Co-founder and CEO at 10 Senses
These days, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, increasing its influence on digital technologies.
As a result, to keep up with dynamically changing landscapes, businesses need to find effective ways to implement AI solutions. Nevertheless, adopting an efficient strategy for AI development is not a simple task.
The key here is the trade-off between cost, time, and customization. Highly tailored solutions often take longer and require larger budgets, while faster, more budget-friendly options rely on pre-built components with limited flexibility.
At 10 Senses, when we take on a new AI app development project, we classify it into one of the three predefined tiers depending on the budget, time, and customization degree. Such a structured approach ensures that the development aligns with the technology stack (you can find more about efficient AI app technology stacks here) and allows us to maximize efficiency and deliver the best possible value to our customers. Let’s explore each of these tiers and understand how they work.
Tier 1: quick deployment with ready-made tools
In tier one, you can find AI projects that require minimal investment in time and resources. As a result, solutions rely on ready-made tools for AI development, such as pre-built AI models, low-code and no-code platforms, and existing user interface (UI) templates.
Therefore, in this case, development is focused on building a simple, effective AI app with predefined functionalities. Nonetheless, from the UI perspective, only the customer’s branding (for example, logo or colors) is adjusted. At 10 Senses, we create a solution at Shadcn or use Open WebUI.
Key advantages of using ready-made tools for AI app development are:
- rapid deployment (within days or weeks),
- cost-effectiveness.
In this case, the main drawback is the limited customization possibilities.
However, for many simple AI applications, this isn’t a major limitation, as they can still be highly effective. Examples include chatbots that use GenAI platforms, AI-powered automation tools, or pre-configured analytics dashboards.
Tier 2: more budget, more customization
In tier two, there are AI projects that balance speed, budget, and personalization. AI applications require more customization, but the development process takes advantage of existing AI frameworks and development platforms.
Since we have a more substantial budget, apart from building a performing AI app, we can also tailor graphics to business needs. We can, for example, use Shadcn and free components of Figma, adjusting the layout and other graphical features.
The most important benefits of such an approach include:
- moderate time investment (within a few weeks to a couple of months),
- greater flexibility – custom workflows, integrations, and UI adjustments,
- cost-effectiveness.
In this case, development time and costs are higher than in the tier one projects due to the additional development efforts and better customization options. However, it remains a cost-effective option that doesn’t necessarily require long timelines.
Such an approach is perfect for businesses that need AI applications tailored to their needs but do not want to build everything from scratch. It provides more customization options without the extensive cost of a fully custom build.
As a result, it works perfectly for building AI-driven customer service platforms with custom integrations or predictive analytics tools tailored to industry-specific needs.
Tier 3: fully customized AI apps
Finally, in tier three, there are AI development projects with substantial budgets, time, and customization requirements.
At 10 Senses, we develop fully customizable AI solutions using a UI kit provided by our partner, Edisonda. Therefore, we create a replicable design system that is not only faster but also delivers superior performance compared to off-the-shelf ones. Additionally, our developers can use V0 to efficiently generate custom views, ensuring a more streamlined and timely development process.
Here, the key benefits are:
- complete customization – tailored user interfaces, or proprietary AI models,
- feature flexibility – adaptable functionalities to meet evolving business needs,
- great performance.
As a result, it is suitable for businesses seeking a competitive edge, complete control over AI functionalities, and seamless integration with existing infrastructure. Although the development requires a larger investment and longer timelines than in tier one and two approaches, its flexibility and scalability make it a worthwhile choice.
Such an approach to development works well for building AI-driven healthcare diagnostics platforms, financial AI advisors, or enterprise-level automation systems.
All in all, each tier of AI app development provides an effective approach to building effective AI applications. Ready-made tools are perfect for AI app projects with a limited budget and time. For fully custom builds, using a UI kit is the best approach, while projects that require a mix of customization and efficiency can combine ready-made tools with interface design tools.
If you are looking into implementing AI technology into your organization, feel free to reach out to us and allow us to unlock the full potential of AI for your business.
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