How Good is AI at Coding React (really)?

Engineering Leader Working on Google Chrome

While developers are increasingly turning to AI assistants for everything from component creation to generating full-blown apps, a critical question remains: just how good is AI at truly understanding and fluently writing production-quality React code? This talk moves beyond the hype to offer a candid, behind-the-scenes look at our work in quantifying the capabilities of large language models, in the real world of web development. We will explore key insights from industry benchmarks on their ability to build functional and interactive web applications using technologies like Next.js. We will share our explorations into building stronger full-stack coding support for React using Gemini. Join us for a data-driven yet deeply human exploration of the current state and future potential of AI code generation in the world of React.

This talk has been presented at React Summit US 2025, check out the latest edition of this React Conference.

FAQ

AI is increasingly being used by developers to assist with coding React applications. While AI can handle a lot of React prompts competently due to its prevalence in training data, it still struggles with alternatives and requires human oversight for quality control.

Vibe coding is fast and exploratory, prioritizing speed and experimentation, whereas AI-assisted engineering involves the methodical integration of AI tools into a mature software development lifecycle, with humans maintaining control over quality.

Context is crucial for AI code quality. The effectiveness of AI depends on how well the context window is used and how the model and tools interact. Proper context helps in generating relevant and high-quality code.

AI can implement technical components in React, but it often fails in making good design decisions autonomously. Human intervention is necessary for visual design, UX decisions, and ensuring accessibility.

Common issues include AI-generated code that does not follow team patterns or architectural guidelines, and basic security issues such as XSS vulnerabilities and client-side API key leaks, especially from developers with less technical backgrounds.

Teams should align on the workflow, tools, models, and MCP servers used in AI-assisted development. Standardizing these processes helps optimize productivity and maintain quality across the team.

Be highly specific in your instructions, define component APIs and architecture upfront, enforce design systems and coding standards, and manage AI like a junior developer to ensure quality output.

AI models like Gemini 3 and GPT-5 excel in some coding benchmarks but still face challenges with complex tasks. They perform well in generating code but require human oversight for quality and design.

AI can assist in 3D and data visualization tasks by generating meshes and configurations, but humans need to manage interactions, frame rates, and performance to ensure high-quality output.

AI support for React is expected to improve, but human expertise remains valuable. There's potential for less diversity and slower framework innovation, but React developers are in a good space for now.

artificial intelligence

Addy Osmani

33 min

18 Nov, 2025

Comments

Video Summary and Transcription

Exploring AI's impact on React coding quality and the importance of context, tools, and practices in leveraging AI effectively. AI as a force multiplier, differences between vibe coding & AI-assisted engineering, AI models' competencies in React prompts, and React developers' favorable position amidst AI advancements. AI's implications for React development, complexity cliff in React work, and AI's design challenges for React developers. React work's complexity cliff, Design Arena benchmarks for AI design capabilities, AI's design challenges for React developers. AI's role in visual design control, Design Arena's insights on scaffolding impact, AI's UI scaffold capabilities and human judgment necessity. Vercell's Next.js evals, Webbench by ByteDance, and Web Dev Arena insights on AI performance in web development. Gemini 3 and GPT-5 catching up in design models, exploring website code generation, and design sensibility in AI for React workflow. Solving the purple problem in AI training, tips for using AI in React development for building sites, and managing AI like a junior developer. Evaluating AI's performance in complex tasks, lessons on using AI like a developer, and the importance of specificity and human oversight in AI usage. Enforcing productivity and supervision, addressing context failures through engineering and providing comprehensive context for agent performance. Template for context engineering, controlling tooling quality, using Context-7 for fresh docs and examples, leveraging MCP servers for real data, and improving overall quality loop. Connecting tools for closed-loop coding, Vive coding for rapid product creation, UI components for isolated, reusable components. UI components arena focus on isolated, reusable components and visual comparisons. Guidance for UI component generation and complex 3D and data visualization models for interactive experiences. AI assistants integration strategies for 3D and data visualization. Importance of specific details like libraries and scene descriptions for optimal AI assistance. Balancing control with AI model generation and the critical factors in AI code success or failure. Debugging workflow lessons applicable to all; New flow state in AI-assisted development focusing on orchestration and code creation; Gemini 3 launch for web development and design leadership. Website aesthetics and design improvements; Proactive tool utilization for React devs; Embrace AI for faster product development. AI in automated debugging with AI agents; Limitless potential of AI in coding quality; Image generation tools for slides; Addressing security and architectural regressions in AI-generated code. AI's Impact on Future Frameworks and Team Alignment in Workflow Standardization. Strategies for Context Bugs and Workflow Optimization.

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