Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says the rise of “vibe coding”, the practice of using AI assistants to build apps and software through natural language prompts, is transforming how people enter and experience the world of software development.
Speaking on a Google for Developers podcast with Logan Kilpatrick, Pichai compared the shift to earlier tech revolutions that opened new creative paths for ordinary users. Just as blogging and YouTube democratized writing and video creation, he said vibe coding is lowering the barrier for building software, allowing non-technical workers to experiment freely with ideas that once required deep programming knowledge.
Pichai noted a “sharp increase” inside Google itself, with many employees, including those outside engineering, submitting their first changelists. Across industries, everyone from HR staff to accountants is now using AI tools like Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and Replit to prototype their own apps.
He explained that the appeal comes from immediacy: instead of describing an idea to a developer, users can now build a rough version themselves. “It’s making coding so much more enjoyable,” he said. “Things are getting more approachable. It’s getting exciting again.”
The trend is also reshaping workflows inside tech companies. At Meta, product managers are known to vibe-code prototypes and present them directly to Mark Zuckerberg, accelerating experimentation and internal innovation.
However, Pichai acknowledged the risks, emphasizing that AI-generated code is not yet reliable for large, complex, or security-critical systems. He stressed that senior engineers must remain involved where accuracy and protection against breaches are essential. Developers across the industry echo this view, calling vibe coding ideal for early-stage ideas but not for core infrastructure.
Still, Pichai believes the momentum is irreversible. He described current AI coding capabilities as “the worst they’ll ever be,” suggesting the tools will rapidly become more powerful, accessible and central to the future of software development.
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