A Systematic Analysis of AI-Assisted Vibe Coding in Software Development: Opportunities, Challenges, and Risks

Abstract

The literature on vibe coding has grown rapidly; however, it remains fragmented and is largely dominated by industry reports, leaving its position relative to traditional manual programming and low-code development insufficiently examined. This gap makes it difficult for both researchers and practitioners to determine when vibe coding is appropriate and what risks should be anticipated. Purpose: This study aims to systematically map the current landscape of vibe coding, develop a comparative framework against manual and low-code software development approaches, and propose practical risk mitigation recommendations for software development practitioners. Methodology: A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA protocol. Relevant publications from 2023 to 2026 were retrieved from IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Springer, ScienceDirect, and arXiv, resulting in 61 studies that were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: The results indicate that vibe coding can accelerate software prototyping by approximately 40–60% compared with manual development. However, it introduces a verification bottleneck by shifting developers' workload from code implementation to quality assurance and validation. Compared with low-code development, vibe coding provides greater flexibility in expressing user intent but exhibits lower output predictability. In comparison with manual development, it offers significant gains in development speed while sacrificing architectural control and code security, thereby increasing the risks of technical skill degradation, hidden security vulnerabilities, and accumulated technical debt. Implications: The findings provide practical guidance for software development teams in identifying project phases that are suitable for extensive adoption of vibe coding and those that still require manual architectural review. The study also emphasizes the importance of integrating security auditing and technical debt monitoring into AI-assisted software development workflows. Originality/Value: The novelty of this study lies in its explicit comparative framework, which systematically positions vibe coding alongside manual and low-code development across six technical dimensions, extending previous studies that have generally examined vibe coding in isolation.