Building with AI tools

I use AI coding tools to help build my independent products. They are useful for repetitive components, data conversions and working through unfamiliar code.

That changes how quickly I can reach a working version. It also gives me something concrete to review: whether a choice is understandable, whether the layout holds up on a phone, and what happens when the expected input is missing.

On Cine.pick, for example, “haven’t seen it” needs to stay separate from a dislike. On DesignGrounds, a wrong answer needs somewhere useful to go next. These are decisions I work through in the interface and revisit as the product develops.

I describe implementation checks separately from research with users. A working flow is a good point to start learning from people.