Build a Simple Web App with AI: Andrew Ng’s Beginner Walkthrough

Andrew Ng introduces a beginner’s exercise in building a web app with AI, using a birthday-card generator. He demonstrates a workflow rather than promising that every generated application will work without testing.

The starting point is a prompt describing the desired page, its inputs and the output. Ng shows how to add requirements step by step or combine a known specification into a longer initial request.

Specific instructions tend to produce more predictable results than a vague request, although multiple runs can still differ. The goal is to communicate the important behavior and appearance, then inspect the result.

He demonstrates saving generated HTML and opening it in a browser. The HTML file is an example of a self-contained application; sharing or deploying other apps may involve additional steps.

After the basic app works, learners can add fields, change the design or request a button to copy a message. Small iterations make it easier to see which change produced a problem.

When a button fails, Ng describes the observed behavior to the AI and asks for a fix. He encourages trying the revised app again; generated fixes can also be wrong and need verification.

He applies the same process to a table-tennis game: ask for an initial version, then add difficulty levels, scoring and visual improvements. The exercise illustrates a repeatable approach rather than a fixed implementation.

Ng suggests trying other playful applications and showing results to friends for feedback. He closes by encouraging learners to combine hands-on building with further study.