AI Vocabulary · 04 Building with AI
What is No-Code & Low-Code?
Tools that let you build apps, websites and automations with visual building blocks instead of writing code.
No-code tools let you build with drag-and-drop editors, forms and ready-made blocks. Low-code tools do the same but let you add some code where needed. Website builders, database tools and workflow automation platforms all belong here, and most now have AI built in.
Combined with AI, they make it possible for non-developers to build useful internal tools, landing pages and automations. The trade-off: you work inside the tool's limits, and your work usually lives in the tool's format, which can lead to vendor lock-in.
Why it matters for you
No-code is often the fastest route from idea to working prototype or internal tool. Many small businesses run important processes on no-code tools without ever hiring a developer.
Own it
Before you build something important, check whether you can export your data and logic. Document how your setup works, so it isn't stuck in one person's head or one vendor's platform.
Where it comes from
The analyst firm Forrester put the term "low-code" forward in June 2014 to describe platforms that let people build apps with little hand-written code (Wikipedia). "No-code" followed as the next step for people who write none at all, and by 2017 both were being called disruptive. The idea itself is older: visual app builders date back to the 1990s.
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