Glide AI

Glide has powerful AI columns that run inference on your data. These can add significant value to apps with minimal effort.

AI Column Types

Column	Input	Output	Use Case
Generate Text	Text/template	AI-generated text	Summaries, descriptions, recommendations
Image to Text	Image URL	Extracted text	Receipt scanning, document OCR, product analysis
Document to Text	Document URL	Extracted/summarized text	PDF parsing, document processing
Audio to Text	Audio URL	Transcription	Voice notes, meeting recordings
Text to Boolean	Text	true/false	Sentiment analysis, spam detection
Text to Choice	Text + options	Selected option	Auto-categorization, priority assignment
Text to JSON	Text	Structured JSON	Entity extraction, form parsing

AI Techniques

Detail Screen Summary with Hint Component

A powerful pattern: show an AI-generated summary at the top of detail screens.

How it works:

1. Aggregate data - Create a Template column or JSON Object column that combines relevant fields
   • Template: Name: {Name}, Status: {Status}, Due: {Due Date}, Notes: {Notes}
   • Or use JSON Object to structure the data
2. Generate summary - Create a Generate Text column that takes the aggregated data
   • Prompt: "Summarize this task in 1-2 sentences, highlighting priority and next steps"
3. Display with Hint - Add a Hint component at the top of the detail screen
   • Bind it to the Generate Text column
   • Users see an instant AI summary of the item

Example prompts:

• Task: "Summarize this task, noting urgency and blockers"
• Customer: "Provide a brief profile of this customer based on their activity"
• Order: "Summarize this order status and any issues"
• Project: "Give a quick health check of this project"

This gives users instant context without reading through all fields.

Auto-Categorization with Text to Choice

Automatically categorize items as they're added:

1. Create a Text to Choice column
2. Define the categories (e.g., "Bug", "Feature", "Question", "Other")
3. Point it at the text field to analyze (e.g., ticket description)
4. New items get auto-categorized

Great for:

• Support tickets → category
• Feedback → sentiment (Positive, Negative, Neutral)
• Expenses → expense type
• Leads → qualification level

Smart Descriptions from Basic Info

Generate rich descriptions from minimal input:

1. User enters basic info (name, a few keywords)
2. Template column combines the inputs
3. Generate Text creates a full description

Example for products:

• Input: "Blue widget, small, outdoor use"
• Generate Text prompt: "Write a compelling 2-sentence product description"
• Output: "Introducing our compact Blue Widget, perfectly sized for any outdoor adventure. Built to withstand the elements while delivering reliable performance wherever you go."

Receipt/Document Scanning

Extract structured data from images:

1. User uploads a receipt photo
2. Image to Text extracts the content
3. Text to JSON parses into structured fields (vendor, amount, date)
4. Display parsed data in the UI

Works for:

• Receipts → expense tracking
• Business cards → contact creation
• Documents → data entry
• Product photos → inventory details

Sentiment Analysis

Detect sentiment in text:

1. Create a Text to Boolean column
2. Prompt: "Is this feedback positive?"
3. Use result to show 😊 or 😞 emoji via If-Then-Else
4. Or use Text to Choice for Positive/Neutral/Negative

Apply to:

• Customer feedback
• Support ticket tone
• Review analysis
• Survey responses

Best Practices

• Aggregate before generating - Combine relevant data into one input for better AI results
• Be specific in prompts - Tell the AI exactly what format and length you want
• Use for summaries - AI excels at condensing information
• Cache results - AI columns compute once and store the result
• Consider cost - AI columns use Glide AI credits; use strategically

When to Add AI

Look for opportunities where:

• Users need to quickly understand complex data
• Manual categorization is tedious
• Text input could be richer/more helpful
• Images contain data that should be structured
• Summaries would save users time