If you thought application development was changing quickly last year, 2026 has taken things up another notch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here’s the important bit: faster development doesn’t automatically mean better software.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After more than 30 years working with technology and development, that’s something I’ve learned repeatedly. The tools change. The fundamentals don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s a pretty big change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developers can now use AI to generate code, investigate bugs, write tests, explain unfamiliar code and tackle repetitive development tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefit is obvious: developers can spend less time on repetitive work and more time solving actual business problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But I wouldn’t recommend handing your entire application over to an AI and hoping for the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the question isn’t “Can AI write the application?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s “Can we use AI intelligently while still building software properly?”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re also seeing a move away from simply adding an AI chatbot to an existing application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern applications are increasingly being designed with AI as part of the architecture itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That could mean intelligent search, automated workflows, personalised experiences, predictive analytics or AI agents that can actually perform tasks rather than simply answer questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gartner identifies AI-native development platforms as one of the major technology trends shaping software development in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opportunity is huge \u2014 but only if there’s a genuine business reason for using AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s the wrong measurement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A poorly designed application that takes two weeks to build can become a very expensive problem later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good application development still needs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI can accelerate many of these activities, but it doesn’t remove the need for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My advice for September 2026 is fairly simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t build software because AI makes it cheaper to build. Build it because the software solves a real business problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then use AI to help your development team solve that problem faster, smarter and more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s where I believe application development is heading \u2014 not towards developers being replaced, but towards experienced developers having considerably more powerful tools at their disposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-application-development"],"yoast_head":"\nAI Coding Has Become Part of the Development Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Application Development Is Becoming More AI-Native<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Speed Is Great. Quality Still Matters More.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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So, What Should Businesses Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n