When to use AI coding tools, when to avoid them, and when to split the difference

Artificial intelligence has democratized software development in ways previously unimaginable. Non-technical founders and business teams can now build functional applications using AI-powered development tools—a practice known as “vibe coding.” This approach lets users describe what they want in plain English, with AI assistants generating the necessary code and functionality.

However, not every business application makes sense for this approach. After extensive hands-on experience building with these tools, here’s a practical framework to help you determine when vibe coding delivers value—and when traditional development remains essential.

Green light: Ideal for vibe coding

Basic information-based web apps (no customer data collection)

Think of these as enhanced websites with interactive elements—company pages, documentation hubs, or content-heavy applications that don’t collect user information beyond basic analytics. The risk profile remains minimal because you’re essentially building a dynamic website without handling sensitive data.

This represents vibe coding’s sweet spot. You gain rapid iteration benefits without the technical debt concerns that plague more complex applications. Marketing teams can create sophisticated content experiences, HR departments can build internal resource centers, and operations teams can develop interactive guides—all without waiting for development resources.

Prototypes and proof-of-concept applications

This may be vibe coding’s strongest use case. When validating ideas, demonstrating functionality to stakeholders, or creating working mockups for developers, these AI tools excel. Since prototypes aren’t meant for production use, you can focus purely on demonstrating core functionality and user flows.

Many successful software companies have started with vibe-coded prototypes that helped secure funding or validate market demand before investing in proper development infrastructure. The speed advantage here is transformative—you can test multiple concepts in the time traditional development would require for a single iteration.

Internal applications (properly secured and access-controlled)

Internal tools represent another strong fit for vibe coding. Specialized tracking applications, departmental dashboards, workflow automation tools, or operational utilities can solve specific business challenges without the complexity of customer-facing software.

The security model simplifies because you control access completely. Your team understands the limitations, you can implement proper authentication, and the business impact of occasional downtime or bugs remains manageable since these tools support operations rather than serve external customers.

However, “internal” doesn’t mean “insecure.” Lock these applications down with proper authentication, limit access to necessary personnel, and treat business data with appropriate care.

Yellow light: Proceed with caution

Landing pages and lead generation

This category deserves careful consideration because it represents both compelling opportunities and significant risks. Marketing teams gravitate toward vibe coding landing pages because they can iterate quickly without depending on development resources or marketing automation platform updates.

The benefits are substantial. You can create highly customized landing experiences, implement complex conditional logic, integrate with multiple marketing tools, and respond to campaign needs in real-time. This agility can meaningfully impact conversion rates and campaign performance.

The risk centers on data collection. Most landing pages collect personally identifiable information (PII)—email addresses, phone numbers, company details, and behavioral data. This creates compliance obligations under regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act).

Many vibe coding platforms store this data, even temporarily, often without builders fully understanding the data flow. Some retain information for debugging, analytics, or operational purposes, creating potential regulatory exposure.

The solution isn’t avoiding this use case—it’s understanding it deeply. Work with your AI coding assistant to map exactly how data flows through your application. Understand what information is stored where, for how long, and with what security measures. Implement proper privacy policies and consider integration patterns that pass data directly to your customer relationship management (CRM) or marketing automation platform without intermediate storage.

Complex applications of any sort

Here’s where vibe coding approaches its practical limits. Complex applications require architectural decisions, performance optimization, error handling, and integration patterns that prove difficult to implement without deep technical understanding.

Building moderately complex applications—those with user accounts, data relationships, business logic, and integration requirements—reveals exponential complexity growth. Each additional feature creates cascading testing requirements, edge cases, and maintenance obligations.

The challenge isn’t that vibe coding can’t handle complexity—it’s that managing complexity requires engineering judgment developed through experience. You can build sophisticated features, but ensuring they work reliably under various conditions, handle errors gracefully, and perform well at scale requires expertise that current AI tools can’t fully substitute.

If you’re building something complex, start with vibe coding for rapid prototyping, but plan to involve experienced developers for production implementation.

Orange light: High risk, expert review required

Applications storing confidential information and PII

This isn’t a complete red light because vibe coding platforms often implement better security practices than hastily-built custom applications. Many security vulnerabilities stem from common mistakes that built-in platform features can prevent. Managed services for user authentication (OAuth integrations) and payment processing (through platforms like Stripe) can actually improve your security posture compared to custom implementations.

However, security complexity extends far beyond obvious vulnerabilities. Attack vectors include SQL injection (malicious code inserted into database queries), cross-site scripting (malicious scripts embedded in web pages), authentication bypass, data exposure through API endpoints, and privilege escalation—where users gain unauthorized access levels.

Most small applications avoid being targeted not because they’re secure, but because they’re not valuable enough to attack. Built-in security reviews in vibe coding platforms help identify common vulnerabilities and platform-specific issues, but they can’t catch everything, particularly application-specific logic flaws or unusual attack patterns.

If you’re handling sensitive data, you need a security review by someone who understands both your chosen platform and security principles generally. This doesn’t eliminate vibe coding as an option—it means you need expert validation before handling real customer data.

Red light: Avoid entirely

Rolling your own enterprise platform

This falls into what might be called “social media delusion”—the belief that because something looks simple on the surface, it must be simple to build. Yes, you can create a basic CRM (customer relationship management system) with vibe coding tools. You can build contact forms, simple databases, basic reporting, and workflow automation that might prove useful for very small teams or specific use cases.

But rolling your own Salesforce, the dominant CRM platform? Not remotely feasible.

Enterprise platforms like Salesforce represent decades of development, hundreds of developers, sophisticated architecture, and countless edge cases solved through real-world usage across thousands of organizations. They handle complex data relationships, advanced reporting, customization frameworks, integration ecosystems, enterprise security requirements, and scalability challenges that remain invisible until you encounter them.

The complexity isn’t just in visible features—it’s in all the infrastructure, error handling, performance optimization, and operational capabilities that make those features work reliably for organizations processing millions of records.

Build a simple CRM to learn or solve a specific problem, but don’t mistake this for building enterprise software.

Making the right choice

Vibe coding represents a powerful tool that can genuinely solve real business problems and accelerate development for non-technical teams. Like any tool, its effectiveness depends on applying it to appropriate challenges.

Use it confidently for content and information applications, prototypes, and internal tools. Approach landing pages and moderate complexity with appropriate caution and expertise. Think very carefully before handling sensitive data, and avoid the temptation to rebuild complex enterprise platforms.

The reality is that platforms claiming you can build any application without development expertise in minutes are stretching the truth considerably. You can build a prototype in minutes that demonstrates concepts, but the further you venture from simple use cases, the more challenging the development process becomes.

Understanding these boundaries helps you harness vibe coding’s genuine strengths while avoiding its limitations—ultimately leading to better business outcomes and more realistic expectations about what AI-powered development can accomplish today.