Playbook
How to Build SaaS with AI
Short answer
Build SaaS with AI by picking one user job, calling a hosted model, wrapping it in Next.js auth and Stripe, and capping tokens. Do not start with agents, fine-tunes, or your own GPUs.
Building SaaS with AI
Using a third-party LLM as a feature inside multi-tenant software you own — not “reselling ChatGPT” and not training a foundation model.
Order of operations
| Step | Do | Don’t |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name the job | Platform for all AI |
| 2 | Manual / concierge | Train a model |
| 3 | API + UI + auth | Multi-agent |
| 4 | Meter + Stripe | Unlimited playground |
| 5 | Eval set | Ship on vibes |
Stack that ships
Next.js (web), Supabase (auth + Postgres), Stripe Billing, OpenAI or Anthropic, a queue for long jobs. See Next.js SaaS MVP and how to build a web app.
Cost
Product build is the same order of magnitude as other SaaS MVPs. The surprise is inference. Model it before you launch ads. See AI MVP cost.
FAQ
Can I build this with Lovable?
For a demo, yes. For tenants and metering, export or rebuild. See Lovable to production.
Related
Have the job, not the architecture?
That’s the right starting point. We’ll confirm model vs search vs don’t-use-AI.