As AI continues to reshape how we build software, AI app builders are opening up new possibilities for speed, accessibility, and automation. The promise is compelling: create fully functional apps with just a description of what you need. No code, no drag-and-drop interfaces, just intent turned into output.

But as this new generation of tools becomes more powerful, it’s also becoming clear: security is being treated as an afterthought. And that’s a mistake.

Building faster is great. But building responsibly and securely is essential.

Vibe coding isn’t enough for secure software

The rise of vibe coding has shown us that natural language interfaces can make development faster and more intuitive. You describe what you want, and the AI generates the app. But here’s the problem: when you’re only working with prompts, there’s no structured way to express security needs. There’s no clear place to define user roles, permission levels, data sensitivity, or edge-case behaviors.

That leaves the AI to guess.

And while AI is great at generating code, it’s still in the early stages of understanding security-critical decisions. Just because the output “works” doesn’t mean it’s secure. That’s why relying on post-generation reviews or human patchwork after the fact isn’t a real solution.

This isn’t just a technical limitation—it’s a conceptual one. Most tools today treat security like something that can be layered on later, rather than something that needs to be embedded from the beginning.

Security starts with clear requirements

At Sutro, we believe that secure software starts with structured intent, not prompts alone or last-minute audits.

When building software the traditional way, experienced developers think about security at every step:

• Who should access this data?

• What happens if something fails?

• What permissions need to be in place?

• How are user actions tracked and restricted?

These questions aren’t just helpful, they are essential. And yet, they’re almost entirely missing from most current AI app builders and no code platforms.

That’s why we’re taking a different approach.

Rather than focusing on UI components or generated code first, Sutro starts with structured requirements. We capture the full picture of what the app is supposed to do, including the people, data, permissions, and failure states involved. This structure becomes the foundation that AI builds on.

By embedding intent into the architecture, we don’t just generate features—we generate accountable logic. That means smarter, more consistent AI output and software that’s designed to be secure from the start.

The future of AI app builders is secure by design

As AI becomes more integrated into software development, the bar for best practices will rise. Teams won’t just want faster output, but they’ll demand tools that respect their users, protect their data, and give them control over what’s happening behind the scenes.

That future won’t be built by slapping on security checks after the fact. It will be built by platforms that treat security as part of the design process, not the cleanup process.

We’re still in the early innings of AI-powered development. But the choices we make now, how we design, what we prioritize, and where we draw the line will shape how safe, scalable, and trustworthy these systems become.

Vibe coding got us excited about what’s possible.

Now it’s time to go beyond it and build tools that are not just fast, but fundamentally secure.