Before you automate with vibe coding: key risks and considerations

BY  
Jesse Meijers
Jesse Meijers

“Vibe coding” — generating software through prompts and AI assistance —is gaining traction in business process automation. It allows teams to movequickly, prototype workflows, and reduce reliance on traditional developmentcycles.

While this creates new opportunities, it also introduces risks that areeasy to overlook when speed becomes the priority.

What vibe coding changes in automation

Vibe coding changes how software is created. Instead of writing every line manually, teams describe outcomes and let AI generate the implementation.

This can significantly accelerate delivery. Processes that once took weeks can now be built in days. However, the output is still code. That means the same expectations around reliability, maintainability, and accountability still apply.

The difference is that those expectations are now harder to meet if the underlying logic is not fully understood.

Understanding does not go away

One of the key pitfalls is assuming that vibe coding removes the need for technical understanding. In practice, it shifts where that understanding is required.

When an automated process fails or produces incorrect results, someone still needs to trace what the system is doing. If the generated code is not well understood, diagnosing issues becomes slower and less predictable.

It is possible to use AI again to explain or fix the code. But relying on that approach repeatedly can create a cycle where teams are reacting instead of truly understanding. In business-critical automation, that is a fragile position.

Debugging and maintenance become less predictable

In traditional development, there is a clear relationship between the developer and the code. With vibe coding, that connection is weaker. The result is code that may work initially but becomes harder to maintain over time.

When something breaks, teams may find that:

  • the logic is not immediately clear (and to understand the root of the problem you might need coding skills)
  • the code is redundant
  • the structure does not follow internal conventions
  • documentation is limited or missing

This increases the effort required to fix issues and makes long-term maintenance less predictable. In environments where processes connect multiple systems, even small defects can have wider operational impact.

Ownership and accountability need to be explicit

Automation affects real business outcomes. That includes financial transactions, compliance processes, and customer-facing operations.

If a defect in a vibe-coded workflow leads to negative consequences, responsibility cannot be delegated to the tool. Organizations still need clear ownership.

That means defining who reviews generated code, who approves it for production, and who is accountable when something goes wrong. Without this clarity, automation initiatives can introduce risk instead of reducing it.

Technical debt accumulates faster

Vibe coding makes it easier to build quickly, but it also makes it easier to accumulate technical debt.

When code is generated rapidly without consistent structure or documentation, it becomes harder to update and extend. Over time, this slows down innovation rather than supporting it.

The process around the code matters most

The main takeaway is that vibe coding changes the development process. The real risk is in skipping the practices that make software reliable:

  • proper review
  • testing and validation
  • documentation
  • lifecycle management

Without these, even vibe-coded automation that works well initially can become unstable over time.

A balanced approach to vibe coding

Vibe coding is valuable for accelerating business process automation. It enables faster experimentation and lowers the barrier to building solutions. But for production-grade processes, speed must be balanced with control.

Organizations that succeed with vibe coding treat it as part of a broader discipline. They combine rapid generation with clear ownership, strong review practices, and ongoing maintenance. In that context, vibe coding becomes a useful capability, and not a shortcut that introduces hidden risk.

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