Vibe Coding Quiz: How Ready Are You for the New Software Economy?

Which of these vendor claims is a RED FLAG suggesting a tool may not have meaningful AI capability?

The vendor has raised venture capital funding 'AI-powered' prominently featured in marketing but no specific explanation of what the AI does in the product The tool requires a free trial signup before showing pricing The tool integrates with Zapier

Which tool is specifically designed for non-programmers to build full web applications through natural language, with no local installation?

Cursor — a code editor requiring programming knowledge Bolt.new, Lovable, or v0 — purpose-built browser-based platforms for natural language app creation Python IDLE — a standard Python development environment GitHub Copilot — requires a pre-existing codebase and developer workflow

What does SOC 2 certification indicate about an AI tool vendor?

The vendor has undergone an independent security audit verifying their security controls, data availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality The vendor is approved by the US government for handling classified data The vendor stores data in the US and is subject to US law The vendor's AI models are certified as bias-free

A restaurant owner uses QuickBooks and wants to know whether they should add a new menu item. How can AI most helpfully assist this decision?

Predict with certainty whether the new item will be popular Access the restaurant's sales data automatically from QuickBooks Provide guaranteed advice on pricing strategy under local restaurant law Help analyze the food cost percentage, compare to current menu margin benchmarks, and model the break-even and revenue impact — as a thinking aid, not a final decision

In the vibe coding workflow, what is the human's primary role?

Reviewing AI-generated code line by line for security vulnerabilities Translating existing code from one programming language to another Writing the core logic while AI handles boilerplate formatting Product designer and decision-maker — describing what they want, testing results, and steering the direction

What is the most effective first step when asking an AI to write a professional email on your behalf?

Provide the context — who the recipient is, what the goal is, and what tone is appropriate — before asking for a draft Use the AI's default style so it doesn't sound AI-generated Write the email yourself first, then ask AI to make it longer Ask for the email without context and then copy it directly

You use an AI tool to draft a client proposal email. The AI includes a specific statistic — '73% of companies in your industry report cost savings from this approach.' What should you do before sending?

Remove all statistics since AI cannot know current data Send it — AI models only include verified statistics Add a disclaimer that the email was AI-generated Verify the statistic independently — AI tools frequently fabricate specific data points and percentages

A freelance photographer manually enters all expenses into a spreadsheet for tax time, spending 3 hours each month. Which AI tool most directly eliminates this work?

Xero's API for developer-automated accounting A calendar reminder to do expense entry weekly instead of monthly ChatGPT — by manually listing expenses in conversation An accounting tool like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or Wave that automatically categorizes bank and card transactions and organizes them by category

A small business owner is considering three AI marketing tools, all with similar feature sets. Which evaluation question is MOST important for long-term cost management?

Which tool has the best-designed user interface? What is the pricing at the volume I'll be using? (Many tools have low entry prices that become expensive at scale) Which tool has the most integrations in their marketplace? Which tool was most recently founded?

What is Zapier most commonly used for by small businesses?

Managing team schedules and vacation requests Automating workflows between apps — triggering actions in one app when something happens in another, without coding Building mobile apps using natural language Creating AI chatbots for customer service