Vibe Coding Is Making Everyone a Developer

Companies are drowning in problems that could be fixed with simple apps, but they don't have the time, money or developers to build them. That's where citizen developers come in — those regular employees who grab no-code tools and build solutions themselves instead of waiting around for IT.

These apps won't revolutionize the world, but they solve real problems and make work less painful. And now with vibe coding making development feel more like having a conversation than writing code, even more people are jumping in to build what they need. 

Enthusiasts say vibe coding lets software developers spend less time writing code and more time troubleshooting. The term is widely attributed to OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy. “It’s not really coding — I just see things, say things, run things, and copy‑paste things, and it mostly works,” he said. The startup accelerator Y Combinator reportedly found that 25% of its Winter 2025 cohort use vibe coding to generate most of their code. 

Vibe Coding Is a Starting Point

Vibe coding is often described as a part and parcel of citizen development, where non-technology workers build narrow solutions without involving IT or outside vendors. In this view, HR departments — which shoulder too many tasks with too few resources — could create apps to review job descriptions, build dashboards or track talent acquisition sources. So, for example, HR could create a self-service tool for managers to approve time off or add an AI assistant to the company intranet's internal mobility portal.  

That doesn’t mean software engineers are going to be replaced anytime soon. Many companies, especially in the technology space, see vibe coding as a way to speed development schedules and boost developers’ efficiency. “A great engineer using one of these tools can be up to 40% faster in terms of coding,” Intuit’s Chief Technology Officer, Alex Balazs, told Business Insider.

Still, many commentators are calling vibe coding transformative. Experts expect more roles will change to incorporate some kind of software development into their skill set as more organizations adopt the approach. 

“You can iterate on ideas yourself before you get the development team involved, and you can come to meetings with ideas that are ready for collaboration,” wrote Rachel Stephens, research director at analyst firm RedMonk. 

Bringing those prototypes to developers speeds the overall development process and provides more options to define and demonstrate an application’s requirements. Instead of writing software specifications, HR staff could create their own prototypes to share, so their vision is clearer and developers see a solution rather than only imagine it. 

Before Getting Started on Vibe Coding

Vibe coding may simplify life for a lot of people, but it still falls within the realm of application development. Even without traditional coding, developers rely on continuous learning and best practices to create solutions in the most efficient and timely way possible. So, when they take up vibe coding, departments outside IT need to lay the right groundwork before expecting their staff to start building useful applications. 

• Pick platforms known for ease of use and integration. These can involve tools such as Airtable, which are built around a particular product; Lovable, which creates web applications based on ideas and features that users describe in natural language or Memex, which positions itself as “a true AI pair-programmer” that focuses on building solutions without the user having to generate code.  
• Remember best practices. Such products simplify the nuts and bolts of development but don’t eliminate the need for best practices. Vibe coders should consider factors such as ease-of-use and platform compatibility before they jump into a development project. Mapping out a solution’s navigation, understanding the needs and technical skills of its users and testing apps to make sure they work as intended all remain important. Simpler coding doesn’t eliminate the need for usability, security or a clear purpose. 
• Be pragmatic. Rather than jump in by developing a wide-ranging tool that can be used throughout the organization, experts suggest beginning with simpler projects such as pulse surveys, task trackers or reminders that work with calendars or messaging products like Slack. This helps reduce frustration and builds confidence for users without a development background. 
• Training is still necessary. Online learning materials and tutorials abound for general development practices as well as specific platforms. Workshops help prepare a team integrate coding into their regular work, as well as set the table for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and support. 
• Pay attention to user demand and reaction to your team’s solutions. Where it makes sense, integrate apps with existing systems such as payroll tools or learning management systems. Solicit feedback to help improve your apps or generate ideas for new ones. 
• Encourage collaboration with other functions such as IT or finance to develop features that solve a real problem or make a task more efficient. Offering apps that provide employees with real assistance helps improve the employee experience and engagement, to say nothing of increasing efficiency and productivity.

Small pilot projects, providing training and ongoing support will all help integrate vibe coding into day-to-day work. While most vibe coders may still be in the technology department, some 70% of companies support citizen developer programs, and the market for no-code/low-code products is expected to rise beyond $50 million this year, according to software development consulting firm Decimal Solutions.  

It's All About Making Work Better

Vibe coding isn’t about consumer-facing digital products. “It’s not about shipping polished apps to market,” wrote blogger Logically Analog. “It’s about solving your team’s biggest time sucks with just enough code and creativity to make work better.” By lowering technology barriers for non-technology workers, vibe coding helps HR professionals, project managers, analysts and others build tools on their own. 

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• How Generative AI and Low-Code Can Work Together — Will AI render low-code and no-code platforms obsolete? Not so fast. Recent developments suggest they may be a match made in tech heaven.
• Low-Code/No-Code Expands Its Reach in the Digital Workplace — Demand for low-code platforms remains high, as businesses find increasing use cases for it across the enterprise.
• If We Want AI to Help HR, HR Has to Join the Conversation — Engineers are designing AI systems to address problems that are rooted in the very systems HR understands best.