FEATURE: CODING
Survey of 800 senior developers across North America reveals rapid adoption of AI tools but concerns remain around privacy, job loss and accuracy.
AI in the developer workflow
• 49 % use AI daily
• 29 % use it most days
• 78 % use AI several times per week
• 48 % rely on AI for coding
• 36 % use it for testing
• 36 % use it for code review
With large language models( LLMs) rapidly becoming an unavoidable tool in the software industry, new research has revealed that over half( 53 %) of senior developers believe LLMs can already code better than most humans.
The survey, conducted by Clutch and polling 800 senior software developers across North America, highlights how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the future of coding. An overwhelming 75 % of respondents said they expect AI to significantly transform the industry within the next five years.
But while many see these tools as accelerators of productivity others worry about what they could mean for career progression, data privacy and the value of human expertise in the long run.
Almost half of developers use AI daily. use them most days. That means 78 % rely on AI regularly, showing the depth of integration across developer workflows.
When asked about where AI is most commonly used, 48 % of respondents said coding was the main stage. Testing and code review followed with 36 % each. But adoption is spreading well beyond these phases. Developers are experimenting with AI for requirement gathering, debugging, documentation and even architecture design.
This mirrors what many in the industry have described as‘ AI-assisted software engineering’ – a new paradigm where developers act more like system architects and reviewers with machines producing the first draft of everything from algorithms to test cases.
The sentiment split: Excited, empowered or concerned?
AI is no longer experimental in software development – it’ s routine. Nearly half( 49 %) of senior developers and team leads responding to the study said they use AI tools every day while another 29 % said they
Sentiments toward AI are complex. While 42 % of developers said they feel generally‘ positive’ about AI, another 29 % described themselves as‘ excited’ or‘ empowered’.
Over half of North American developers say LLMs can code better than humans
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