You don’t have to be a developer to benefit from vibe coding
At a glance
What if the solution to an everyday problem could come from an app, but it didn’t take new software, a developer or a months-long project to develop that app? And what if it was something you could easily build yourself?
That’s the promise of vibe coding, an AI capability that allows you to create software using natural-language prompts: You describe what you want an app to look like and do, and AI helps write the logic, structure and user interface. From automating repetitive tasks to building simple AI tools that make a process easier, vibe coding can give people in all kinds of roles a new way to approach problems at work.
I discovered just how useful vibe coding could be after taking several AI courses offered to me—and all other Verizon employees—by Verizon and earning the Google AI for Professionals certificate. Those courses are now available for free to anyone via Verizon AI Skills for America.
I’m a principal managing sales engineer at Verizon, but I’m not a software developer. (In fact, 63% of vibe coding users identify as non-developers.) Though I studied web development, I haven’t actually coded since 2014. The training I took showed me that anyone can learn this skill. It introduced me to app scripting and vibe coding, and once I learned how to prompt AI effectively, I started experimenting with what I could build.
One of the first big problems I tackled was something our sales teams had struggled with for years: making our business communications platform easier for customers to visualize. In less than a week, I used vibe coding to build an interactive drag-and-drop tool that lets teams map a customer’s setup in real time. That tool has since been used by teams across Verizon, allowing me to reach a much broader audience and scale my impact.
Since then, I’ve kept experimenting with vibe coding for work and for my personal benefit. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned about how to vibe code that can help you put the skill to work in your own job.
1. Start with a problem you want to solve
Look at your day-to-day and find something you think you could improve. It doesn’t need to be big—just something to get started with.
My first vibe coding project wasn’t the drag-and-drop tool. I do a lot of training and enablement, and I wanted something more engaging than another slideshow. I decided to see if I could create a Jeopardy-style training game. That gave me a low-stakes way to experiment. Once I saw what was possible, I started thinking about bigger problems I already understood—and that led me to create the sales tool.
What to keep in mind: You bring the subject-matter expertise. You know where the friction is and what a better outcome would look like. AI can help you explore how to get there.
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2. Tell AI what you don’t know
One of the first things I had to learn was how to communicate with AI effectively. Being upfront about what I didn’t know actually made that easier. I would give the AI my end goal, explain what I wanted to build and what resources I had, and ask it to walk me through the process step by step.
Then I experimented. Vibe coding is a test-and-learn experience: Try something, see what happens, troubleshoot and refine your instructions. The more I did it, the better I became at communicating what I needed and knowing what to ask next.
What to keep in mind: If you can copy, paste and converse, you can win.
3. Save what works and refine your vibe coding process
As I got better at vibe coding, I realized I shouldn’t start over every time.
I began saving prompts that worked. I created a coding partner prompt, an instructional command you give to the AI to get it to act more like a collaborative programming partner, that establishes best practices for how I want it to work with me. I also built a branding prompt that provides the parameters I need to follow.
What to keep in mind: Don’t duplicate your efforts. When you find something that works, save it, refine it and use what you learned on the next problem.
4. Give yourself time back
Not every useful AI solution needs to be an app. Sometimes the best problem to solve is simply a time-sucking task.
I regularly create executive summaries that once required me to manually find numbers and compile information from reports. That could take an hour. Now I can use AI to help generate the summary in minutes, and then I only need to verify the numbers for accuracy.
The time I get back allows me to focus more on enablement—helping other people learn and succeed—which is the part of my job I’m most passionate about.
My best advice: After taking an AI course, make sure you do something with what you learned. You don’t have to be a developer to benefit from vibe coding. You just need to start looking at the problems around you and asking what you might be able to build.
Ready to build your AI skills? Verizon AI Skills for America offers free access to AI training, certificates and resources designed to help workers prepare for the evolving AI economy.
An individual user’s experience may vary, and results are not guaranteed.
