A 13-year-old girl in China has earned 18,000 yuan (US$2,600) in just three days after developing an AI-powered study app despite having no formal programming background, according to the South China Morning Post.Zhu Shuhan, a Grade Two junior secondary student from Shanghai, created an app called Zai Chang, or “On Site”, designed to help parents supervise their children while they study.Shuhan developed the app for a national AI product marketing competition held in Hangzhou from August 21 to 23. She won third prize and received 5,000 yuan, competing against more than 50 participants.The unusual part of the competition was that there were no technical judges. Winners were determined by the revenue generated by their AI-developed products during the three-day contest.Shuhan’s app received 90 orders, generating 18,000 yuan in sales and helping her secure third place.How does the AI study app work?The app allows parents to upload a photo of themselves. It then creates a virtual parent that appears on the screen while the child is doing homework.Using the camera, the system can detect if a child is using a mobile phone or leaving their seat. The virtual parent then issues a voice reminder to encourage the child to return to their studies.Once the homework session is completed, the app generates a “concentration report”.Teen says her own study habits inspired the appShuhan said the idea came from her own experience of studying without parental supzrvision.“My parents were so busy that they did not have time to accompany me while I studied. I often found myself distracted and discreetly using my phone while doing homework,” she said, according to the South China Morning Post.She said many of her classmates faced similar problems with self-discipline, which inspired her to create what she described as a “digital parent clone.”She learned AI only last yearDespite having no programming background, Shuhan said she started learning about AI only last year.Instead of writing the code herself, she explained her idea to a large language model (LLM), which helped generate the code. She also used AI programming tools to resolve technical problems during development.The entire process, from designing the product to implementing its core functions, took only three to four days, according to the report.Interestingly, Shuhan initially included a feature called “mother getting angry” to alert parents when children were repeatedly distracted. She later removed it because she wanted the app to encourage children rather than report their behaviour to parents.“I dislike whistle-blowers. I want my app to be gentle and allow room for improvement for children,” she said.‘AI can bring a good idea to life’Reflecting on the experience, Shuhan said the project changed her understanding of what AI can do.“From this app development experience, I realised that as long as you have a good idea, AI can bring it to life,” she said.Her younger brother, a Primary One student, is among the app’s first users. Shuhan said he became more diligent with his studies after using the app.The teenager now plans to make the app available to more users at a lower price.“If many people are willing to pay for this app, I will continue developing it,” she said.The story has also attracted attention online, with users praising Shuhan for combining creativity with AI tools. One commenter described her as “incredible” for having both a creative idea and the ability to use AI effectively, while another praised her business sense and said the app addresses a demand among parents.