Guide · Building with AI
AI-assisted development vs vibe coding
Same tools, very different results. The question is who is deciding how your software works: an experienced developer, or whatever the AI produced last.
It isn't the tools. It's who decides.
People talk about vibe coding and AI-assisted development as if they were different technology. They aren't. Both might use Claude, Cursor, Lovable or Copilot. The code comes out of the same models.
The difference is what happens around the AI. In vibe coding, the person asking doesn't read the code, and often couldn't. If it looks right on screen, it ships. In AI-assisted development, a developer who has built and run real systems decides what gets built and how, uses the AI to do a lot of the typing, and reads, tests and fixes everything before it goes anywhere near a customer.
We use AI every day at Dev Partners. We treat it like a very fast junior developer: useful, tireless, and not allowed to make the big decisions on its own. The exact steps we follow are on how we use AI. This page is about the choice itself.
AI-assisted development vs vibe coding, compared
| Vibe coding | AI-assisted development | Traditional development | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides the structure | The AI, prompt by prompt | An experienced developer, before the AI writes anything | An experienced developer |
| Who reads the code | Usually nobody | A developer reviews every line | A developer writes and reviews every line |
| Testing | Clicking around until it seems to work | Planned tests, including the cases a demo never hits | Planned tests |
| Security | Whatever the tool defaulted to | Designed in and checked: logins, permissions, data access | Designed in and checked |
| Speed to a first version | Hours to days | Days to weeks | Weeks to months |
| Cost to build | Lowest | Lower than traditional | Highest |
| Cost to own | Often high: fixes, rework, rebuilds | Low: it was built to be changed | Low, if it was built well |
| Who can change it later | Often nobody with confidence | Any competent developer | Any competent developer |
Speeds and costs are typical, not promises. A small internal tool and a customer-facing platform are very different jobs whichever way you build them.
When vibe coding is genuinely fine
No, not always. We'd be daft to pretend otherwise, and plenty of our clients arrive with a vibe-coded prototype that did its job well. It's the right tool when:
- You're testing an idea. A clickable version to show investors, staff or customers is worth having before anyone spends real money.
- It's a throwaway internal tool. Only you use it, nothing sensitive goes in, and if it breaks you shrug and make another.
- You're working out what you want. Building a rough version is a fast way to discover what you actually need, which makes the proper build cheaper.
The trouble starts when the prototype quietly becomes the real thing. More on that in what is vibe coding?
Where vibe coding goes wrong
Other people's data
As soon as customers log in, the question is whether one of them can see another's records. AI tools are good at making the screen work and bad at the checks behind it. This is the most common serious problem we find.
Real volumes
Ten test records are fast. Ten thousand real ones, with twenty people using it at once, is where an unplanned database starts to crawl.
The second change
The first version comes together quickly. Changing it six months later is where the bill arrives, because nobody designed it to be changed and nobody fully understands it.
Going live
Hosting, backups, domains, email, payments and updates aren't part of the demo. They are part of running a business on it.
What that adds up to in money is in the hidden cost of vibe-coded software.
What controlled AI development looks like in practice
If you're hiring someone who says they "build with AI", these are the things worth checking they actually do:
- The design comes first. Data, permissions and how the parts fit together are decided by a person before any code is generated.
- Every change is reviewed. A developer reads what the AI wrote before it's merged, and can explain it to you.
- The AI works in small pieces. One feature, one fix at a time, not a whole application from a single prompt.
- Tests cover the awkward cases. Two people editing at once, someone without permission, a thousand records rather than ten.
- Security is checked deliberately. Logins, access rules and anything holding personal data get a second look every time.
- You own it. The code lives in your accounts, in plain, mainstream technology another developer could pick up.
That's how we work, with Rob, Jason and a small team reviewing everything the AI produces. The full process, step by step, is on how we use AI.
Faster than before, slower than a prompt
AI-assisted development is not as fast as vibe coding, and we won't pretend it is. Reading, testing and fixing take time. That time is exactly what you're paying for.
It is faster and cheaper than building everything by hand, because the AI does a lot of the typing. And it is much cheaper to own, because the result is something you can change, secure and hand to another developer without starting again.
So the useful question isn't "can AI build an app for me?" It can build something. The question is whether you'll still be happy running your business on it in two years. If you're not sure which route suits your idea, our guide should you build your software with AI? walks through it.
What people ask
Both use the same AI tools. In vibe coding the person asking accepts whatever the AI builds without reading the code. In AI-assisted development an experienced developer decides the design, reviews every line the AI writes, tests it and owns the security.
Not for prototypes, throwaway internal tools or testing an idea, where it is fast and cheap. It becomes a problem when the prototype turns into the real system, handling other people's data, real volumes and years of changes it was never designed for.
It can build a working first version, often very quickly. Whether that version is secure, handles real use and can be changed later depends on whether someone experienced designed and checked it. For anything your business will rely on, that check is the part worth paying for.
Usually, yes, because the AI does a lot of the typing. It costs more than vibe coding, because reviewing and testing take time, but it costs far less to own afterwards. How much cheaper depends on the job, and the research on AI speed-ups is still mixed.
Design the system before generating code, have a developer review every change, build in small pieces, test the awkward cases rather than just the demo, check security deliberately, and keep the code in your own accounts in mainstream technology.
Talk to us about building with AI
Tell us what you want to build, or what you have already, and we'll tell you the sensible route.
Rob, Jason and a small team build software with AI every day, with a developer deciding the design and reviewing every line. If a vibe-coded prototype is all you need right now, we'll say so.
What we will cover:
- Whether your idea suits AI-assisted development
- What we'd build first
- What to keep from any prototype you already have
- How the work would run
Rather talk now? Book a call or ring 01474 639 089.
We reply within one working day.
