u/Weekly-Ad387

I've been going pretty deep on the AI app builder space lately. Started with the obvious ones: Lovable, Bolt, Replit, and have been working my way into the more niche stuff like Softr, Glide, and a few others.

The use case I'm trying to solve is specifically agency workflow: client onboarding, asset request tracking, approval flows, automated nudges when clients are late on deliverables, and a clean client-facing portal to tie it all together. Nothing crazy technically but it needs to actually work in a client-facing context, not just as an internal prototype.

A few things I've noticed so far:

The code-first tools (Lovable, Bolt) are powerful but you end up in code diffs and terminal outputs faster than you'd want if you're not a developer. Great if you are, friction if you're not.

Softr and Glide are cleaner for database-driven stuff but start to feel limited once you need conditional logic and multi-step workflows.

I haven't fully explored everything yet and I suspect there are tools that are better suited to this specific use case that I'm not aware of.

Specifically looking for recommendations on:

• What tool or stack actually handles multi-step approval workflows well without needing a developer?
• Is anyone pairing an AI app builder with something like Make or n8n for the automation layer, and if so what's the frontend side of that?
• Any tools that handle client-facing portals cleanly, something that looks professional enough to actually send to a client?

Open to any stack combinations that work. Not married to a single all-in-one solution if the right pieces fit together well.

Been thinking about this a lot lately. There’s no shortage of hype around AI agents, but I’m more interested in what’s actually happening on the ground inside agencies right now.

Are teams using them for real workflow automation, or is it still mostly ChatGPT for copy drafts and the occasional Midjourney asset?
A few things I’m genuinely curious about:

1. Which departments have adopted agents most — strategy, creative, paid, ops?
2. Are these off-the-shelf tools or has anyone built custom workflows?
3. Has it actually reduced headcount pressure or just shifted what juniors do?
4. Any industries where clients are pushing back on AI use?

I’m coming from the social side of agencies and starting to map out how this fits into the way I want to work going forward. Would love to hear what’s actually being used vs. what’s just being talked about in leadership decks.