Google has been working to improve its AI coding capabilities alongside other AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Many believe that AI can improve coding workflows, and it has proven time and time again that it can make the job more efficient and easier. Some have even taken to ‘vibe coding,’ which is the act of basically letting AI do all of the work and then just ensuring it works before you implement it.
Vibe coding, many argue, is the lazy way out. Others have seen it as a way to open up the world of coding to people who might otherwise struggle to put out the code they’re trying to make. And Google has been leaning into this a bit already, with the debut of Jules, an AI coding agent, earlier this year.
But now Google is looking to go a step further. Instead of just helping you improve on your own code, as Jules is designed to do, a new agent called Opal will help you dive deep into vibe coding. And if you’re interested in trying it, then you can sign up for Google Labs and try out Opal for yourself today for free.
An AI agent designed to build apps with natural language
Google says that Opal is designed to build, edit, and share mini-AP apps using natural language. This means you should be able to tell the AI exactly what you want — by saying something like “make an app to order breakfast” — and then it will spit out a project that you can tweak and change fairly effortlessly. Opal also makes it easy to share your apps, allowing you to package them and show them off with minimal effort.
Of course, vibe coding is a novel idea that could open the door for new coding opportunities. But it could also turn out really poorly if you don’t know what you’re doing. While vibe coding has garnered a lot of praise and interest, it also has its risks. Recently, a venture capitalist shared details about an ongoing project he’d been working on using Replit, an AI designed to help with vibe coding. Despite putting hours of work into the project, the AI deleted his entire database simply because it “panicked.”
Despite these downsides, it’s hard to argue with how easy vibe coding makes projects, and having more accessible apps like Opal will only lead to more improvements across the board. You just have to decide if the ease of use is worth it, or if you’re one of the many who believe innovations like this could make it easier for AI to overtake humanity.
