AI in your business application: how far can you go today, with and without Mendix?

AI stopped being a distant prospect long ago. From answering customer questions automatically to spotting errors in invoices: smart AI applications are finding their way into business applications more and more often. But how do you do that as an organisation? What can you already do with AI today, and how far do you get with low-code platforms such as Mendix?

We discussed it with a Mendix expert and also took a broader look at what is possible. This blog helps you make the right call: do you go for Mendix, custom development, or a combination?

Agentic AI: what is it and why does it matter?

The newest generation of AI, also known as Agentic AI, differs fundamentally from the AI we have known so far. Where traditional AI reacts to rules and generative AI mainly creates content, Agentic AI goes a step further: it is goal-driven, autonomous and proactive. It sets its own goals, plans actions and carries them out without continuous human input.

According to Gartner, Agentic AI will independently handle 80% of all customer interactions by 2029. Companies that prepare for this will save up to 30% on their operational costs.

What can you do with AI in Mendix today?

1. Integrating AI functionality into your Mendix application

Mendix offers all sorts of ways to apply AI within your application:

• REST APIs to large AI models, such as OpenAI, Azure AI or AWS Bedrock.
• AI connectors from the Mendix Marketplace, for example for text analysis or image recognition.
• AI-supported development tools, such as Maia, Mendix's own AI assistant that helps developers build faster and smarter.

Concrete applications include:

• Classifying customer questions automatically.
• Summarising contracts or support tickets.
• Making personalised recommendations in e-commerce apps.
• Starting workflows automatically based on triggers, such as an incoming incident or expense claim.

2. Building multi-agent systems in Mendix

A next step is combining several AI agents that make decisions together. Mendix supports this through microflows and external services that communicate with one another.

Examples:

• AI that automatically adjusts transport planning when traffic jams are reported.
• AI that carries out quality checks on the production floor.
• AI that flags anomalies in invoices and immediately starts a workflow.

3. Using AI without having to be a specialist

Perhaps the greatest strength of Mendix: you do not have to be an AI engineer to build smart AI functionality. Thanks to the low-code approach, you can quickly build prototypes as a business developer or IT partner and connect AI to your processes.

Starter kits and example apps get you going quickly, and integrations with popular models are easy to set up through standard REST connections.

What if you want more than Mendix?

Mendix offers plenty of flexibility to integrate AI, for example through REST APIs, Java actions and AI widgets from the Mendix Marketplace. That lets you add powerful AI functionality to your applications surprisingly quickly, without deep technical knowledge.

But there are also situations in which you want more than Mendix alone.

For example:

• When you want to train AI models on your own data, or fine-tune specific algorithms.
• When you need complex real-time AI interactions (such as live predictions, image recognition or NLP workflows).
• Or when AI plays a deeper role in your development process, think of continuous learning, feedback loops or managing custom agents.

In those cases, traditional development, for example with Node.js, Python or Java, offers more room and control. Not as a replacement for Mendix, but as a valuable addition. Think of hybrid solutions in which Mendix takes care of the front end and the business logic, while AI runs in the background in its own service environment.

At JAM-IT we build such combinations more and more often: the fast, visual character of low-code combined with the power and flexibility of custom code.

Also read: Extend Mendix with custom JavaScript

What does AI already deliver today?

Whether you choose Mendix, custom development or a mix: as a company you can benefit from AI right now. Think of:

• Responding faster to customer questions
• Smart recommendations based on user data
• Fewer manual errors
• More efficient processes
• Lower development costs
• Faster time-to-market

And all of that without having to build a team of AI specialists.

Finally: start small, scale up smartly

Our tip: start small. Pick one concrete process or part of your application where AI really adds value. Test, learn, and scale up afterwards. Thanks to low-code you can change direction quickly, and build towards an AI-ready organisation step by step.

Want to know more about how we integrate AI into our apps, with and without Mendix? Get in touch. We are always glad to help you think it through.