Practical Examples of AI Prototyping

Ship Your Ideas in Minutes

Hey, I’m Colin! I help PMs and business leaders improve their technical skills through real-world case studies. For more, check out my Live cohort course and subscribe on Substack.

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This week, I had the opportunity to work with Lenny on a post breaking down how to get started with AI prototyping.

In this article, I'll walk you through three real examples I built using Bolt, complete with the exact prompts I used and the results I got. Each took less than 15 minutes to build, and they're all functional prototypes you can try today.

#1: LinkedIn Viral Post Generator

You know those LinkedIn posts. The ones that start with grabbing coffee and somehow end with a profound lesson about B2B sales? I thought it would be fun to automate this process — hopefully I’m not giving the LinkedIn team any ideas.

Here's what I built:

Build Process

First, I started with the basic LinkedIn interface, including a screenshot:

Build a prototype to match this design. Match it exactly. Use Tailwindcss. Match styles, fonts, spacing, and colors.

Then I used reflection to perfect the design:

What are the differences between the design and your implementation?Don't write any code, just analyze the differences.

Implement the differences to match the design.

Finally, I mock the AI feature:

Add a "Write Viral Post" button that:
1. Prompts user to select a topic
2. Opens "Start a post" modal
3. Generates a funny post that ends with "what I learned about B2B sales"

Match LinkedIn's native styling and layout.

The result? A simple tool that perfectly captures (and pokes fun at) the LinkedIn viral post format. Try it yourself: https://bolt.new/~/sb1-qkunucqb

#2: Glassdoor AI Analytics

With all the recent tech layoffs and market changes, I wanted a better way to analyze company reviews. This prototype takes Glassdoor data and uses AI to spot patterns that might be missed by manual analysis.

Build Process

I started with layout and structure (including a screenshot):

Build a prototype to match this design. Match it exactly. Use Tailwindcss. How will you achieve this? Make a plan before writing code.

Then broke the code down into components for easier editing:

Please refactor into separate components

And finally added the AI insights feature:

Add a mock GenAI feature that:
- Analyzes sentiment trends for the last 90 days
- Places summary at the top of reviews section
- Updates in real-time as new reviews come in

Take a look here: https://bolt.new/~/sb1-ezfoj7vu

#3: Reddit AI Summary

Ever opened Reddit, started reading, and suddenly lost an hour of your day? I built this prototype to help you quickly decide which threads are worth your time

.

Build Process

I started with the basic Reddit interface (once again using a screenshot):

Build a prototype to match this design. Match it exactly. Use Tailwindcss. Match styles, fonts, spacing, and colors.

I then added the content structure:

Create mock posts with:
- Different content types (text/link/image)
- Upvote counters
- Comment counts
- Author info and timestamps

And finally implemented the AI summary feature:

Add a daily AI summary that:
- Appears below header, above posts
- Uses Reddit's brand colors
- Shows trending topics and discussion volume
- Maintains Reddit's visual style while standing out

With this feature, you could get the key points from any subreddit in seconds. Check it out: https://bolt.new/~/sb1-usukkbqe

Pro Tips for AI Prototyping

Want to prototype features in your app? Here are some tips I learned along the way:

1. Screenshot-first development: Start with a screenshot of the product you're enhancing. It's much easier to match existing designs than create from scratch.

2. Component-based thinking: Take a look at the generated code and get familiar with the components. Being able to specify a change to a specific file improves the quality of the AI output.

3. Gradual enhancement: Start with the basic interface, then add interactive elements, and finally layer in features. This keeps the development process manageable.

Try It Yourself

Ready to build your own AI prototype? Here's how to get started:

1. Pick a simple feature you wish existed in a product you use

2. Take a screenshot of where the feature would live

3. Use the prompts above as templates

4. Start with exact matching, then enhance

The barrier to entry for creating useful applications has never been lower. You might be surprised at how quickly you can turn your ideas into reality!