Building an app with AI is easy. Finding customers is the hard part

A Reddit user says AI tools make building an app so easy that it can become a way to avoid the harder job: finding people who will actually use it. The post appeared in the OpenAI Codex community on Reddit and was covered by NDTV Profit.

What the poster said

The user described the pull of building with AI tools such as Claude. Give an instruction, watch it build, review the result, think of the next improvement. Every session feels productive. It is also comfortable, the user said, because progress is visible without having to show anyone.

Showing the app to people feels different. Someone might ignore it, question whether it is useful, or say they already use something else. The user said that making the product perfect can become a convenient reason to wait.

Money is part of the worry. The user wrote that $200 a month on AI tools, or several subscriptions, can keep renewing for months without answering whether anyone wants the app. The user also admitted scrolling social media while the AI worked, instead of researching competitors or sending emails.

What changed and what is unknown

The user is now spending more time on cold emails, meaning messages to strangers who might use the product. Outreach has been bringing in users, which gives a reason to keep at it. Commenters were split. One said the process feels like a loot box. Another suggested testing demand with paid ads and tracking whether users return.

This is one person's account. The post does not say what the app is or how many users the emails brought in. It speaks to anyone building a product or side business with AI.