Yesterday a client asked if I could build them a quote calculator

I'm Alin, I run a solo design practice. Last week a client asked "how much for a yearly package?" and I spent 5 minutes scrolling through chat history before realizing I'd already quoted them. This happens about once a month. I used to draft quotes in my notes app, but clients couldn't open them — I'd have to screenshot and send over WeChat, and it turned into chaos every time.

GPT-6's new thing: clickable answers

OpenAI recently announced GPT-6 comes with a feature called "Intelligent UI" — when ChatGPT answers you, it doesn't just spit out text. It can also generate buttons, sliders, tables, calculators — things you can actually click and drag.

A buddy in indie dev, Lao Zhou, already tried it. He asked ChatGPT to build a "quote-by-project-complexity" tool without leaving the chat window. His client got a link, dragged the sliders, and saw different pricing tiers instantly. He said this would've run at least 800 RMB and a week through a freelancer.

For us non-coders, building "little tools clients can play with" might soon mean skipping Notion, skipping Typeform — one prompt inside ChatGPT and you're done.

You can try this today, barrier ≈ zero

  • Money: ChatGPT Plus subscription ($20/month, ~145 RMB) gets you in, no extra cost
  • Time: my first attempt took 8 minutes — I made a "word-count to royalty fee" calculator
  • Tech barrier: zero code, same as asking ChatGPT anything
  • First step: open ChatGPT, say "build me a slider tool that calculates pricing across X, Y, Z variables" and see what comes out

I also got stuck — my first prompt was too vague ("build me a tool") and ChatGPT replied with a paragraph of instructions, not an interactive widget. Rephrasing to "I want my client to drag a slider and see the price" did the trick. Whether the free tier works is still unclear.

Advice for three stages

If you're just starting out (no clients yet): don't get distracted by this yet. Figure out "what am I selling, to whom" first. Once you have your first paying client, come back and see if it's useful.

If you have 1-2 steady clients: give it a shot. Take that form or calculator scenario you keep repeating and toss it at ChatGPT. My first build was a quote calculator — it cut the back-and-forth time noticeably.

If you're scaling (more and more clients): this won't be enough short-term — it's still unclear whether generated links can be saved or embedded on your own site. Don't bet on it yet; wait for a stable release before deciding.

Not everyone needs this either. If your business runs entirely on in-person chats and you don't share materials online, skip it.