Oracle has enhanced its low-code application development platform, Application Express (APEX), by incorporating a generative AI-powered assistant. Known as the APEX AI Assistant, this feature is available in Oracle APEX 24.1 and enables users to create applications using natural language and add conversational AI interfaces to any developing application.
APEX is accessible through any of Oracle’s database services, whether on-premises or in the cloud. The APEX AI Assistant can convert natural language prompts into SQL code, explain existing code, and propose bug fixes that can be directly integrated into applications.
Developers can utilize the AI Assistant while designing application pages in the page designer window. In APEX, pages represent different user interfaces that an end user interacts with while using an application. Instead of manually writing or inputting SQL code, developers can rely on the AI Assistant to generate SQL code for configuring what each section or region of the page should display or edit.
“The developer accesses the AI Assistant using a natural language interface and specifies the type of data query needed for a particular field,” explained Mike Hichwa, Oracle’s senior vice president of software development. “The code is then generated and can be inserted into the page with a single click.”
The AI Assistant can also clarify SQL code, such as explaining the difference between a join and a left outer join, Hichwa added. Additionally, developers can access the assistant through the SQL Workshop submenu within APEX, which is designed to help refine SQL queries.
“The assistant aids developers in identifying errors in SQL code and provides steps to fix them,” Hichwa stated.
Designing Application Blueprints with AI
The generative AI assistant in APEX can design an entire application blueprint, modify it to add new features, and publish the application via a natural language interface. Developers need to describe the application’s purpose and desired pages, and the AI Assistant will propose a set of pages and options based on the prompt.
The AI Assistant can also add new pages, edit existing ones, and incorporate security features into the application. Developers can choose from multiple large language models (LLMs) within one application, selecting which LLM to use while editing pages.
“Developers can upgrade the LLM by updating the application’s LLM preference, which will apply the new LLM to all components referencing that definition,” Hichwa noted, adding that each LLM has different pricing, with charges applied accordingly. APEX itself is free with any of Oracle’s database services. Available LLMs include GPT-4o and models from Cohere.
APEX also enables developers to add a natural language interface, powered by generative AI, to their applications. The latest version of APEX, featuring the AI Assistant and other enhancements, is now generally available.
Oracle APEX and Its Competitors
In the low-code platform market, Oracle APEX competes with Mendix, Appian, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Creatio, all of which have integrated generative AI capabilities. However, Oracle’s platform is not a direct competitor to these offerings.
“Oracle does not aim for APEX to dominate all application development as a general-purpose, low-code development environment for any use case,” said Bradley Shimmin, chief analyst at Omdia. “Instead, Oracle positions APEX as the best choice for building low-code apps on top of data within Oracle’s database platforms, a goal pursued since APEX’s introduction in 2004.”
Omdia projects the enterprise low-code application platforms market to surpass $18 billion by 2026. Shimmin also noted that APEX falls short in areas like data source connectivity and multicloud managed low-code application platform (LCAP) services. However, Oracle’s Hichwa indicated that multicloud managed LCAP services are planned for the near future. While APEX can run in Azure, it is not fully managed there.
Paul Nashawaty, practice lead and principal analyst at the Futurum Group, emphasized that APEX currently supports a wide range of data connectors and integration capabilities, enabling interaction with various external data sources beyond Oracle databases. This includes support for RESTful web services and the ability to connect to APIs and other web services. APEX also offers native integration with popular cloud services and third-party databases such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
