If you thought application development was changing quickly last year, 2026 has taken things up another notch.
AI isn’t just helping developers write a bit of code anymore. It’s increasingly becoming part of how applications are planned, built, tested and maintained.
But here’s the important bit: faster development doesn’t automatically mean better software.
After more than 30 years working with technology and development, that’s something I’ve learned repeatedly. The tools change. The fundamentals don’t.
AI Coding Has Become Part of the Development Team
AI coding agents are now becoming a normal part of professional development. Recent research from JetBrains found that 90% of professional developers surveyed were using AI coding agents at work at least weekly, with 68% using them daily.
That’s a pretty big change.
Developers can now use AI to generate code, investigate bugs, write tests, explain unfamiliar code and tackle repetitive development tasks.
The benefit is obvious: developers can spend less time on repetitive work and more time solving actual business problems.
But I wouldn’t recommend handing your entire application over to an AI and hoping for the best.
AI-generated code still needs experienced developers to review architecture, security, performance and maintainability. Gartner’s research suggests that only 35% of software engineering leaders currently see significant ROI from AI across the software development lifecycle.
So the question isn’t “Can AI write the application?”
It’s “Can we use AI intelligently while still building software properly?”
Application Development Is Becoming More AI-Native
We’re also seeing a move away from simply adding an AI chatbot to an existing application.
Modern applications are increasingly being designed with AI as part of the architecture itself.
That could mean intelligent search, automated workflows, personalised experiences, predictive analytics or AI agents that can actually perform tasks rather than simply answer questions.
Gartner identifies AI-native development platforms as one of the major technology trends shaping software development in 2026.
The opportunity is huge — but only if there’s a genuine business reason for using AI.
Speed Is Great. Quality Still Matters More.
One of the biggest dangers I’ve noticed with the current AI development boom is the temptation to measure success by how quickly something gets built.
That’s the wrong measurement.
A poorly designed application that takes two weeks to build can become a very expensive problem later.
Good application development still needs:
- Clear business requirements
- Strong architecture
- Secure development practices
- Proper testing
- Scalable infrastructure
- Good user experience
- Ongoing maintenance
AI can accelerate many of these activities, but it doesn’t remove the need for them.
So, What Should Businesses Do?
My advice for September 2026 is fairly simple:
Don’t build software because AI makes it cheaper to build. Build it because the software solves a real business problem.
Then use AI to help your development team solve that problem faster, smarter and more efficiently.
That’s where I believe application development is heading — not towards developers being replaced, but towards experienced developers having considerably more powerful tools at their disposal.
At Digitus Consulting, we take exactly that practical approach. We combine modern application development techniques with experienced engineering, business understanding and a focus on building software that can actually grow with your organisation.
If you have an application idea, an ageing system that needs modernising, or simply want to understand what’s possible with today’s technology, let’s have a conversation.
