Love it or hate it, AI is shaking up practically every industry out there.
With everything happening at a ridiculously fast pace, it can be hard to keep up. This can make it near impossible for businesses to identify and keep up with the opportunities available to them.
Luckily, platforms like Wix, one of the best website builders on the market, is making it easier to tap into the power of AI by integrating it seamlessly into tools ranging from AI assistants to AI-powered templates, copy, and image creation.
I had a chance to talk to Ronny Elkayam, COO at Wix, to get his thoughts on what the future of the web will look like, what risks and opportunities businesses should be looking out for, and how they can take advantage of them.
I was also able to get the inside scoop on Wix’s latest acquisition, Base44, a dedicated ‘vibe coding’ platform that uses AI to help create web apps.
Here is what he had to say.
If you are interested in using Wix, you can read our full Wix review here.
Ronny Elkayam is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Wix. In this role, he leads cross-functional teams, shapes operational strategy, and delivers high-scale, innovative solutions that serve millions of users worldwide. A driving force behind Wix’s culture of innovation, Ronny plays a key role in advancing new ideas and turning them into impactful products. Recognized as both an entrepreneur and a pioneer in the research and development of complex, scalable technologies, Ronny brings over 20 years of experience managing product and R&D teams.
As Editor (Website Builders), Owain leads on all website building content at TechRadar. During his career, Owain has written for several leading marketing and business publishers, live blogged and spoken at top website builder events, and interviewed key executives from the top website building platforms including Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and GoDaddy.
What made Base44 so attractive to Wix? Why now for this acquisition?
This was a strategic decision grounded in where we see the industry heading. Software creation is shifting from manual development to intent-driven development, where people describe what they want to build and intelligent agents take care of the technical execution. Base44 is at the forefront of this transformation.
Their platform enables users to create fully functional, production-ready applications using natural language, without writing code. It’s fast, intuitive, and incredibly powerful. It removes much of the friction traditionally associated with software development, and that aligns perfectly with Wix’s long-term vision to make digital creation accessible to everyone.
We were especially impressed by the strong product-market fit Base44 has achieved and the passionate, large, growing user base that is already a fan of the product. This demonstrated traction gave us great confidence that the technology and team are truly delivering value and are well positioned for continued growth.
Importantly, this acquisition expands Wix’s reach beyond our existing user base to a whole new audience: creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses who may not have previously considered building software and apps on their own. Base44’s technology opens the door to a broad audience, regardless of technical expertise, helping them bring their ideas to life quickly and easily.
Ultimately, this isn’t just about a company or a product. It’s about leading the next wave of software creation. The timing, technology, and team made this the right move now.
Furthermore, Base44 CEO Maor is a bootstrapped solopreneur who built Base44 from the ground up without external funding. Maor is an amazing talent, and we have full confidence in his ability to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
For the time being Base44 and Wix will remain separate platforms, how do you see them integrating over the coming years?
Base44 will continue to operate as a distinct product and business, maintaining its unique identity and momentum while benefiting from the scale and support of Wix.
Wix’s mission is to empower anyone to build and grow online with the easiest, most powerful tools available. Base44’s technology complements this mission by enabling a broader spectrum of users, including some larger businesses and enterprises, to create custom software solutions more easily.
We see Base44 as expanding our capabilities and reach. This allows Wix to serve new use cases and audiences, without losing focus on our core user base. For example, a VC, with zero coding experience can now launch a fully automated AI investment agent in less than a weekend, or a small business owner can create an application to manage all their business receipts, easily scanning, uploading, and organizing all their receipts in one convenient app that they made without coding.
In short, Base44 adds depth and flexibility to our platform, enabling Wix to support everyone from individual creators to growing companies, all with an emphasis on simplicity, speed, and accessibility.
Platforms like Wix and Base44 make it easier than ever to build and launch digital experiences. Do you believe this will lead to a much higher volume of website and web app launches? What should users be doing to ensure outputs remain of high value?
In a few years, building software will feel more like having a conversation than writing code.
AI now gives users the ability to do far more than ever before, and our role is to provide the tools that make that possible. Whether it’s editing images, generating videos, designing websites, or now building full software experiences, we’re focused on removing the friction from creation.
Vibe coding, or intent-driven development, is the next major leap. In a few years, building software will feel more like having a conversation than writing code. You’ll describe what you want, such as a booking system, a marketplace, or a dashboard, and intelligent agents will handle the technical complexity in the background. You won’t need to worry about infrastructure, integrations, or deployment. The system will guide you, ask questions, adapt in real time, and deliver production-ready results.
We’re already laying the groundwork for this future. We’ve built foundational technology like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allows multiple agents to collaborate and manage complex tasks on behalf of users. We see this as essential to the future of the web, where AI agents will play a central role in how digital experiences are built and managed.
At Wix we use AI to let our users do more, faster, and at higher quality than ever before. The acquisition of Base44 accelerates that vision. They are pioneering AI-powered code generation and multi-agent orchestration, and together we are building the future of software creation that is accessible, intuitive, and incredibly powerful.
But this is only part of the future we see. Although some users will want to vibe code, we still believe that many will want to fine tune their creation with a visual editor. This is what Wix excels with and we will continue to invest in our editors. The future as we see it is a combination of the two, the flexibility of the vibe coding with extreme flexibility for fine tuning to reach 100% perfection in creations, beautiful results, and production grade, all to make our users proud of their creation. The models and AI will get you so far, the human touch is what we believe is needed to make the creation perfect for the creator.
We are seeing AI increasingly assist and automate the building of websites and digital experiences. What do you believe is the evolving role of human developers and designers? Do they still add value when creating digital experiences?
While many fear AI would replace creative roles, in reality, it’s amplifying them and giving people the opportunity to do more than they thought possible.
Human developers and designers will always be needed. Tech and humans are deeply intertwined. It’s about solving real problems that we all might face, empowering people, and enabling creativity.
People often overlook how much creativity and collaboration go into building great products – especially when building an online presence. While many fear AI would replace creative roles, in reality, it’s amplifying them and giving people the opportunity to do more than they thought possible.
With advanced tech, designers spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on high-impact work: concept development, creative direction, and refining ideas at scale. They have more time to focus on bringing their visions to life than being frustrated with tedious tasks.
When you’re dealing with culture, ethics, people, you need human judgment.
Furthermore, AI doesn’t have a moral compass – yet. It doesn’t understand consequences, it just follows instructions and optimizes for outcomes. That’s fine when you’re writing specific code or analyzing trends. But when you’re dealing with culture, ethics, people, you need human judgment.
What are the biggest challenges websites will face as AI agents are integrated more across the web?
What once took weeks can now be done in minutes.
At Wix, we view AI, and AI Agents as a strategic enabler, empowering millions of users to accelerate their businesses by simplifying complex workflows and driving faster time-to-market.
Our AI-powered platform packages the most advanced and sophisticated technologies behind a seamless, intuitive interface, making cutting-edge tools accessible to entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, regardless of technical expertise. What once took weeks can now be done in minutes.
One major challenge is making advanced AI capabilities accessible without overwhelming users. That’s why our platform packages cutting-edge technologies behind intuitive interfaces, enabling entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to benefit, regardless of technical skill.
For example, our AI business assistant, Astro, is embedded directly into the Wix dashboard to help users manage and grow their businesses efficiently. Astro provides real-time insights and tailored recommendations for tasks like SEO, content creation, and performance tracking – all through a conversational interface.
We believe the future of AI on the web is not just about automation, but about meaningful augmentation, helping users achieve more, faster, and with confidence.
Another challenge is delivering truly personalized, relevant experiences at scale. Our AI Marketing Agent addresses this by analyzing site data to automatically generate marketing strategies, helping users build campaigns and content that align with their goals.
As we continue to innovate, like we did with the launch of Wix ADI in 2016 and now the Wix AI Website Builder, the first AI builder powered by chat, we stay focused on making AI easy to use, while delivering stunning and professional results. We believe the future of AI on the web is not just about automation, but about meaningful augmentation, helping users achieve more, faster, and with confidence.
When it comes to website building and online experience, what are the biggest opportunities businesses should be looking out for in the next 12 months? How can they make the most of them?
One of the biggest opportunities we see over the next 12 months is the integration of conversational AI and large language models (LLMs) directly into websites.
Technology is evolving at an incredible pace, and businesses that embrace these advancements will be best positioned to thrive online.
One of the biggest opportunities we see over the next 12 months is the integration of conversational AI and large language models (LLMs) directly into websites. This shift will fundamentally change how users interact with digital experiences, moving from static interfaces to more dynamic, personalized, and interactive conversations.
Imagine a website where a visitor can ask for detailed product information, get personalized recommendations based on their preferences or past behavior, or even hear reviews about a product, all through a natural, conversational interface.
For example, conversational AI can turn a website into a 24/7 sales and support channel by answering questions, offering personalized product recommendations, and collecting valuable feedback in real time. At Wix we have the AI Site-Chat – designed to serve as a virtual agent for customers. This allows businesses to serve more customers, more effectively, without increasing overhead.
These experiences not only make interactions more intuitive and engaging, but they also help build trust and streamline the path to conversion.
To make the most of this opportunity, we believe businesses should focus on three things:
- Investing in AI tools that enhance user engagement, like chat-driven product discovery or real-time support.
- Leveraging site data to deliver tailored experiences that adapt to individual user needs and behaviors.
- Prioritizing content strategy, ensuring product information and storytelling are structured in a way that AI agents can easily surface and personalize.
Right now we are seeing many internet users opt for AI-generated search results over visiting websites. Do you have any advice for businesses that are worried about customers missing out on the brand experiences they have built online?
We’ve developed Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to prepare Wix sites for AI discovery. We provide server-side rendering so AI can access site content easily.
We include default structured data markup to help AI understand and deliver your content, site or brand name in its answers. Our analytics track AI-driven traffic and engagement. We support emerging standards like llms.txt, and we’re partnering with platforms like OpenAI to surface product feeds in generative search.
Soon, we’re launching a Connect to Bing feature to help users appear in AI-powered Bing results. These initiatives ensure Wix users can thrive as AI reshapes how people search and discover content.
