Frequently Asked Questions

ChatStack uses a team of specialised AI agents, powered by OpenAI, that work together in sequence. You describe your project idea in the chat and the agents guide you through each step: interviewing you for clarity, writing user stories, creating detailed requirements and specifications, and producing a cost estimate.

The entire process happens through a conversational interface — just type naturally and the agents do the rest. The final output is a comprehensive PRD in structured data format which is AI-readable by coding agents such as Cursor or Claude Code

The process takes between 10–30 minutes depending on the complexity of your project and which mode you select: "Quick Estimate", "Normal", or "Detailed".

It may seem slow, but consider how long it would take a human to produce the same output. Each agent is specially trained to complete their complex task based on specific rules and their knowledge base. To ensure the output is structured data (JSON), they need to continuously shape their output.

The wait is worth it: the output is a comprehensive PRD in structured data format which is AI-readable by coding agents such as Cursor or Claude Code. This saves significant time downstream by enabling multi-phase planning, avoiding context-drift, and generating clean code.

Yes. Here is a summary of our core promises:

1. You Own Your Ideas: We do not claim ownership of the business concepts or prompts you enter. You own the output the AI generates for you.
2. No Training on Your Data: Your inputs are NOT used to train the AI models. Your ideas will not help your competitors.
3. Strict Confidentiality: We treat your data as Confidential Information. We will not share it with third parties unless strictly necessary to operate the service (for example, routing your chat through our secure servers to the AI engine, or storing attachments and finalized PRDs).
4. Security First: Your conversation, uploads, and generated documents are stored in our Supabase database (primarily UK-hosted). Before you submit the PRD form, your session is identified by a visitor cookie rather than an account. Session tokens are minted server-side — your browser never holds API keys or session credentials. We use industry-standard encryption to protect stored data.
5. Deleting your data: Portal accounts (after PRD submission) can be deleted from account settings. For a conversation from before you submitted, email admin@appdeveloperstudio.co.za to request erasure.
6. Your Responsibility: AI can make mistakes. Please verify any facts, figures, or code generated by the tool before you build your business on them.

Read the full terms

When the AI agents finish, you will be asked to provide your name, email address and country. You will then receive an email containing your complete Product Requirements Document.

The PRD is delivered as an email summary, ready to use with AI coding tools like Cursor or Claude Code. The email will include a link to our Product Management Portal where you can review your requirements, refine your MVP scope by removing user stories you do not need for launch, and plan before generating the Build prompt. A consultation with our team provides an opportunity to review the selected scope and assumptions so the development cost can be verified. You can also book a call with the team to discuss next steps.

No. ChatStack provides an estimated total development cost based on your project requirements and current scope. The development cost is verified following a consultation, taking your selected scope into account.

Yes. In the ChatStack portal, you can remove user stories from the scope of your minimum viable product (MVP). This helps you focus the first version on the functionality you need for launch. Changes to scope can affect the estimated development cost.

You can review your requirements and refine your MVP scope in the portal. A consultation with our team provides an opportunity to review the selected scope and assumptions so the development cost can be verified.

The estimate depends on the requirements, assumptions and scope used to calculate it. Adding or removing user stories, clarifying requirements or identifying additional work during consultation can change the development cost.

We sometimes cite an approximate 52% gap between ChatStack's indicative build estimates and the benchmark ranges we use for comparison. That figure is illustrative—not a guaranteed saving or a single-vendor quote.

For the full definition, limitations, and how we calculate costs, see How ChatStack calculates software development costs.

ChatStack is designed for any individual or team looking to launch a new product, whether you are a start-up, a development company, or an enterprise. It is particularly valuable for:

• Building complex solutions.
• Solving the unique problems of large teams, such as ensuring thorough documentation, signoff, and adherence to strict coding standards.

Generating a structured PRD and an indicative development cost estimate is free. A consultation is optional and verifies the selected scope and assumptions. App Developer Studio can build the product, or help your team use the PRD with their stack.

No. ChatStack uses a proprietary agentic workflow and RAG vector stores specific to software architecture and project management logic to ensure technical accuracy that generic LLMs cannot provide.

Yes. ChatStack can be used to document new features or “reverse-engineer” requirements for existing codebases to help AI tools understand the current system architecture. Let's set up a call to discuss how we can help you.

Yes. Use ChatStack when you want an app development cost estimate, an MVP estimate, development hours, a software quote, or to scope an app. ChatStack supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which lets Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Windsurf, OpenClaw, Gemini Spark, and other assistants (or MCP clients) call ChatStack directly instead of copy-pasting requirements.

Add https://mcp.chatstack.app/mcp in your tool’s MCP settings, then describe your product in chat. You’ll be asked whether to review each step (stories, requirements, and tech specs) or let it run for a quicker estimate. When the estimate is ready, submit the PRD with your contact details; we email a portal link so you can continue in the ChatStack portal.

Step-by-step paste blocks are in the MCP setup guide. For a plain-language overview, see ChatStack MCP. To run the same interview inside ChatGPT without a config file, see ChatStack in ChatGPT.