Vercel’s v0.app launches, allowing anyone to create and deploy a working app or website using prompts – News

Front-end application development startup Vercel Inc. is transforming itself into a tool that anyone can use to create an app or website that’s ready for immediate deployment using nothing but natural language prompts.

The company has just announced the launch of v0.app, the latest version of its artificial intelligence-based builder, which was previously known as v0.dev. With the new service, it’s possible for anyone – designers, developers, marketers, salespersons, entrepreneurs, founders and more – to create a complete, working application or website complete with a front end, backend, AI-generated content and logic, simply by telling it what they want to build.

The launch marks a major evolution of San Francisco-based Vercel, which began life as the developer of a popular open-source toolkit called Next.js, which is used for building websites. Aimed at developers, Next.js makes it possible to build individual website components using React and render those assets on a cloud-based platform to speed up loading times. In addition, it generates prepackaged continuous integration/continuous development pipelines to simplify the task of deploying those frontend components.

Vercel dipped its toes into AI-powered development when it launched v0.dev in beta back in October 2023, providing developers with everything they need to create attractive, front-end designs by entering natural language prompts. In addition, the app lets users converse with the tool once its initial creation is ready, so they can refine its appearance and functionality in a conversational way.

The tool allowed users to identify any portion of the website or app interface they created, and ask it to alter how it looks or how it works. For instance, someone could tell it to change the font or render it in a different color scheme with a follow-up prompt, in order to get it looking and feeling just how they want it. The tool modifies the underlying code as it goes, including the HTML, Tailwind CSS React and Radix that control the scripting underneath. Once the user is satisfied, the v0.dev can then deploy the finished product into production.

v0.dev has now been transformed into the v0.app, and it boasts more advanced capabilities, allowing users to research, reason and plan before they begin building their applications or websites. Billed as the “app builder for everyone,” it’s said to shift the experience from “prompt and fix” to something that’s more akin to “describe and deliver,” the company said. The service figures out which steps must be taken to fulfill the user’s request, remembers what it has built, and handles all of the coding complexity, not only on the front end, but also the back end and the corresponding logic.

Vercel said that this means an accountant building a finance application, or a recruiter looking to create a job board, can simply describe what they want to build, and it will rapidly generate a real user interface, rather than a mockup. It allows marketers, for instance, to launch changes that stay on brand, and sales teams to create customized demos of new products on the fly.

V0.app does this by leveraging a full squad of AI agents, with one that’s focused on web search, another designed for reading files, and yet more for design inspiration, to-do management, checking work and handling integrations.

There’s no need for any coding skills or knowledge of syntax. All that’s required is to know what you’re trying to build or fix, and the app’s AI agents will leverage their reasoning and understanding skills to handle the rest, the company said.

Vercel said the v0.app is available now, and anyone can test out its capabilities for free simply by signing up and creating an account.

Image: Vercel