“You can now become a software developer without writing code.”
It’s more than a catchy headline – it’s the rallying cry of a new generation of AI-powered tooling. With platforms like Bolt, Replit, and Lovable, non-developers are building internal sales apps, pricing tools, even CPQ interfaces – without touching a single line of code. The tools are slick, the momentum is real, and the implication is loud: maybe we don’t need traditional CPQ systems anymore.
It’s a seductive idea. But let’s be clear: if you think AI code generators can replace CPQ, you’re looking at the wrong problem. These tools aren’t the enemy of CPQ. They’re its latest extension – and every serious CPQ platform must embrace them or risk irrelevance.
Manufacturers shouldn’t be choosing between SaaS CPQ and AI-generated apps. That debate is outdated. The real question is how to fuse these approaches into a unified system that supports agility, accuracy, and control. Bolt, Replit, and Lovable are here to stay. They let your teams test ideas, prototype custom quote flows, build dashboards, or automate rep onboarding. That’s not just fine – it’s great. But without a strong CPQ backbone, these apps are unmoored. They can’t enforce logic, sync prices, manage workflows, or trace decisions. And that’s where things fall apart.
Think of these AI tools like satellites. They orbit around your quoting engine, feeding into it, drawing from it, and serving specific local needs. A revenue analyst builds a pricing sandbox in Lovable. A sales manager prototypes a mobile quoting interface in Replit. An ops team spins up a custom discount calculator in Bolt. It’s fast. It’s empowering. But it all needs to hook into a stable, rule-based CPQ system that governs the business logic and keeps everyone aligned.
Skip the backbone, and you get inconsistency, shadow IT, and compliance headaches. What starts as innovation turns into fragmentation. You have five apps calculating the same price five different ways. One skips the compatibility rules. One forgets to log discounts. One generates an outdated contract template. Suddenly, your speed has come at the cost of control – and nobody wants to own the mess.
That’s why the future of CPQ isn’t about resisting this new wave of tools. It’s about welcoming them – and offering the foundation that lets them thrive without risk. A modern CPQ system must support integrations, APIs, and AI-enhanced extensions by default. It must allow external tools to call rules, fetch prices, apply configurations, and return clean, auditable quotes. Anything less is already behind.
This is more than just a tech trend. It’s a cultural shift in how companies build and use software. You don’t need massive dev teams to create value. But you do need structure. CPQ is the structure. Lovable and its AI-native cousins are the creativity. Together, they offer a quoting stack that is flexible on the surface and rock-solid underneath.
If your CPQ strategy is built only on internal AI apps, you’re betting on speed at the cost of sustainability. If it’s built only on traditional workflows, you risk being outpaced. But if you combine the experimentation of Lovable with the rigor of a well-structured CPQ platform, you get the best of both. You move fast, stay accurate, and never lose control of the quote.
So stop debating “build versus buy.” That conversation belongs to 2015. In 2025, it’s “how do we support both – without compromise?”
Explore how CPQ systems can power the AI-enabled tools your team already loves at AI in CPQ – Challenges to Overcome and the Road Ahead.
And if you’re ready to make your quoting system as flexible as Bolt, as fast as Replit, and as intuitive as Lovable – without losing what matters – book a virtual coffee with Magnus or Patrik today: https://www.cpq.se/meetcpqse