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How I Actually Use AI Tools Like Copilot and ChatGPT in My Coding Workflow
We’re long past the point of debating whether AI belongs in development workflows. It’s here. It’s powerful. And if you use it right, it can feel like having a senior engineer pair-programming with you 24/7.
But here’s the thing: most devs I know either overuse it or don’t use it enough.
So let me walk you through how I personally use GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and other AI tools in a way that actually speeds me up, improves my code quality, and keeps me in control.
🧠 1. Brainstorming and Pseudo-Coding with ChatGPT
Before I even start writing code, I often open ChatGPT and just describe the feature I’m about to build:
“I need to build a serverless API that returns a paginated list of blog posts from a MongoDB database.”
It will usually return a rough plan, including route structure, a couple of edge cases, and a general flow.
I treat this as pseudo-code plus research, helping me:
- Catch requirements I may have missed
- Clarify naming or schema decisions
- Get unstuck when the task feels vague
