AI tools can build a working app or website in an afternoon, which is wonderful. It looks finished, and it worked when you tried it.

The trouble is that you tried it the way you built it, with your own name, on your own computer, in the right order. Customers won't. This guide helps you see what they'll see, before they see it.

It's a walk-through you can do yourself in about thirty minutes, using test details. You don't need to read any code.

Why it can look finished and still have gaps

  • AI builds what you described. You probably described what should happen when everything goes well, and said less about what should happen when it doesn't.
  • A screen isn't a record. A form can say "Thank you" whether or not the details were saved anywhere.
  • Your preview isn't the live version. The live one can have different settings and connections, so it's worth checking there too.

The 30-minute walk-through

1. Do the main job, on your phone

Be a customer. Place the order, make the booking or send the inquiry, on your phone rather than your computer. Write down anything you had to stop and think about.

2. See where it went

This is the most useful step. After you submit, go and find the result: the order, the booking or the message, in the place you'd normally look for it. Check that every detail arrived, and that any confirmation email reached you.

Include this test in anything that takes money, and use the payment provider's test mode rather than a real card. Ask the AI tool or your builder how to turn it on.

3. Try real names and details

Use names like Siobhán O'Brien and Anne-Marie van der Berg, a long email address, and a postcode without a space. This guide on sign-up forms has the full list of details to try.

4. Do things slightly wrong

  • Leave a required box empty.
  • Press the button twice.
  • Go back a page and carry on.
  • Close it halfway, then come back later.

Each time, ask: did the message say what happened, and what to do next? "Something went wrong" leaves a customer stuck. "Please add your postcode" helps them finish.

5. Ask how you'd find out if it stopped

Imagine the app stopped saving orders at 2am tonight. Who would be told, and how? If the honest answer is "a customer would complain", that's worth sorting out first. This guide on things that stop quietly shows what to ask for.

6. Note what it depends on

Write down the accounts and services it uses, and whose name each one is in. Include the AI tool, the hosting, the database and any payment or email service. Note what each one costs, and when it renews.

7. Find your way back

Find the last saved version, and how you'd return to it. Many AI tools keep a version history. This guide on AI fixes explains why that matters before you ask for your next change.

Customer details and security

If it collects customer details, write down what it collects and where those details are stored. Under UK GDPR, your privacy notice should tell customers who handles them.

This guide doesn't cover security. If your app takes logins, payments or personal details, ask a security specialist to look at it as well.

What to do with what you found

If everything arrived, and every message told you what to do next, that's a really good start. Walk through it again after any big change.

If you found gaps, you now have a clear list. You can give each item to your AI tool one at a time, and check the rest still works after each one.

And if you'd like another pair of eyes, I can look through it for you, read-only. Here's an example of the findings note you'd get.