First Look at Codex: Building an Affiliate ROI Calculator with AI
Welcome back! In this video, I dive into OpenAI’s newly released Codex for Plus users. This is my unfiltered first impression, and we take it for a spin to build a real, useful tool: a compound interest-style ROI calculator specifically for affiliate marketers. Here’s how it went down and what you can take away from it.
Why Codex Matters (and Why I Tried It) I’ve used other tools like Bolt.new and Lovable, but they all come with additional fees and friction. Codex is built into what I already pay for — ChatGPT Plus — so it’s a no-brainer to explore. If it works well, it could seriously cut down on dev time for small projects like plug-ins, calculators, and blog widgets.
The Vision: Affiliate Earnings Compound Calculator Instead of testing Codex with a basic “hello world” task, I wanted to throw it into a real-world challenge. What if we could make a visual tool for affiliate marketers that shows how daily earnings, monthly tool costs, and reinvestment could play out over time?
What We Asked Codex to Build
- Inputs for daily affiliate earnings, monthly tool costs (Grammarly, hosting, AI tools, etc.)
- Reinvestment percentage from net profit
- ROI on reinvested budget
- Growth over chosen timeframes (like 1 month, 6 months, 1 year)
- Visual graphs for clear insight
How Codex Actually Works Behind the Scenes Codex is built on the same family of models as ChatGPT but fine-tuned for programming. It understands both natural language prompts and code context, making it ideal for translating instructions into functioning scripts. Think of it as a collaborative partner that writes and understands code — not just a code-completion tool.
Supported Languages and Frameworks While most demos show off HTML, JavaScript, or Python, Codex also supports dozens of other languages including TypeScript, SQL, Ruby, Go, and more. It can help you scaffold projects across frameworks (like React or Flask), integrate APIs, or generate documentation.
Initial Results and Hiccups The first attempts were basic and misaligned. It focused too much on general finance, not affiliate marketing specifics. But with some better prompting — and a little trial and error — we got Codex to generate a functioning tool. Once I handled the GitHub credentials and workflows, things moved faster.
Click to check out the affiliate roi calculator
What Worked Well
- Codex generated editable code in seconds
- Pulled together a working HTML/JS simulation tool
- Readjusted results dynamically based on input
- Created pull requests automatically
What Still Needs Work
- No live preview inside the tool (like Bolt.new offers)
- Can’t test the output within Codex — you have to copy or pull to view it
- Needs clearer UX for non-coders to get the most value
Comparison Snapshot: Codex vs. GitHub Copilot vs. Bolt.new
| Feature | Codex (OpenAI) | GitHub Copilot | Bolt.new |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code generation | âś… Strong | âś… Strong | âś… Strong |
| Works via Chat | ✅ Yes (via ChatGPT) | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Live preview | ❌ Not yet | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Git integration | âś… Pull request aware | âś… GitHub native | âś… Basic |
| Best for | Tool prototyping | Code completion | MVPs & web utilities |
Realistic Use Cases for Codex This tool could become a powerhouse for:
- Bloggers and affiliates creating custom tools
- SEO agencies automating reporting utilities
- Creators needing simple plug-ins or calculators fast
Final Thoughts Once you’re past the setup hurdles, Codex feels like having a junior developer on standby. It’s not perfect yet, but if OpenAI adds live code preview, it’s game over for most of the paid platforms. Great for rapid testing, iteration, and learning by doing.