New Airtable updates simplify the creation of no-code applications with integrated generative AI

Airtable Inc., the creator of a no-code platform for building applications and workflows, is expanding its investment in artificial intelligence with new tools that will enable any organization to start using AI.

New products announced today include App Library, a new tool for deploying custom applications that integrate artificial intelligence models, and HyperDB, which enables companies to create workflows that integrate massive datasets from platforms like Databricks and Snowflake.

Airtable sells a cloud-based “Digital Operations Platform” that enables teams to store, organize and collaborate on structured data. It works as a real-time database and is often called “spreadsheets on steroids”.

It is known for its user-friendly interface that allows anyone to run the database in just a few minutes. It can store, organize, and collaborate on information about anything – including employee directories, product inventory, marketing campaigns, and more – without any knowledge of Structured Query Language. Indeed, they don’t even need to know what SQL means.

The company first began exploring the possibilities of generative AI when it launched its Airtable AI tools last year. At launch, the company said the idea was to make it easier for companies to integrate generative AI into no-code applications and business workflows built using its platform, without requiring any technical skills.

In an interview with VentureBeat, Airtable co-founder and CEO Howie Liu said the new capabilities introduced today build on this release and are intended to make the core models of the large languages ​​that power generative AI more accessible to everyday workers. “There was definitely too much emphasis on the difficult technology itself and too little on ergonomics and the actual use of the LLM,” he said.

Airtable says it is trying to strike a balance between standardization and app customization with the new tools. To this end, the App Library provides a simple platform for building standard business applications with built-in AI capabilities that can then be customized by various business teams.

Liu likened the app library to a “LEGO set” and said the idea was to make LLM technology more accessible to citizen developers.

As for HyperDB, it makes it easier for users to build custom AI applications and workflows that can use Databricks and Snowflake data. “At all times, administrators maintain data governance and ensure compliance with industry standards,” the company said in a blog post. “With HyperDB, you can pull over 100 million records into Airtable and operationalize that data across your organization. Result? Better decision making based on critical cross-functional information.”

Additional capabilities announced today include “Org Branding,” which allows users to customize Airtable with their own branding and logo, and “App Sandbox” for building, testing, and customizing no-code apps in a secure environment before deployment.

The company said that one of its clients, described as a “leading streaming company”, has already used its new tools to create an application to automatically classify content genres. According to Airtable, the company saved its teams approximately 280 hours per week.

The focus on artificial intelligence and application development is accelerating Airtable’s departure from its origins as a simple, collaborative spreadsheet tool. As its offerings become more powerful, it increasingly competes with competing tools offered by large enterprises such as Microsoft Corp., Salesforce Inc. and ServiceNow Inc., which offer similar capabilities for building applications and workflows that integrate with artificial intelligence.

To be successful, a company will need to ensure that its innovations deliver the expected productivity gains without causing problems for employees. It will have to do this in a more profitable way than its competitors.

Images: Airtable