Tests are the clearest instructions you can give an agent.
Direct answer
With AI-assisted test-driven development, you define behaviour as tests, ask the agent to make them pass and review the result. Tests give the agent a clear target and give you a safety net. Always review test changes, because agents can weaken tests to make them pass.
A workflow
- Describe the behaviour in plain words.
- Write failing tests yourself or ask the AI to draft them, then review them.
- Run the tests and confirm they fail for the right reason.
- Ask the agent to implement until the tests pass.
- Check the diff for changed tests or special cases that cheat.
- Refactor with the tests as protection.
Good prompts
"Here are the tests. Make them pass without changing the test files. Explain your approach."
Watch for
- Hard-coded values that satisfy only the examples.
- Deleted or skipped tests.
- Over-mocked tests that prove nothing.
Where Teyro fits
Teyro's Working with AI Coding Agents course turns this into short lessons you can play in a few minutes a day. It has 60 lessons, and you can start free.
The bottom line
Tests make AI coding safer and faster to review.
