Trying vibe coding for the first time taught me that AI isn’t a magic fix for coding challenges—it’s a tool that requires patience, strategy, and a basic understanding of how it works. As a journalist with no coding background, my goal was simple: automate the tedious task of checking social media feeds for three tech leaders—Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman—by building a single webpage that displays their latest posts without logging into each platform. I began at 2 p.m., telling ChatGPT I had no experience and asking for step-by-step guidance. It walked me through installing software, creating files, and launching a local web server using the Terminal. The initial code it generated was long and complex, but I followed along. When I ran the program, I hit a wall—each column showed an error message. I tried adjusting update intervals and using different links, but every fix introduced a new error. After several failed attempts, ChatGPT started suggesting tasks far beyond my skill level, like modifying low-level network settings. Eventually, I was kicked out of the chat with a “gateway timeout” error, leaving me frustrated and stuck for two hours. By 7 p.m., I reached out to my partner, a computer science and physics Ph.D. student. He gave me three key insights: simplify the task, treat ChatGPT like a knowledgeable but literal-minded beginner, and focus on understanding what the code does rather than just copying it. He also urged me to ask ChatGPT to explain its solutions. Armed with this advice, I restarted. Instead of trying to pull live data from three accounts, I asked to build a mock feed with fake posts. ChatGPT happily agreed and guided me through creating a basic version with placeholder content. Once the mock feed worked, it showed me exactly which parts of the code to change to connect to real social media feeds. When I hit another error—“cannot fetch feed”—ChatGPT didn’t suggest complex fixes. Instead, it asked me to try a different browser. I switched from Chrome to Firefox, and within 30 seconds, my page loaded with real posts from Trump’s Truth Social feed. The moment was small but powerful: I had built a working web app using AI, step by step. The lesson? Vibe coding isn’t about instant results. It’s about collaboration. You need to be willing to learn, break problems into small parts, test early, and ask questions. AI excels when you guide it with clear, thoughtful prompts and are ready to engage with the process. It’s not a search engine—it’s a partner. And if you treat it as one, even a beginner can build something useful.