Wix, the platform best known for its website design tools, is introducing a generative AI feature that may allow customers to create and edit iOS or Android apps by describing in plain English what they need to see.
Set to be available in Wix's app builder tool this week, the feature guides users through a chatbot-like interface to know their app's goals, intent, and aesthetics. With this information, Wix's AI generates an app that might be customized within the app editor after which optionally embellished with first- and third-party integrations, widgets, and connectors.
Generative app creation with AI follows Wix's AI website builder announced last July, which might create a site template with text and pictures from a set of descriptive captions. Wix co-founder and CEO Avishai Abrahami says the brand new AI products are a part of Wix's broader technique to develop “tailored AI solutions” to assist businesses quickly create digital experiences.
“Wix's mission has at all times been to present anyone the power to create a web based presence, including mobile apps,” Abrahami told TechCrunch. “As an organization, we've learned a lot about AI and the way users interact with it when creating their online presence.”
Apps from scratch
Wix says its latest AI-powered app builder, which requires a subscription to Wix's premium $99-per-month Branded App plan, generates app code that’s “fully native” to iOS and Android. Users have control over their app's branding, layout and features, including icons and themes, and may preview the app before submitting it to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
“The goal of our AI is to do most, if not all, of the exertions for users,” Abrahami said. “The more detailed the responses to the prompts during setup, the more personalized and complete the AI-generated app will likely be.”
That sounds great in theory. But reviews from Wix’s AI site builders will not be exactly glowingwith early adopters reporting bugs and generic-looking end products.
So if the technology behind the hood is analogous, except for a number of improved generative AI models, why would you expect Wix's AI builder to be higher?
Abrahami dismissed complaints about Wix's website builder, claiming that feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive” and that customers have created tons of of 1000’s of AI-generated web sites since its launch.
“This strong response and usage underscores the depth of our AI expertise and the strength of our product team,” he said. “We're excited to increase this experience to mobile.”
However, there’s slightly more at stake with apps – at the least from a security perspective.
Generative AI tools result in more faulty code transfer and strengthen in code bases existing bugs and security issues within the app code, studies and surveys show. In fact, greater than half of the answers OpenAI's ChatGPT gives fallacious answers to programming questionsin response to a study by Purdue.
Abrahami acknowledged that the AI ​​app builder, like all generative AI tools, could make mistakes. But he said Wix is ​​committed to “continuously improving the product.”
“Our security team implements and maintains robust security measures across all of our solutions, including the mobile app builder,” he added. “The applications and code are subject to constant security and penetration reviews and monitoring.”
Can it replace developers?
Assuming Wix's AI-powered app designer works as advertised, it could threaten businesses – and solo entrepreneurs – in the approaching years. Multi-billion dollar business the event of smartphone apps for brands.
There is FlutterFlow, Crowdaa and the Mobile-First Company, to call a number of – a lot of which also use AI in various forms. On Fiverr, there’s a cursory search yields an extended list of highly rated app developers, a few of which charge in regards to the same price as a subscription to Wix's AI app builder.
Abrahami stresses that Wix is ​​not trying to switch developers, but to offer another for patrons who want it. The tool, he says, integrates deeply with Wix's broader product portfolio – potentially making it more attractive to the hundreds of thousands of existing Wix users – and offers features similar to usage analytics and app update handling via the relevant app stores.
“Professional developers proceed to play a critical role, especially for more complex and specialized app projects,” said Abrahami. “There is room for each paths to app creation.”
I'm undecided if the app developers will agree – but they don't have much selection within the matter.
