What happens when my AI-built app breaks?

Every app breaks eventually, regardless of how it was built. The question is whether you can fix it. Here's how AI-built app debugging typically works:

First line of defence: The AI that built it. Describe the error to your AI tool, and it can often diagnose and fix the problem. 'When users click submit, they see a white screen. Here's the error message.' AI is surprisingly good at debugging its own code.

Second line: Error messages and logs. Learn to read error messages-they usually tell you what's wrong. Modern hosting platforms like Vercel show logs that help identify issues. This is a learnable skill that pays dividends.

Third line: Community and forums. Most errors have been encountered before. Copy the error message into Google or post in relevant Discord communities. Other builders have likely solved your exact problem.

Fourth line: Hire help. For $50-200 on Upwork, you can often get someone to fix an issue in an hour that would take you days. Building relationships with reliable developers is valuable.

The honest truth: Some breaks will frustrate you. You'll spend hours on problems that seem impossible. This is normal-professional developers experience the same thing. The difference with AI tools is that you usually have a knowledgeable assistant helping you debug.