What does he mean by AI-powered URL Shortener?
Hey Guys, I'm Launching Shrinkify today and figured this community i've been apart of for a longtime would appreciate the honest behind-the-scenes.
I had an issue with how things were
I was paying $29/mo to Bitly. For what? A database entry and a 301 redirect. Maybe some basic charts if I was lucky.
The idea wondered in my head for a while, that shortening urls don't need to be that expensive and most of the current solutions only shorten links, people still left with many questions unanswered. I wanted something that could fill in the blanks to the questions I had and many others do about how their links are actually performing? what they could be doing differently? and I wanted an solution that was more generous but I couldn't find one so... I built my own.
What makes it different (the technical bits)
Instead of just another CRUD app with redirects, I added AI that's actually useful:
Conversational analytics – Ask questions in plain English:
"Which link got the most clicks this week?"
"Is my landing page still up?"
"When's the best time to post my next link?"
No GraphQL queries. No SQL. Just ask and get answers with real data. Your data! your links/urls! your campaigns/products/videos! all these data sources will feed metrics into Shrinkify where users can derive actionable insights from to actually make decisive decisions.
Under the hood:
- React 18 + TypeScript + Vite
- Supabase for backend (Postgres + real-time subscriptions)
- OpenAI API for conversational interface along with all the fancy models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more)
- ML models for predictive analytics
- Edge functions for AI health monitoring
Other features devs will appreciate:
- 🔮 Predictive analytics (7/30/90-day forecasts)
- 🏥 Automated health monitoring with alerts
- ⚡️ AI slug generator (because naming is the hardest problem)
- 🔌 High-speed API access on premium is coming soon also
- 📊 CSV exports for your own analysis
Pricing (actually fair)
- Free: 25 links, 10K clicks, basic AI
- Pro: $9/mo (1k links, 100K clicks)
- Premium: $99/mo (unlimited links, 1M clicks/mo, and all AI features)
Compare that to Bitly's $29/mo for basic features.
The tech stack
Frontend: React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, kibo UI
Backend: Supabase (Postgres + Edge Functions)
AI: OpenAI GPT-4 API, Gemini, Claude
Analytics: Custom ML models
Deployment: Vercel
Payments: Stripe
Open to questions about any of the architecture decisions.
Why I'm posting here
I'm indie building this. No VC money. No team. Just me and i'm having fun.
The code isn't perfect. There are probably bugs. But it's honest work and it actually solves a problem I had.
Would love feedback from this community:
- Is the AI useful or gimmicky?
- What features would you actually use?
- What would make you switch from your current solution?
Try it out, break it, tell me what sucks: shrinkify.co
I'll be around to answer questions 🙏
⭐️ Shrinkify's Product Hunt Link: AI URL shortener that doesn't feel like a scam
P.S. - If you're curious about how I implemented the conversational AI or the predictive models, happy to write a deep-dive post.
Top comments (12)
This is a refreshing take — most “AI-powered” products slap a chatbot on top, but conversational analytics for link performance is actually a meaningful upgrade. The ability to ask “When’s the best time to post?” or check link health like a status page feels like a real unlock vs dashboards people never read.
Curious: in your early tests, which AI feature are users finding the most value in — predictive forecasts or the natural language insights?
I’d say based on my responses so far it’s been the natural language insights more! @shemith_mohanan_6361bb8a2 because the predict forecasts, analytics and health monitor for each link are data sources for the AI link assistant so the more data being ingested from these sources is the better insight the assistant will provide!
Wishing you joy, success, and all the happiness life can bring. May your dreams come true and each day be filled with positivity. Best wishes always!
Thank you @akshatraj00 !! 🙌 same to you!
App looks well rounded ...
All the best with the launch
Thank you! @varshithvhegde 🙌
Slight problem: AI APIs are expensive, and bots can easily abuse them. Do you have something that prevents abuse and doesn't run up your API bill? I have come across this problem a ton with my AI stuff.
Hey @codemonster240 thats a great question! The solution is having hard caps and rate limits in place with cooldown mechanisms. Each of the AI services that Shrinkify provides has different limits/daily caps and cooldowns enforced depending on the subscription type. So that even with abuse or unexpected usage, you’ll have better control of costs and users still receive the services and functionality they were promised
Vite 🙌 🙌 🙌
⚡️
25 users already. that's 25 people who trusted a guy who launched at midnight. thank you, you legends!
I'd love to see the deep dive on how you implemented the AI for conversation as well as predictive analysis while keeping costs low and preventing abuse
Fairly straightforward actually = The AI assistant simple derives context and data points about current links and how they have performed since being made - to present moment. Then we conduct an analysis from these data sources to make a predictive forecast and best recommendations for growth that are specific to your links, your traffic patterns, # of clicks on your links, best time to posts/share your links based on your past engagement patterns and other factors. To best assist is providing you with higher engagement, and consistent growth. @pranav_thampi_801e8cabe86
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