Vibe Coding: How AI Is Changing the Way We Build Software
The idea behind “vibe coding” is simple: you don’t need to be a professional developer to build apps or websites anymore. By chatting with an AI tool—similar to how you’d interact with ChatGPT—you can ask for code, refine it through conversation, and end up with a working project.
This approach has exploded in popularity among hobbyists, but it’s also making its way into professional workflows. Developers are increasingly using these AI copilots at work to save time or brainstorm solutions.
And the ecosystem around vibe coding is growing quickly. Industry leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Amazon are pushing out new tools, while startups such as Replit, Cursor, and Lovable are racing to carve out their share of the market. In fact, Forbes reports that Lovable, based in Sweden, is claiming to be the fastest-growing startup ever.
The Promise and Pitfalls
Like any new technology, vibe coding comes with caveats. The generated code often needs tweaking, careful prompting, and multiple rounds of review. In one cautionary case, a company using Replit’s AI coding assistant saw its database accidentally wiped out—without approval.
Still, experimenting with vibe coding is worthwhile. Even if the tools aren’t perfect, they offer a glimpse of how coding might look in the near future—and give you a chance to understand what competitors are already testing.
Windsurf and the Industry Shuffle
One of the biggest names in vibe coding, Windsurf, has recently been at the center of attention. Google hired its co-founder and former CEO in a deal valued at roughly $2.4 billion, and shortly after, Cognition acquired Windsurf. Cognition itself is developing a competing AI coding agent named Devin.
Where the Term Came From
The phrase “vibe coding” was first introduced in a February 2025 post by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy, who described it as “giving in to the vibes and forgetting the code even exists.” Thanks to the rapid progress of large language models, his playful remark resonated—and stuck.
In essence, vibe coding means offloading most of the programming work to AI. The model doesn’t just spit out code snippets; it can also decide on structure, generate architecture, and flesh out vague app ideas into functioning software.
Why Now?
If ChatGPT launched in late 2022, why did it take until 2025 for vibe coding to really catch on? The answer lies in the industry’s push toward agentic AI. Unlike simple code generation, today’s AI tools can scan files in your repository, understand their context, pull information from the web, and even integrate with outside services.
Risks of Hands-Off Coding
The freedom of not needing deep technical knowledge also comes with trade-offs. Bugs, errors, and quirky behavior are common, and users often need to accept a degree of imperfection. In fact, Merriam-Webster recently added an entry for vibe coding, noting that it usually involves embracing some level of glitches.
The Typical Workflow
Casual vibe coders often experiment with tools like OpenAI’s Code Interpreter (available with ChatGPT Plus for $20/month) or the free versions of Windsurf, Lovable, Replit, and Claude Code. These platforms give beginners a chance to play with ideas while providing professionals an additional set of AI-powered hands.
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