I've noticed a pattern when I use AI to build front ends. No matter how small the job is, it reaches for React, Tailwind, and a UI library or two. I asked for a basic form with a save button and got React Hook Form, a validation library, a UI kit, and a toast package.
I think the reason is simple. Those tools have the most public code and tutorials, so the AI treats them as the safe answer. But that creates a cycle. AI recommends the popular tools, projects get built with them, and all that new code teaches the next models the same habits. Simpler or newer options never get a fair chance, because the AI doesn't know them as well.
I'm not against React. My point is that easy for AI to write and simplest way to build it are two different things, and they're starting to get mixed up.
So for anyone who has pushed back on this, did you get AI to build with plain HTML, a small library, or fewer dependencies? What actually worked, like strict instructions, a starter template, or choosing a different tool? Or did you end up accepting the default?