How I Actually Use AI to Build Software (And Still Feel Like a Real Developer)

#ai #productivity #devtools #saas

Look, I’m not here to sell you on AI. I'm not going to pretend it’s perfect. But the truth is, if you're not using some form of it in your dev workflow, you're probably wasting time.

I use different AI tools for different parts of the job — and I’m pretty specific about what each one is good for (and what it’s not).

🧩 ChatGPT — Big Picture, Brainstorming, and Prompts

This is where I start. I use ChatGPT to think through architecture, workflows, and sometimes just talk through the “what the hell am I actually building” part of the process.

Sometimes I’ll feed it a problem, and it’ll help me break it down into steps I can tackle. I never just copy-paste what it gives me — it’s more like whiteboarding with a coworker that never needs lunch.

I also use it to help me write prompts — for GitHub Copilot, for Lovable.dev, and Bolt. You’d be surprised how much better your outputs get when you prompt like you mean it.

Sometimes I even use it to create images to be used in my social media posts. Like the one on this post. I don't tweak it too much, because I get impatient. It can take forever to ChatGPT to create an image.⏳

💬 I Even Made My Own GPT

At some point, I decided to try building my own GPT — partly for fun, partly to test what kind of personality and flow worked for smaller creative projects.

That’s how Babbling Brook was born — a weird little GPT I made just to see what happens when you give AI a calm tone and a tendency to ramble about nature and nonsense.

It’s not serious, but it’s weirdly useful when I want a break from my usual setup and need creative space without pressure.

Try Babbling Brook – a calm, rambling GPT I built for creative breaks

🛠 GitHub Copilot — Hands on the Code

This is where I write. Copilot in VS Code has been a huge timesaver, especially for backend work. I use .NET and MySQL a lot, and Copilot helps me scaffold, catch obvious stuff, and even refactor sometimes.

I stopped using inline editing and use the chat function. I usually walk it through what I need at the moment. That way, I can always look at what it wants to do and see if it looks wonky. Is it always right? Hell no. But I treat it like a junior dev who works fast and doesn’t take things personally when I tell it “nah, that’s garbage.” And when it does get it right, it’s a win.

I even use it sometimes for frontend stuff — though that’s not my strong suit.

🎨 Lovable.dev (and sometimes Bolt) — My Frontend Lifesavers

Here’s where I admit something: I suck at frontend design.

I can wire up anything you want in the backend, APIs, databases, you name it — but making something look good? That’s a different story.

That’s where Lovable.dev (and occasionally Bolt) comes in. Their templates are actually good — like, better than what I’d do even if I had a month to design. I don’t fight that anymore. I just use the tools that get me closer to done.

I’ll use ChatGPT to write the prompts, throw them into Lovable, and usually end up tweaking their output to fit my app.

🤖 TL;DR

ChatGPT = architecture, planning, and prompt-writing
Copilot = actual code, mostly backend
Lovable/Bolt = frontend help when I don’t want to ship something ugly
Babbling Brook = side GPT project that lets me play with personality and AI creativity
Me = the part that glues it all together and decides what’s worth keeping

I’m not trying to replace myself with AI. I’m just trying to ship faster and stay sane while juggling 20 things.

This is how I do it.