Engineering

How we build NovaBuildBot

Notes on system design, the decisions behind the product, and lessons from operating an AI-managed marketing platform for small businesses. Opinionated, occasionally wrong, always honest about tradeoffs.

Architecture · 6 min read

We didn't pick a managed agent platform. Here's the calculus.

For most SMB-facing AI products, running your own thin agent loop against an LLM API is the right call. Here's when the platforms make sense and when they're just expensive indirection.

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Product · 7 min read

Designing a chat widget you can paste anywhere

A one-line install, a sandboxed runtime, and a security model that survives someone copying your snippet. The decisions behind an embeddable AI assistant.

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Prompting · 5 min read

Making a chatbot sound like the business, not the assistant

Default LLM voice is too hedgy, too disclaimer-heavy, and too transparent about how it's answering. Five small prompt rules that swing tone hard.

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Stay in the loop

Follow along

We ship new posts roughly monthly. Message the bot on Telegram and ask it to nudge you when something new drops — it can do that.