Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI
If you've noticed that websites have started to converge into one beige, sans-serif haze, you're not imagining it.One of AI's biggest boons has been allowing non-technical folks to vibe code their ideas into real, monetizable apps. As we wrote in April, anyone can build an app in a couple of hours, using tools such as Claude Code, Lovable, Replit, or Base44.These AI-designed apps have some telltale signs and the devil is in the details: using similar design styles that look pretty but are dysfunctional. While the apps may work at a small scale, these small details could become big problems when you scale up and go commercial.Here's how to tell if your app looks AI-coded and how to change it.1. Regression to the mean, aka, painfully midThe first sign: The app's design is boring and cookie-cutter.Paul Bakaus, the CEO of AI design startup Impeccable, said in a June 23 podcast interview with VC firm Andreessen Horowitz that AI giveaways — particularly for Claude Design — include beige or tinted backgrounds and sans-serif fonts.He called it an "algorithmic Uniqlo or Ikea," a design that's not bad, but not necessarily unique.
Donghoon Shin, a human-computer interaction researcher at the University of Washington, published a paper about how vibe coding has led to the homogenization of design.Shin told Business Insider that vibe-coded products tend to converge toward "a single, statistically average aesthetic."The hallmarks: a muted color palette with lots of whites and grays, a single brand accent color, standard sans-serif typography, and elements with rounded corners and drop shadows.
