Building Together with AI in the Room
Most of what you read about AI coding is solo: one dev, one editor. But a lot of real work happens in pairs. We've been using Cursor and Claude not just for speed, but to build together — to share context, review each other's prompts, and ship as a team. Here's how it works for us.
Why put AI in the room when you're pairing?
When two people work on the same codebase with the AI, you get something neither solo coding nor classic pair programming gives: a shared 'third mind' that holds a lot of context and generates options fast. One person drives the keyboard and the prompts; the other watches, suggests better phrasings, or spots when the AI went off track. We catch more mistakes and we learn from each other's prompt style.
We use this for tricky features — API design, refactors, anything that touches multiple files. One of us describes the goal and the constraints; the other helps sharpen the ask. Then we let the AI propose the change and we both review. It's faster than taking turns typing and often clearer than one person alone.
Onboarding without the doc dump
Handoffs used to mean long docs and walkthroughs. Now we do short live sessions: share the screen, open the key files, and use the AI to 'explain this module' or 'how does this connect to the API?' The other person asks follow-ups in plain language. The AI becomes a tour guide. New folks get up to speed without reading everything line by line.
Review the prompt, not just the code
We've started doing quick 'prompt reviews' before big AI-generated changes. The other person reads the prompt and asks: is the outcome clear? Did we mention the right constraints? That habit has saved us from a few wrong directions. Good prompts are a team skill — and reviewing them together levels everyone up.
If you're building with a partner or a small team, try bringing the AI into the loop explicitly. Share the screen, phrase the problem together, let the AI draft, then review as a pair. You might find, like we did, that building together with AI is one of the most productive workflows you've ever used.