What I learned building a real product with AI instead of just prototypes

I’ve been building a Chrome extension + website recently with a pretty AI-heavy workflow, and I’ve noticed a big difference between vibe coding a prototype and actually shipping something people use.

Getting the first version working is surprisingly easy now.

The harder part starts afterwards:

• figuring out what users actually need

• debugging weird edge cases

• understanding code you didn't write yourself

• keeping the codebase maintainable

• making changes without breaking something else

• knowing when to stop asking AI to “just fix it” 😅

One thing I've found particularly useful is treating AI less like an autopilot and more like a pair programmer.

I still make the architectural decisions, test everything, and ask the AI to explain unfamiliar code before changing it.

Curious about others' workflows:

When you're vibe coding something that you actually plan to ship, what rules do you follow to stop the codebase from turning into AI-generated spaghetti?

Would especially love to hear from people who've gone from AI prototype → real users → production.