r/TopAITools4U

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how AI coding tools are changing the way people build software.

With tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude, Copilot, etc., it feels like a lot of people can now “vibe code” their way into building apps, websites, scripts, and prototypes without deeply understanding every line of code. You describe what you want, the AI generates something, you test it, ask for fixes, and keep iterating.

That makes me wonder:

Is learning programming still as important as it used to be?

On one hand, I feel like the value of memorizing syntax or writing boilerplate from scratch is clearly going down. If AI can generate a working React component, Python script, SQL query, or API route in seconds, then maybe beginners should spend less time grinding syntax and more time learning how to think, design, debug, and communicate with AI effectively.

But on the other hand, I also feel like not knowing code at all is risky. AI-generated code can look correct while hiding bugs, security problems, bad architecture, or weird edge cases. If you don’t understand programming fundamentals, you might not even know when the AI is confidently wrong.

So maybe the real shift is:
What parts of programming are still worth learning deeply now that AI can write so much code?

What do you think? In 2026, how seriously should someone still learn programming?

I am currently preparing to market my own AI tool and I’m trying to collect practical ideas for getting early visibility, users, and possibly paid customers.

Right now, I’m thinking about the basics:

• SEO for the website and landing page
• Submitting the tool to AI tool directories
• Sharing demos on Reddit and relevant communities
• Building in public
• Creating short demo videos
• Posting use cases instead of just features
• Launching on Product Hunt or similar platforms
• Writing comparison pages like “Tool A vs Tool B”
• Collecting early testimonials and case studies

I know this is only the starting point, and there will probably be much more work after launch.

For anyone here who has launched, promoted, or marketed an AI tool before: what worked best for you?

Were there any specific communities, platforms, content formats, or marketing activities that gave you real traffic, signups, or purchases?

I’d love to hear practical experiences, whether it worked or turned out to be a waste of time.

We’ve all seen it. You’re vibing, the code is flowing, and then the AI looks you dead in the digital eye and suggests something so absurdly wrong that it almost feels like a prank.

The most annoying part is when the AI saves you 10 minutes at the start, only to steal 3 hours of your life fixing its hallucinations later that night.

My personal nightmare: I once had Claude insist that a specific library had a built-in exportToExcel function. I spent an hour debugging my environment before realizing the AI had literally invented the documentation for it. It even referenced fake GitHub issues to explain why it wasn’t working💀

What’s your “I can’t believe it just did that” moment?