Earlier this year, Stack Overflow reported on the development community’s embrace of AI code assistants. Of more than 1,700 respondents, the majority (76%) indicated that they’re using or planning to use AI code assistants. According to Gartner, by 2028, 75% of enterprise software engineers will use AI code assistants, up from less than 10% in early 2023. We think this increase is huge, corresponding to roughly 50% compound annual growth rate.
Those adoption figures and growth projections are very impressive, so let’s clarify what we’re talking about.
AI code assistants defined
AI code assistants are tools that help developers by generating and analyzing software code. The assistants use large language models (LLMs) that have been trained for one or more coding languages, such as Java and Python. Software developers prompt AI code assistants with a combination of natural language and code snippets to aid in their jobs, resulting in higher productivity, faster output, more effective results, and so on.
AI code assistants often integrate into developers’ preferred programming environments such as JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and Microsoft Visual Studio Code, and have some of or all the following capabilities:
- Generate code snippets to fulfill a developer’s request
- Upgrade legacy code into a newer version
- Translate code into different languages
- Describe or explain code to facilitate learning
- Generate documentation as part of the DevOps process
- Create test cases and artifacts that span multiple scenarios
AI code assistants can increase developer productivity
AI code assistants help improve developers’ efficiency by summarizing and explaining, answering questions, and ultimately offloading the creation of copious amounts of necessary but not fulfilling boilerplate code. The more mundane tasks a developer can shift to an AI helper, the more time they have to do other, more intellectually stimulating work.
Michele Rosen, IDC research manager in the low-code, no-code, and intelligent developer technologies practice, states, “Organizations are increasingly looking to GenAI coding assistants to help increase developer productivity amid the continuing shortage of technical talent. The ability of these assistants to generate, explain, and document code represents an opportunity for organizations to accelerate and simplify the development of digital solutions.”
The potential impact is material. Gartner projects that by 2028, systematic adoption of AI code assistants in 2023 will result in at least 36% compounded developer productivity growth.
This idea is massive. If 2023 saw 100 “units of productivity” and then that productivity grew 36% every year, by 2028 there would be 465 units of productivity, more than four and a half times increase in just five years. These are definitely exciting times to be working in application development.
AI code assistants can increase developer satisfaction
Research indicates that developer productivity is about much more than simply time spent (or saved) when writing code. A person’s productivity is also influenced by their satisfaction and well-being, their ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, and—especially for developers—their ability to achieve and maintain a flow state.
While AI code assistants don’t generate employee well-being directly, developers can derive satisfaction from using them because they can remove the drudgery of those repetitive and unfulfilling tasks, like creating common blocks of code and generating routine documentation. To the extent that these tools can prevent context switching—when you’re interrupted or you need to go do something else because your current task is blocked—developers can remain in flow and keep cranking out the code.
AI code assistants can boost an organization’s bottom line
Increased job satisfaction and retention can improve organizational results by minimizing the cost and disruption of employee turnover. Happier developers tend to stay longer in their jobs than those who aren’t as happy.
Job retention is a blessing: Teams stay intact, mentors stay engaged, and junior developers come to view the organization as a great place to learn, build, and grow their skills. Satisfied developers generate higher quality applications which lead to more satisfied customers and ultimately higher profit with lower churn. It’s a virtuous cycle where everybody wins.
Learn more
To learn more about AI code assistants and the highly differentiated capabilities of Oracle Code Assist, the tool currently being used by thousands of Oracle developers internally, we invite you to attend Oracle CloudWorld and NetSuite SuiteWorld in Las Vegas from September 9–12. Both events have announcements, sessions, and multiple Code Assist demonstrations for all to enjoy.
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