Building AI that builds with you: four principles behind Assist

Assist, a feature from Retool's AppGen capabilities, was developed with a focus on minimizing friction and ensuring precision in building internal tools that businesses depend on, rather than merely optimizing for speed. Initial user concerns about data sourcing and potential costs highlighted the need for a system that engages users in decision-making, ensuring the correct organizational context is captured through human guidance. Four principles were established: building with users rather than for them, optimizing code for human readability, leveraging enterprise foundations for security and compliance, and maintaining transparency about the tool's limitations. Assist's design allows for a collaborative approach where AI assists but does not replace human input, ensuring applications are both reliable and maintainable. Since its launch, Assist has seen rapid adoption, with a significant portion of new apps being built using its capabilities, confirming the effectiveness of these principles.