Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities have grown exponentially over the last few years. In fact, implementing AI systems used to be an impossible task for the average person to complete on their own. Fast forward to today, and many AI systems can be utilized by the average person without intervention from a computer programmer or engineer.
Furthermore, many companies prefer these no-code AI platforms because they require no prior coding experience and at a fraction of the cost. If you’re just getting started with AI, it’s likely that a no-code platform could be beneficial to you.
Why you should begin your journey to no-code AI
No-code platforms are all the hype for companies right now because employees can utilize these without the need for extensive training. These platforms typically use simple, non-technical, “plug-and-play” or “drag-and-drop” options for the best user experience. Options like this are ideal for easily analyzing data, making predictions, and offering an overall optimization of day-to-day operations.
There are many platforms that leverage no-code AI for various uses. A few of the most common ones include websites and landing pages, virtual assistants, mobile applications, and databases.
What is no-code AI?
Before we discuss the benefits of beginning your journey with no-code AI, let’s have a look at what it actually is.
No-code AI can be looked at as a landscape of tools that help people build applications and systems on their own. It’s a cost-efficient way for the average human or company to implement a new system.
No-code platforms are typically user-guided, which means representatives from the platforms often guide you through the various features and uses as you get started. This will also sometimes include a virtual walkthrough of a platform via pop-ups that describe the platform’s features.
By now you can already see that no-code AI is ideal for people who want to implement and test a system without the need for an ‘expert’s’ involvement. That being said, these systems can be beneficial to tech-savvy users as well.
There are several benefits of no-code AI. Among others, it allows organizations to build ML solutions at a much faster rate and enables better collaboration efforts between AI experts and domain experts. We dive into the advantages in the next section.
The benefits of no-code AI
No-code AI is beneficial to people and businesses in many ways. Along with offering a much smaller learning curve than conventional approaches, no-code AI is:
Fast and Efficient
Most people simply don’t know how to code, and they don’t have the time it takes to learn. No-code AI is a fast way to build solutions without needing additional training. In fact, studies suggest that no-code or low-code solutions reduce software development times by up to 90%.
Low Cost
Hiring data scientists to develop effective solutions can be quite costly. However, there are several no-code AI programs that have free options, such as the cloud collaboration service, Airtable. Though typically, the most value will be found in premium packages. Fortunately, these packages are still much cheaper than the alternative.
Flexible
No-code AI systems are highly flexible and can be integrated to benefit a multitude of business types. The previously mentioned drag-and-drop interfaces offer great flexibility because they allow users to take one graphical object and move it to another location seamlessly.
For example, the email automation platform, Mailchimp, offers drag-and-drop options for constructing email templates. If a user wants to add photos to supplement their text, they simply drag the photo option to their respective email template and drop it in the desired location.
Revolutionizing the business world
Machine Learning technologies make it possible to analyze data faster and more efficiently than any human possibly could. They provide insights and offer quality solutions that can improve any business. For instance, a no-code solution can analyze thousands of images or customer messages daily – a rate previously unattainable, when content moderation was entirely a human domain. This was just one of the several examples of no-code AI in action – let’s look at them in more detail next.
No-code AI examples
Before getting started with AI applications, it’s important to have a specific goal in mind that you’re looking to accomplish. Many times, people are looking to automate repetitive, mundane tasks.
This generally includes implementing no-code AI systems for the following:
Making sure documents are properly executed
This is especially beneficial for customer onboarding because there are many signatures, document copies, and scans that are needed to complete the process. AI technologies can help simplify this process by identifying any missing signatures, looking for blurry scans, and making sure pertinent information is copied legibly.
Categorizing customer comments, concerns, and inquiries
Natural Language Processing (NLP) can be used to quickly sort through social media comments, support tickets, and email inquiries. Furthermore, one branch of NLP is Sentiment Analysis, which categorizes tickets and/or inquiries according to a pre-established set of criteria. These can be set up to reflect the specific business case. Some of the common classifications include ‘positive’, ‘negative’, and ‘neutral’ sentiment, but you could also use classifications such as ‘urgent’ and ‘not urgent.
Inspecting and moderating images
No-code AI platforms, such as Levity, use Computer Vision to inspect images that might be difficult for the average human to process.
Computer Vision is an optimal choice for those looking to moderate images or have certain standards that their images need to meet. For example, if an inappropriate image is posted to your company’s social media profile, Computer Vision can quickly send out an alert to relevant team members that your rules have been violated.
How to begin your journey to no-code AI
Getting started with AI via the no-code route is not a difficult process. Still, some programs will require a more in-depth understanding of certain concepts if you’re looking to catch on quickly. This varies greatly and will require some research to find a program that best fits you and your organization's skill level and time constraints.
What skills do you need to begin your journey to no-code AI?
Having a basic understanding of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will certainly give you an advantage. However, it is not a prerequisite for using no-code AI systems effectively.
Luckily, no-code AI for beginners is a growing trend, meaning more and more solutions are easy to find. To avoid setbacks, integrating a system that offers a shallow learning curve is a good place to begin. Solutions and tools with drag-and-drop functionalities may be a good place to start as they’re user-friendly and simple to learn.
A good rule of thumb is that the more flexible a system is, the larger the learning curve is going to be. More flexible systems will generally offer the best long-term results, however.
Re-iterating what was mentioned already, the key is to always understand your goals and keep these in mind to make sure you’re implementing a system that works best for you.
Steps to implement no-code AI
Plan: Identify what kind of integrations are going to be most powerful for your specific needs. If you’re looking to categorize customer inquiries, for example, it’s ideal to use a system that has some sort of NLP integration.
1. Research: Jump on your computer and begin researching the platforms that offer the best potential solutions for you and your goals.
2. Gather relevant data: If you have existing data to put into your chosen platform, that’s always a plus. AI systems can better adapt if they have an existing data set to work with and many systems will need data to train their models.
3. Assess the integrability of your chosen system: Just because a no-code AI tool has great reviews, does not mean it is the right tool for you. It's imperative to make sure your chosen system will work well with any existing systems that you might have.
4. Do a trial run: test the application to make sure its features are well-aligned with your needs. Many tools offer a free trial or their teams will offer you a demo of the system.
Useful resources for implementing no-code AI
Below are helpful resources for supporting your no-code AI journey:
Levity’s YouTube channel
If you’re a visual learner, Levity’s YouTube channel is worth checking out for more information on AI/ML capabilities and how-to instructions. Don’t take a shot in the dark on your AI journey, make sure you’re utilizing all the free tools available to help keep costs low.
Towards Data Science
Towards Data Science is a Medium.com publication that provides valuable AI/ML content to its users. It’s also an ideal platform for sharing community knowledge/information on no-code AI.
NoCode.ai
NoCode.ai is a place where people can exchange information on… you’ve guessed it, no-code AI. You can subscribe for free and there are plenty of reasons to want to. They offer courses on the subject, and they have a blog and forum to stay up to date on the latest developments.
No-code AI for individuals
Most no-code AI tools you come across will be tailored toward organizations, groups, and/or companies, but some are specifically designed to help boost productivity for the average person. These applications are a great way to dip your toes into the no-code AI waters.
Grammarly
You’ve likely seen Grammarly recommendations before as the cloud-based typing assistant is now integrated into several commonly used platforms such as Facebook, Canva, and WordPress.
Grammarly is a great tool for reviewing the grammar, punctuation, and clarity of your materials and can be used for virtually any type of writing from social media to website design.
Notion
Notion acts as project management and note-taking software. It helps boost productivity and efficiency by helping individuals and businesses keep track of deadlines and tasks, and coordinate assignments.
Otter.ai
Otter.ai turns conversations into smart notes that can be searched and shared seamlessly. It’s a great service for transcribing live speeches. It helps you take notes at meetings, interviews, and the like.
No-code AI for businesses and organizations
While there is a wide variety of no-code platforms out there for businesses and organizations, we have listed the ones below that are great options for those just getting started with AI.
Airtable
Airtable is commonly compared to an excel spreadsheet because it offers a similar visual structure, but it has so much more potential. The platform allows users to view and manage their database(s) in a simple, yet very effective, way. One of the best features of Airtable is that it offers a variety of ways to view your data and categorize it based on what makes the most sense to you.
Webflow
While sites like Wix and Squarespace have made website design a much simpler process, Webflow takes this one step further by offering dynamic no-code customization options. You can also construct web apps within Webflow if you use the appropriate applications.
Voiceflow
Think of virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri. You might think that these products would be hard to create, right? Actually, that’s not true at all. Voiceflow uses no-code AI that makes the process of creating chatbots and custom assistants easy to do.
Levity
With Levity, users can automate a wide variety of processes and workflows such as categorizing incoming documents, moderating content, performing image inspections, and Sentiment Analysis on anything from videos to text documents.
Levity encourages users to “ride the next wave of automation” without the need for coding. It’s a great tool for gaining a competitive advantage in the AI arena.
Now you’re ready to begin your no-code journey
Getting started with AI doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. No-code platforms are available that allow individuals and businesses the freedom to implement their own solutions without the need for expert intervention.
The no-code AI trend is not slowing down anytime soon and because it levels the playing field for smaller organizations, it has fertile ground to grow.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: technologies like Artificial Intelligence don’t have to be scary. You can tap into the vast potential that AI offers without having prior coding knowledge.
Excited to explore the possibilities of no-code AI? Be sure to take Levity for a spin or join our demo.
