AI-assisted software development

AI-assisted software development is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to augment software development. It uses large language models (LLMs), AI agents and other AI technologies to assist software developers. It helps in a range of tasks of the software development life cycle, from code generation to debugging, editing, testing, UI design, understanding the code, and documentation. Agentic coding denotes the use of AI agents for software development.

Technologies

Source code generation

Large language models trained or fine-tuned on source-code corpora can generate source code from natural-language descriptions, comments, or docstrings. Research on code-generation systems often evaluates generated programs by functional correctness, such as whether the output passes automated test cases, rather than by syntax alone. Such tools can be features or extensions of integrated development environments (IDEs).^{[citation needed]}

Intelligent code completion

AI agents using pre-trained and fine-tuned LLMs can predict and suggest code completions based on context. According to Husein, Aburajouh & Catal in a 2025 literature review in Computer Standards & Interfaces, "LLMs significantly enhance code completion performance across several programming languages and contexts, and their capability to predict relevant code snippets based on context and partial input boosts developer productivity substantially."^[1]

Testing, debugging, code review and analysis

AI is used to automatically generate test cases, identify potential bugs and security vulnerabilities, and suggest fixes. AI can also be used to perform static code analysis and suggest potential performance improvements.^{[citation needed]}

Limitations

Both ownership of and responsibility for AI-generated code is disputed.^[2]

According to a report from the German Federal Office for Information Security, the use of AI coding assistants without careful oversight from experienced developers can introduce both minor and major security vulnerabilities, and any potential gain in productivity should be weighed against the cost of additional quality control and security measures.^[3] According to Deloitte, outputs from AI-assisted software development must be validated through a combination of automated testing, static analysis tools and human review, creating a governance layer to improve quality and accountability.^[4]

Vibe coding

Vibe coding is a software development practice assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) where the software developer describes a project or task in a prompt to a large language model (LLM), which generates source code automatically. Vibe coding may involve accepting AI-generated code without thorough review of the output, instead relying on results and follow-up prompts to guide changes.^[5]^[6]

The term was coined in February 2025 by computer scientist Andrej Karpathy, a co-founder of OpenAI and former AI leader at Tesla. Merriam-Webster listed the term in March 2025 as a "slang & trending" expression.^[7] It was named the Collins English Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025.^[8]^[9]

Advocates of vibe coding say that it allows even amateur programmers to produce software without the extensive training and skills required for software engineering.^[10]^[11] Critics point out a lack of accountability, maintainability, and the increased risk of introducing security vulnerabilities in the resulting software.^[5]^[11]

References

^ Husein, Rasha Ahmad; Aburajouh, Hala; Catal, Cagatay (12 June 2025). "Large language models for code completion: A systematic literature review". Computer Standards & Interfaces. 92 (C) 103917. doi:10.1016/j.csi.2024.103917 – via ACM Digital Library.
^ Sauvola, Jaakko; Tarkoma, Sasu; Klemettinen, Mika; Riekki, Jukka; Doermann, David (11 March 2024). "Future of software development with generative AI". Automated Software Engineering. 31 (26) 26. doi:10.1007/s10515-024-00426-z – via Springer Nature Link.
^ "AI Coding Assistants" (PDF). Federal Office for Information Security (Germany). September 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
^ "AI-assisted software engineering: Rewriting the build versus buy playbook". Deloitte. 14 May 2025. Archived from the original on 29 October 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
^ ^a ^b Edwards, Benj (5 March 2025). "Will the future of software development run on vibes?". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025. The technique, enabled by large language models (LLMs) from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, has attracted attention for potentially lowering the barrier to entry for software creation. But questions remain about whether the approach can reliably produce code suitable for real-world applications, even as tools like Cursor Composer, GitHub Copilot, and Replit Agent make the process increasingly accessible to non-programmers.
^ "What is 'vibe code'? Former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy defines a new era in AI-driven development". The Times of India. 2 March 2025. Archived from the original on 4 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025. Karpathy's "vibe coding" is a recognition of how sophisticated AI systems have evolved. In describing on X (formerly Twitter), he added that LLMs, like the Cursor Composer with Sonnet, are advancing to a degree that nearly eliminates the use of traditional coding mechanisms. Describing his own experience, Karpathy explained how he converses with AI tools almost in a passive manner—merely talking to them and having the AI handle the rest. This method eliminates manually typing code as well as keeping track of all the minute information in the program.
^ "vibe coding". Slang & Trending. Merriam-Webster. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025. Vibe coding (also written as vibecoding) (Vibecode/Vibecoder) is a recently-coined term for the practice of writing code, making web pages, or creating apps, by just telling an AI program what you want, and letting it create the product for you. In vibe coding the coder does not need to understand how or why the code works, and often will have to accept that a certain number of bugs and glitches will be present. The verb form of the word is vibe code.
^ Garnsworthy, Jenny (6 November 2025). "Collins dictionary crowns AI buzz term Word of the Year". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
^ "'Vibe coding' named word of the year by Collins Dictionary". BBC News. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
^ Lanz, Jose Antonio (23 March 2025). "Vibe Coding: How Devs and Laymen Alike Are Using AI to Create Apps and Games". Decrypt.co.
^ ^a ^b Chowdhury, Hasan; Mann, Jyoti (13 February 2025). "Silicon Valley's next act: bringing 'vibe coding' to the world". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.

External links

"Coding After Coders: The End of Computer Programming as We Know It". "In the era of A.I. agents, many Silicon Valley programmers are now barely programming. Instead, what they’re doing is deeply, deeply weird." By Clive Thompson (journalist), New York Times, March 12, 2026

[husein_et_al-250612-1] Husein, Rasha Ahmad; Aburajouh, Hala; Catal, Cagatay (12 June 2025). "Large language models for code completion: A systematic literature review". Computer Standards & Interfaces. 92 (C) 103917. doi:10.1016/j.csi.2024.103917 – via ACM Digital Library.

[Sauvola-240311-2] Sauvola, Jaakko; Tarkoma, Sasu; Klemettinen, Mika; Riekki, Jukka; Doermann, David (11 March 2024). "Future of software development with generative AI". Automated Software Engineering. 31 (26) 26. doi:10.1007/s10515-024-00426-z – via Springer Nature Link.

[BSI-2025-3] "AI Coding Assistants" (PDF). Federal Office for Information Security (Germany). September 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2026.

[4] "AI-assisted software engineering: Rewriting the build versus buy playbook". Deloitte. 14 May 2025. Archived from the original on 29 October 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.

[Vibe_coding_Edwards-2025-5] Edwards, Benj (5 March 2025). "Will the future of software development run on vibes?". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025. The technique, enabled by large language models (LLMs) from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, has attracted attention for potentially lowering the barrier to entry for software creation. But questions remain about whether the approach can reliably produce code suitable for real-world applications, even as tools like Cursor Composer, GitHub Copilot, and Replit Agent make the process increasingly accessible to non-programmers.

[Vibe_coding_The_Times_of_India-2025-6] "What is 'vibe code'? Former Tesla AI director Andrej Karpathy defines a new era in AI-driven development". The Times of India. 2 March 2025. Archived from the original on 4 March 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025. Karpathy's "vibe coding" is a recognition of how sophisticated AI systems have evolved. In describing on X (formerly Twitter), he added that LLMs, like the Cursor Composer with Sonnet, are advancing to a degree that nearly eliminates the use of traditional coding mechanisms. Describing his own experience, Karpathy explained how he converses with AI tools almost in a passive manner—merely talking to them and having the AI handle the rest. This method eliminates manually typing code as well as keeping track of all the minute information in the program.

[Vibe_coding_merriam-webster-7] "vibe coding". Slang & Trending. Merriam-Webster. 8 March 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025. Vibe coding (also written as vibecoding) (Vibecode/Vibecoder) is a recently-coined term for the practice of writing code, making web pages, or creating apps, by just telling an AI program what you want, and letting it create the product for you. In vibe coding the coder does not need to understand how or why the code works, and often will have to accept that a certain number of bugs and glitches will be present. The verb form of the word is vibe code.

[8] Garnsworthy, Jenny (6 November 2025). "Collins dictionary crowns AI buzz term Word of the Year". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

[9] "'Vibe coding' named word of the year by Collins Dictionary". BBC News. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.

[10] Lanz, Jose Antonio (23 March 2025). "Vibe Coding: How Devs and Laymen Alike Are Using AI to Create Apps and Games". Decrypt.co.

[Vibe_coding_Chowdhury-2025-11] Chowdhury, Hasan; Mann, Jyoti (13 February 2025). "Silicon Valley's next act: bringing 'vibe coding' to the world". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 February 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.

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