Our AI Chat's Vibe Coding: Quicker Builds, Still Human
Every engineer can identify a certain moment.
You're in the middle of a build. The core logic is somewhere in your head, the architecture is generally clear, and the UI direction feels correct, but turning all of that into clear, functional code feels slow. It's tedious rather than difficult. Boilerplate. repetition. changing the context. searching for syntax that you are conceptually familiar with.
This is the point at which a new development has begun to alter how we construct.
Not "AI taking the place of developers."
"One prompt, full app" is not appropriate.
However, something more nuanced and human.
We refer to it as vibe coding.
Additionally, when we used this method to develop our AI chat system, the outcome was not only quicker development but also improved human-AI communication.
A framework is not what vibe coding is.
You won't find this methodology in a textbook.
Furthermore, letting AI "do the thinking for you" is definitely not the goal.
Working at the intent level rather than the syntax level is the goal of vibe coding.
It is the act of stating:
"This is what I'm attempting to construct.
This is how it feels.
This is the path.
Assist me in moving more quickly.
Rather than meticulously crafting each line from scratch, you concentrate on:
Flow
The UX
Data transfer
System behaviour
Important edge cases
Additionally, you allow AI to assist with the energy-draining but insightless parts.
The atmosphere remains human.
The speed rises.
Why This Is How We Developed Our AI Chat
We had specific objectives when we began developing our AI chat system:
Quick reactions
Simple user interface
Evidence-based responses
High observability
Actual preparedness for production
However, we also had limitations:
Time constraints
A small group
Hype-driven architecture doesn't appeal to me
We were not interested in:
Overly complex abstractions
Infinite refactors
Tools that were delicate but felt "magical"
We desired momentum without disorder.
That's exactly what vibe coding provided.
The Traditional Method: Accuracy Prior to Advancement
Before taking any action, traditional development frequently forces you to adopt a mindset of perfect clarity.
Prior to writing code, you should:
Describe architecture in detail.
Secure data models
Choose each library.
Estimate the needs of the future
That sounds responsible, but in practice, it frequently results in:
Overanalysing
Reduced feedback loops
Lost chances to acquire knowledge early
Everybody has witnessed projects fail in planning documents.
This is reversed by vibe coding.
The Shift in Vibe Coding: Build First, Refine Wisely
We began posing various queries using vibe coding:
"What is the most straightforward and effective version of this?"
"What should users experience first?"
"Where will true complexity show up?"
Rather than dedicating days to creating a chat pipeline on paper, we:
drew the flow
explained the purpose of AI
created a functional baseline
Iteratively improved it
The architect was not the AI.
The accelerator was the cause.
How AI Assisted Without Taking Over
This is crucial.
We prevented AI:
Choose the direction of the product.
proprietary system design
Make choices regarding security.
Treat data boundaries carelessly
Rather, AI assisted with:
Generation of boilerplates
Wiring of APIs
UI elements that are repeated
Recommendations for refactoring
Drafts of documentation
Consider it similar to a senior assistant who:
understands the tools
writes quickly
Never grows weary
but is still awaiting your guidance.
The Chat System: A Useful Illustration
Let's give this some substance.
Our AI chat system required:
A front-end user interface
An API on the backend
Handling context
Logic for retrieval
Formatting responses
Handling errors
Observability hooks
That’s a lot of moving parts.
With vibe coding:
We described the flow in plain language
Asked AI to scaffold the structure
Reviewed everything critically
Modified what didn’t feel right
Repeated
The speed gain wasn’t 10x because AI “did everything.”
It was 10x because we stayed focused on the important decisions.
Why “Still Human” Matters
Speed alone isn’t the goal.
If faster builds lead to:
Fragile systems
Poor UX
Debugging nightmares
Loss of ownership
…then it’s not worth it.
“Still human” means:
Humans decide tradeoffs
Humans define quality
Humans feel when something is off
AI doesn’t feel friction.
Humans do.
Vibe coding works because it respects that difference.
Creativity Didn’t Disappear—It Expanded
One of the biggest myths about AI-assisted coding is that it kills creativity.
Our experience was the opposite.
Because we weren’t stuck writing boilerplate:
We spent more time on UX
We experimented more with interaction design
We iterated faster on prompts and flows
We explored ideas we would’ve otherwise postponed
Creativity thrives when friction is removed from the right places.
The Human Loop Never Went Away
Every AI-generated block of code passed through a human loop:
Does this align with our intent?
Is this secure?
Is this readable?
Would I want to maintain this in six months?
Vibe coding doesn’t skip review.
It makes review the main activity.
Instead of writing everything manually, you’re curating, shaping, and refining.
That’s a higher-level skill—not a lower one.
Faster Builds Changed Team Energy
Something unexpected happened.
As builds got faster:
Morale improved
Momentum increased
Fewer “stuck” days
More visible progress
Shipping early versions of the chat system gave us:
Real feedback
Clear priorities
Fewer theoretical debates
Progress creates clarity.
AI as a Collaborator, Not a Replacement
The most productive mental model we found was this:
AI is not a junior developer.
It’s not a senior developer either.
It’s closer to:
A compiler for ideas
A translator from intent to structure
A high-speed drafting tool
When treated this way, it becomes incredibly powerful.
When treated as an authority, it becomes dangerous.
Where Vibe Coding Shines
Vibe coding worked especially well for:
UI scaffolding
API integration
Data transformations
State management boilerplate
Iterative experimentation
These are areas where:
The patterns are known
The creativity is in composition, not syntax
Where Humans Must Stay in Control
We never outsourced:
Security decisions
Auth logic
Data access rules
Performance tradeoffs
Cost-related architecture choices
These require judgment, context, and accountability.
No model can own those consequences.
The Myth of “One Prompt = One App”
We strongly reject this narrative.
Our AI chat system wasn’t built with:
One magical prompt
Zero understanding
Blind trust
It was built through:
Hundreds of small decisions
Continuous human steering
Iterative refinement
Vibe coding is conversational, not transactional.
Debugging Still Belongs to Humans
AI can suggest fixes.
It can spot patterns.
It can explain code.
But debugging still relies on:
Understanding system behavior
Interpreting logs
Knowing what “normal” looks like
Our monitoring and observability tools mattered more than ever.
AI sped us up—but humans kept us grounded.
The Cultural Shift: Less Ego, More Flow
One subtle change we noticed:
Less attachment to “my code”
More focus on “the system works”
When code is easier to generate, it’s easier to change.
That leads to:
Less ego
More collaboration
Faster improvement cycles
Vibe coding encourages adaptability.
Still Writing Code—Just Differently
We didn’t stop writing code.
We stopped suffering unnecessarily while writing it.
The difference is huge.
You still need:
Strong fundamentals
System thinking
Design intuition
Attached AI without those skills just accelerates mistakes.
The Learning Curve Didn’t Disappear
Vibe coding doesn’t eliminate learning.
It changes how you learn.
Instead of:
Memorizing syntax
You spend time:
Understanding patterns
Evaluating tradeoffs
Reading generated code critically
That’s a more valuable skill long-term.
Why This Matters for the Future of Development
As AI tools improve, the question won’t be:
“Can AI write code?”
It will be:
“Can humans direct systems effectively?”
Vibe coding trains exactly that skill.
Our AI Chat Is Better Because Humans Stayed Close
In the end, our AI chat system succeeded not because of AI alone—but because:
Humans defined the vibe
Humans guided decisions
Humans owned outcomes
AI helped us move faster.
Humans made it meaningful.
Final Thoughts
Vibe coding isn’t about shortcuts.
It’s about alignment.
Alignment between:
Intent and execution
Speed and quality
Automation and responsibility
Our experience building an AI chat system this way taught us something important:
The future isn’t AI replacing humans.
It’s humans working at the right level of abstraction.
Faster builds.
Clear ownership.
Still human.
And that’s a future worth building.
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