving developers to focus on guiding the vision rather than executing every detail. And he was doing it at rate that was easily 10x that of a normal developer.

For non-coders, this shift is equally groundbreaking. AI now enables anyone to create microapps without touching a single line of code. Whether you’re a developer or not, the message is clear: the days of manually building everything from scratch are over. It’s time to harness AI to work smarter and unlock a new level of productivity.

For Developers: AI as a First-Class Citizen in the IDE

If you’re a developer, AI should already feel like a natural extension of your toolkit. Tools like Cline and Aider enable seamless interactions with large language models (LLMs), and frameworks like LiteLLM give you the flexibility to direct development to the LLM of your choice. These tools aren’t just for auto-completing lines of code or speeding up rote tasks—they’re redefining the entire development process.

Unlike first-generation “no-code” tools, which were akin to digital Legos for non-coders, today’s AI-driven systems are far more capable. They can generate high-quality code from plain-language specifications, skipping the need for architecture diagrams or pre-defined libraries. This agentic AI approach empowers developers to work smarter, not harder.

The takeaway here? Unless privacy concerns or other constraints make it unfeasible, every developer should embrace AI-driven tools—not just GitHub Copilot but well-trained models that integrate directly into their Integrated Development Environment (IDE). These tools amplify creativity, streamline problem-solving, and reduce time-to-deployment.

For Everyone Else: Microapps Without the Code

But what about the rest of us—the non-technical users who don’t write code? AI has opened up unprecedented opportunities for productivity, allowing users to create microapps without writing a single line of code.

[I think this video on LinkedIn by Allie K. Miller provides a few great examples of what I am decribering here.]

Unlike earlier no-code tools, which required users to piece together pre-built components, today’s AI systems take a more agentic approach. You provide the specifications—what you want the app to do, what data it needs to work with—and the AI handles the rest, generating everything from the codebase to the necessary integrations.

This shift means that non-technical professionals can create custom tools for niche tasks, vastly improving efficiency in areas where pre-built software often falls short. Whether it’s automating a specific workflow, building a bespoke data analysis tool, or creating lightweight internal apps, AI microapp creation is no longer a luxury; it’s a productivity game-changer.

The Takeaways

• Developers Should Fully Embrace AI: AI isn’t just a helper—it’s an integral part of modern development. If you’re not leveraging tools like Cline, Aider, and LiteLLM to switch between modes to build smarter, faster, and better, you’re leaving potential on the table.

• Non-Technical Professionals Should Explore Microapps: Identify tasks where a bespoke application could dramatically amplify your productivity and investigate how today’s AI models can help you create those apps without traditional coding.

• AI is for Specifications, Not Just Execution: The new agentic AI systems are built to understand what you need, not just how to build it. They generate architecture, libraries, and code on demand, freeing users to focus on outcomes, not implementation.

And there you have it—coding the old-fashioned way is starting to feel, well, a little cheugy. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or someone who’s never written a line of code, the tools at our disposal today are rewriting the playbook.

AI is no longer just assisting with the grunt work—it’s enabling anyone to bring their ideas to life, faster and smarter than ever.

Further Reading and Resources

Joining communities and forums can provide valuable support, resources, and networking opportunities for no-code app developers:

• Makerpad - One of the largest communities for individuals developing software and automating processes without code.

• NoCode.tech - Known for its supportive environment, providing resources and guidance for no-code enthusiasts.

• Indie Hackers - While not exclusively a no-code community, it includes many no-code developers sharing their experiences and projects.

• Reddit (r/nocode) - A subreddit where users discuss various aspects of no-code development, share projects, and seek advice.

• Aider - On the surface, Aider looks like just another coding assistant, but it’s a powerful ally for non-programmers. Aidder specializes in creating microapps—small, task-specific applications that solve particular problems. By integrating natural language processing with code generation, Aidder allows users to describe what they need in plain English and turns those descriptions into functional code.

• Cline - Enter Cline, a dual-purpose AI assistant designed to work seamlessly with your Command Line Interface (CLI) and text editor. Cline bridges the gap between the developer’s terminal and IDE, offering context-aware code suggestions, automation scripts, and even shell command optimizations. Whether you're navigating file systems, setting up Docker containers, or scripting, Cline acts as a smart co-pilot that reduces repetitive tasks and streamlines workflows.

• LiteLLM - LiteLLM is a unified API platform designed to simplify interactions with over 100 large language models (LLMs) from various providers, including OpenAI, Azure, Anthropic, HuggingFace, and more. It offers a consistent interface for making API calls, eliminating the need to learn and use provider-specific APIs, and ensures standardized output formats for easy integration.

Application Development Prompt for Claude.ai

I’d love to see you be successful in creating your own microapps so I spent a lot of time trying to make sure you had the resources in this edition of The AIE. It seems to good to be true but trust me I think you’ll see some results

How to Use This Prompt

1. Define Your Objective Clearly:

   • Before entering the prompt, have a clear idea of what kind of app you want to build and its purpose. The more specific you are, the better the output.

   • Example: Instead of asking for "a business app," specify, "a task management app for small teams with collaborative features."

2. Input the Prompt:

   • Paste the provided prompt directly into Claude.ai. Adjust placeholders (e.g., type of app) to match your requirements.

3. Refine the Output:

   • Ask follow-up questions for additional details. For example:

     • "Suggest plugins for integrating Stripe for payment processing."

4. Iterate and Experiment:

   • Claude can generate step-by-step instructions, but no-code platforms often have visual interfaces. Follow Claude's suggestions while experimenting directly in the platform for hands-on learning.

5. Use Claude for Debugging Help:

   • If you encounter an issue, ask Claude specific questions:

     • "I can't get my app to save user data in Adalo. Can you troubleshoot the steps?"

[Pro Tip: While ChatGPT prompts are better written in Markdown, Claude prompts are better written in XML.]

```xml
<NoCodeAppDevelopmentRole>
    <Role>
        Act as a no-code app development expert to build a specific type of app, such as a task management app, inventory tracker, or customer support bot.
    </Role>
    <Objective>
        <Step>
            <Number>1</Number>
            <Description>Define the app's core features and user workflows.</Description>
        </Step>
        <Step>
            <Number>2</Number>
            <Description>Select or design a user-friendly UI/UX layout.</Description>
        </Step>
        <Step>
            <Number>3</Number>
            <Description>Integrate data storage and dynamic content using the platform's database tools.</Description>
        </Step>
        <Step>
            <Number>4</Number>
            <Description>Add automation and workflows to handle user interactions.</Description>
        </Step>
        <Step>
            <Number>5</Number>
            <Description>Test, debug, and deploy the app.</Description>
        </Step>
    </Objective>
    <AdditionalInfo>
        <Tips>
            <Tip>Optimize performance to ensure scalability.</Tip>
        </Tips>
        <Suggestions>
            <Suggestion>Include plugins, extensions, or third-party integrations to enhance the app's functionality, if applicable.</Suggestion>
        </Suggestions>
    </AdditionalInfo>
</NoCodeAppDevelopmentRole>
```