Building AI Apps Just Got Radically Simpler (I Built 3 to Prove It)
Recap from this week's Builder Sessions livestream
Every SaaS app is racing to add AI. Here’s how everyday builders are doing it without a team of engineers.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably noticed that every SaaS application is now adding AI features. And for good reason—AI is a supercharger. It’s transforming how we work, what we can build, and who can build it.
But here’s the thing: until recently, adding AI to your application required a team of engineers.
You needed someone who understood API integrations, model selection, token management, credential storage, billing infrastructure—it was complex, time-consuming, and completely out of reach for most people with great ideas.
That’s changing.
Replit is making it possible for everyday folks—even non-technical people—to build their own AI-powered applications. No engineering team required.
How? Two Key Innovations:
1. Intelligent Model Selection
Replit helps you pick the right AI model for the right use case. You don’t need to know whether to use GPT-4, Claude, or Gemini—Replit’s AI figures it out based on what you’re trying to build.
2. AI Integrations (New Last Week)
Replit just introduced AI Integrations, a feature that gives you instant access to 300+ AI models without setting up a single API key.
No creating accounts with individual vendors. No managing credentials. No juggling multiple bills.
Just one prompt away. All centralized in your Replit account. All billed transparently at public API rates with no markup.
You pay exactly what OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google charges—nothing more. No hidden fees. No premium.
This streamlines everything and makes it dramatically easier for builders to add AI features to their applications.
🎬 Watch the Full Stream Replay:
Real-World Example: From Last Week’s Stream
To give you a sense of what this looks like in practice, last week’s stream featured a salesperson who built his own AI training simulator—no coding background, just an idea and Replit.
He wanted a tool to practice sales conversations. So he built one. With AI. In real-time.
That’s the kind of builder empowerment we’re talking about.
This Week: 3 AI Apps Demos (Templates Included)
In this week’s stream, I demoed three AI-powered applications. All three are now available as templates you can remix and customize for your own use.
🎁 Your Templates (Now Live!)
1. AuraWriter - AI Writing Assistant
Minimalist writing tool with tab-completion and intelligent rewriting using Anthropic’s Claude.
Perfect for: Blog posts, social media, emails, documentation
Key features:
Press tab twice → AI suggests your next sentence
Highlight text → Rewrite it (professional, casual, or expanded)
Clean, distraction-free interface
👉 Remix it: https://replit.com/gallery/life/productivity/ai-writing-assistant
2. Receipt & Invoice Parser
Extract structured data from receipts and invoices using AI vision. Supports both images AND PDFs!
Perfect for: Expense tracking, accounting automation, tax prep
Key features:
Upload a receipt photo or PDF
Automatically extract vendor, date, total, taxes, line items
Uses OpenAI GPT-4 Vision for images + Google Gemini for PDFs (multi-model!)
👉 Remix it: https://replit.com/gallery/work/businesses/receipt-and-invoice-parser-ai-document-processing
3. Ad Creative Generator
Generate professional ad creatives instantly with Google Gemini’s image generation.
Perfect for: Social media ads, e-commerce, marketing campaigns
Key features:
Customize audience, style, promotional text, brand colors
Generate multiple variations for A/B testing
Production-ready in seconds
👉 Remix it: https://replit.com/gallery/work/marketing-and-sales/ad-creative-generator-ai-marketing-tool
🎩 The Build Mode Challenge
Here’s where it gets fun.
Build something cool with Replit’s AI Integrations and share it with #buildmode on LinkedIn or X. The top 3 builds win limited edition Build Mode hats!
How to enter:
Build an AI-powered app using Replit AI Integrations
Post about it on LinkedIn or X
Tag @MannyBernabe and @Franciscocrz
Use #buildmode
We’re looking for creativity, practical applications, and demos that showcase what’s possible. Let’s see what you build!
Resources
Learn More About AI Integrations:
Want to dive deeper into how AI Integrations work? Check out the official docs: 👉 https://docs.replit.com/replitai/replit-ai-integrations
Pricing Details:
All AI costs are billed at public API rates with no markup. See exact pricing from each provider:
OpenAI: https://openai.com/api/pricing/
Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/pricing
Google Gemini: https://ai.google.dev/pricing
OpenRouter: https://openrouter.ai/pricing
Community & Events: 👉 Upcoming Events: https://luma.com/ReplitHQ
In Case You Missed It: Last Week’s Stream
Last week’s stream was all about salespeople with zero coding backgrounds building their own custom tools using Replit and HubSpot!
We featured live demos from Brandon (QuotaPath), Andrew, and Jacob who built everything from mock deal generators to AI sales training simulators.
If you’re in sales, RevOps, or just curious how non-developers are building professional tools in hours (not weeks), check it out:
👉 Watch the recap & replay: https://mannybernabe.substack.com/p/recap-builder-sessions-hubspot-edition
What’s Next: Vibe Coding 101
Next Thursday (Nov 20) we’re stepping back to the fundamentals with a beginner-friendly stream: Vibe Coding 101: Your Beginner’s Guide to Building with AI
This 90-minute session is perfect if you:
Are brand new to Replit or Vibe Coding
Want to see what’s possible from the ground up
Need a refresher on Replit’s latest features
Have never built software before (no experience required!)
We’ll build your first application together, live, from scratch. You’ll walk away knowing exactly how to turn ideas into working software using AI.
👉 RSVP here: https://luma.com/xpjudc04
Pro tip: Even if you can’t attend live, RSVP anyway! You’ll get the recording, resources, and follow-up email with everything covered.
Connect with us:
Keep building (in Build Mode),
Manny