13-year-old girl with no coding background makes parenting app with AI, earns Rs 2.2 lakh in 3 days

In a remarkable feat, 13-year-old Zhu Shuhan, a Grade 2 student from Shanghai, created an AI-powered parenting app called Zai Chang, or "On Site," within just three days. Despite lacking any formal programming experience, Zhu developed the app after conceptualizing it and explaining her idea to a large language model (LLM), which generated the necessary code.

Zai Chang functions as a virtual parent, monitoring children during their study sessions. Parents can upload a photo of themselves, after which the app generates a virtual version of the parent on the screen. The app uses a camera to watch the child, issuing voice reminders if the child uses a mobile phone or leaves their seat. Post-study, it provides a "concentration report."

Zhu's motivation stemmed from her own experience of being unable to sit with her parents while studying due to her busy parents. She aimed to create an app that would act as a "digital parent clone" to address this and other similar issues faced by her classmates.

The app initially had a feature called "mother getting angry," meant to alert parents when a child was distracted. However, Zhu removed it later, favoring a gentler approach that encouraged improvement rather than punishment.

Zhu showcased her creation at a national AI product marketing competition in Hangzhou, where she won the third prize and earned 5,000 yuan. The competition evaluated the apps based on the income they generated during their three-day showcase. During this period, Zai Chang garnered 90 orders, achieving sales worth 18,000 yuan.

Reflecting on her journey, Zhu expressed her newfound understanding of AI. She emphasized that with a compelling idea, AI can bring it to life.