How to turn ChatGPT into your AI coding power tool - and double your output

dem10/Getty Images I've been experimenting with using ChatGPT to help turbocharge my programming output for over two years. When ChatGPT helped me find a troubling bug, I realized there was something worthwhile in artificial intelligence (AI). Many people I talk to think that AI is a magic genie that can manifest an entire program or app out of a single, barely-formed wish. Here's a much better analogy: AI is a power tool. Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use - including DeepSeek R1) Sure, you can use an old-fashioned saw to cut wood, but a table saw goes much faster. Neither tool makes furniture. They simply help you make furniture. Keep in mind that the AI isn't going to write your code for you. It's going to help you write your code. Although there's no objective way for me to tell you exactly how much ChatGPT has helped me, I am fairly convinced it has doubled my programming output. In other words, I've gotten twice as much done by using ChatGPT as part of ... Read full article.