Inspiration Fuels Side Hustles as Independent Workers Rise

The Spring Festival holiday witnessed the rise of a "handcrafted economy."

AIbase observed that numerous users shared and sold their handcrafted flash apps via the Lingguang App on social platforms, with single mini-apps selling from hundreds to thousands of units. The barrier to creating these flash apps is remarkably low; users can converse with the Lingguang App using natural language to build interactive mini-applications at zero cost, with no coding required. Due to its ease of production and no restrictions on the field, it has become a popular "side hustle" for young people. For instance, one user created a personal growth goal tracker called "36 10-Day Goals" to aid their self-improvement and listed it in their personal store. It not only accumulated nearly a thousand orders but also received numerous positive reviews, with buyers praising its "simple interface and lack of intrusive ads." According to an incomplete statistical report, on one social media platform alone, personal growth mini-apps built with Lingguang had already sold thousands of units.

(Check-in style apps crafted by Lingguang users have received close to a thousand orders)

As AI gradually evolves from "content generation" to "tool creation," individuals without programming backgrounds can now produce interactive digital tools at minimal cost. On just one social media platform, multiple Lingguang flash apps were found being sold. Beyond the ultra-low-barrier AI app Lingguang, users can also gain app-crafting capabilities without writing code through various code large language models and intelligent agent platforms.

According to AIbase's observations, as handcrafted apps gain popularity, a niche business of "debugging handcrafted apps" has emerged on social platforms, teaching beginners how to craft applications. An entire ecosystem around "app crafting" is beginning to take shape.

The term "handcrafting" originally described playing computer games without using shortcut keys, relying entirely on manual input. In recent years, with advancements in AI technology, it has become commonly associated with individuals using AI to develop programs and applications. Last November, the launch of the Lingguang App, with its flagship feature—flash apps—empowered ordinary people to create apps with minimal barriers, truly igniting the first wave of mass app handcrafting. Reports indicate that within a month of its launch, over 12 million handcrafted mini-apps were created on Lingguang.

According to information released by Ant Group's AI assistant, the Lingguang App, during this Spring Festival, users employed natural language instructions to "craft" personalized mini-applications covering scenarios like travel, parent-child education, cultural tourism guidance, and elderly care. People created mini-apps such as "homework assignment manager," "household chore motivation chart," and "vocabulary challenge game" to address fragmented needs in daily life.

The emergence of the "handcrafted economy" reflects a shift in AI development—from pursuing general capabilities to focusing on practical, scenario-specific value. However, current "handcrafted" tools are primarily concentrated in lightweight scenarios, and complex application logic (such as payment systems and multi-device collaboration) still requires professional development.