News

New AWS App Studio Uses Natural Language to 'Democratize' App Development

• By John K. Waters
• 07/11/2024

Amazon Web Services (AWS) today unveiled the public preview of AWS App Studio, a new GenAI-powered service that uses written prompts and natural language to create enterprise-grade applications without requiring software development skills.

Announced at the AWS Summit in New York, the new tool promises to reduce significantly the time and expertise required to develop complex enterprise applications, because it allows users to simply describe the application they want to build—its functions and data integrations—in natural language. From that input, App Studio builds a fully functional application in minutes, the company said. The tool's ease of use is bolstered by a point-and-click interface and a GenAI assistant that offers immediate guidance for accomplishing tasks.

"AWS App Studio opens up application development to an entirely new set of builders," said Dilip Kumar, vice president of Applications at AWS, in a statement, "helping them create enterprise-grade applications in minutes.... App Studio is a force multiplier for technical employees at any company.

The tool was designed for "technical professionals" (IT project managers, data engineers, enterprise architects) who may not have traditional software development skills. By eliminating the need for deep coding knowledge, AWS is opening the door for these professionals to quickly build secure, fully managed, internal applications. This shift not only addresses the growing demand for rapid application development but also potentially boosts productivity by allowing users to focus on solving business problems instead of getting bogged down in technical complexities.

The idea of empowering "citizen developers" is not new, of course. Many enterprises have implemented low-code/no-code tools in an effort to free their developers from mundane coding tasks. But those tool often come with steep learning curves, require platform-specific knowledge, and fail to meet security requirements. App Studio uses GenAI to overcome these hurdles, simplifying the application creation process and eliminating the need for users to understand the underlying code.

Users can identify specific data sources via a drop-down menu and input basic prompts like, “Create an app for tracking inventory across stores.” The AI then generates an application outline, verifies the user's intent, and builds a comprehensive application with a multi-page UI, data model, and business logic. Additional customizations are just a question away, with the AI assistant providing detailed instructions on how to implement changes using the intuitive interface.

AWS App Studio is currently available in preview in the US West (Oregon) region. It offers a cost-effective solution with a pay-as-you-go model, potentially saving users up to 80% compared to other low-code offerings.