Over two years ago, the launch of ChatGPT’s APIs sparked a new way to experiment with software creation. To test the waters, I built a simple Antyakshari app by relying on my intuition, a lot of trials, and adapting prompts until something worked. I used a YouTube tutorial to follow along and it probably took a few hours to land a decent prototype. Despite the ugly edges, it was my first introduction to what is now called “vibe coding”—leveraging AI, a basic sense of flow, and iterative feedback to create working products, without deep engineering know-how.
Several months ago, I used Google Studio to develop a chess puzzles app in less than 30 minutes. At that stage, I still depended on the platform to fine-tune the visual design and to understand the deployment process. More recently, I rebuilt the same app and discovered that Google Studio had advanced considerably. This time, I took fewer than five minutes to complete the prototype. The platform now offers integrated previews across multiple device types and direct deployment through GCP, streamlining the process even further.
These developments highlight the increasing accessibility of application design and deployment for individuals without traditional programming backgrounds. By reducing the distance between concept and execution, tools such as ChatGPT and Google Studio make it possible to deliver practical, user-focused digital products with remarkable efficiency. This evolution underscores the broader value of simplified coding approaches in enabling faster experimentation and innovation across the digital landscape.
What Is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is a modern way for product managers (and others) to prototype and assemble apps by describing their intent in natural language. Key features include:
- Describing the core idea, user flow, or intended experience conversationally.
- Letting AI and supporting tools generate UI, logic, and functional “scaffolding.”
- Rapidly iterating – trying, testing, and tweaking until the experience feels right.
The “vibe” is that product sense: knowing what to expect when a user clicks, how information should flow, or what the interactive journey should feel like. The technical details are abstracted away; what matters is achieving the intended outcome quickly and iteratively.
Why Vibe Coding Matters for PMs
Modern product managers face a high bar for rapid prototyping and user validation. Vibe coding changes the game in several fundamental ways:
- Time to first prototype is near zero: Thanks to advanced tools, it’s now possible to build functional prototypes, like a singing game or a chess puzzles app, in under an hour. The difference in speed is transformative for early exploration and validation.
- Prompt quality matters less but still counts: While prompt engineering skills help refine outputs, most AI tools offer guardrails and guided flows, making it feasible for PMs to progress without perfect instructions.
- Rough edges are expected: The goal isn’t a flawless first release. Vibe-coded projects are about rapidly testing ideas, collecting feedback, and iterating toward a better product.
- The “last mile” is on you: While AI can get a prototype functional quickly, PMs add the essential layer of insight, ensuring the experience aligns with vision, meets user needs, and addresses edge cases. The craft of product management remains vital in shaping and finishing the product.
- Expands the PM toolkit: Instead of pitching ideas with decks, PMs can now share interactive demos. Prototyping unblocks creative exploration, allowing more ideas to be tested, faster, without waiting on engineering resources.
How to Try Vibe Coding with Google Studio – it’s just two steps to get started!
Product managers can quickly experiment with vibe coding by prototyping apps in Google’s Firebase Studio using AI. Here’s how to get started:
- Log into Google Studio using your Google Account.
- Just describe your app idea in natural language, such as “an app for chess puzzles that checks user answers, shows how much time the user took to solve the puzzle, show appropriate error messages when the user fails to solve the puzzle and offer a way to see the solution. In addition, show a button to generate new puzzles”.
- Test your prototype inline and iterate within the Studio interface for immediate results.
- Deploy using the built in option if you want to.
Vibe coding available allows anyone with product instincts, not just engineers, to prototype, experiment, and validate ideas in a single session. It’s an essential technique for modern PMs seeking speed and creativity in product development.
The gotchas of vibe coding
While vibe coding lowers barriers and accelerates creation, there are important caveats to keep in mind:
- Maintainability: Apps built quickly with AI often lack clean architecture, documentation, or reusable components, which makes long-term updates difficult.
- Reliability: Iterative prompting can produce solutions that “work” in narrow contexts but fail under real-world usage or edge cases.
- Security and privacy: Generated code may overlook security best practices or unintentionally expose data. Human review remains essential.
- Scalability: What works as a quick prototype may not perform well under higher traffic or complex use cases.
- Overreliance on tools: Depending too heavily on AI-driven platforms without learning underlying principles can limit problem-solving skills when the tools fall short.
For those experimenting with vibe coding, the best approach is to treat it as a powerful way to prototype and test ideas rapidly, while remaining conscious of its limitations. Critical review, user testing, and selective application of traditional engineering practices are still necessary for moving from proof of concept to production-grade software.
Key Takeaways
- AI-driven tools empower PMs: With next-gen AI and natural language workflows, the barrier to building digital products has never been lower. Vibe coding is set to become a core method for transforming product ideas into reality.
- Not “no-code” or “low-code” – it’s vibe code: This approach redefines rapid iteration and creativity for anyone with product instincts, regardless of their technical background.
- Becoming essential for PMs: As AI-native platforms evolve, PMs who adopt vibe coding will operate faster, iterate more, and communicate richer visions of product value.
By embracing vibe coding, product managers move from merely describing possibilities to manifesting working prototypes, sometimes within the time it takes to write the pitch.
About the author: Sravya Sri Vankayalapati is a product leader with over a decade of experience at top technology companies. She loves tinkering with new tools to turn ideas into quick prototypes.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are my own. They do not represent the views of any current, past, or future employer.
