The technology sector has always evolved with new tools and new thinking, but today, software development is undergoing a deeper shift. What was once a primarily human-driven process is now becoming AI-assisted. AI is accelerating workflows, reshaping responsibilities, and transforming how code gets written. Yet even as these tools become more capable and more common, developers are making it clear that they intend to stay firmly in control of how this new era unfolds.
Our 2025 State of the Developer Ecosystem report, which surveyed 24,534 developers across 194 countries, provides a telling snapshot of how developers are navigating their careers and the way they like to work amid this new, evolving technological landscape. In short, their industry is changing and so are they. And, by looking more squarely at regional responses, we can examine how global trends hold true at local levels.
Zooming into the US specifically, we can see that much like their counterparts elsewhere in the world, developers are increasingly considering how their roles will adapt in response to AI. Developers in this region have displayed a real commitment to maximizing their own productivity, taking greater ownership over how they reach their goals.
In fact, a significant 86% actively advocate for the developer tools and technology their organizations use, showcasing their eagerness to be productive in ways that best suit them. What our report shows is a picture of an industry where humans are still the determining factor for successful innovation.
There’s nuance to unpack here – let’s dive into the data.
Taking control of AI from the outset
The AI boom of recent years has made it ubiquitous among developers globally, with 85% regularly using tools powered by the technology for coding and development. On top of that, nearly two-thirds (62%) rely on at least one specialized AI coding assistant, agent or code editor, highlighting how more advanced tools are already gaining traction.
In the US however, this enthusiasm for AI among developers is balanced by their desire to remain in control: of their tools, workflows and ultimately, creations. Already, developers globally say they are happy to let AI handle repetitive tasks such as generating boilerplate code, writing documentation or summarizing changes. AI-assisted development undeniably boosts the velocity of code generation – it can produce drafts in seconds and accelerate routine workflows.
But speed isn’t the whole story. What AI often lacks is context: the architectural intent behind a decision, the constraints of a specific system, the long-term implications for maintainability, or even the unwritten norms that shape how teams build software. That gap is exactly where human expertise comes in. Developers provide the judgment, reasoning and situational awareness that AI cannot replicate, ensuring the code produced aligns with the broader goals and realities of the project.
US coders are also more conscious of intellectual property concerns, outpacing their global counterparts. While less than a third (29%) of global developers cite it as a barrier to their organisation’s adoption of AI tools, that figure was 42% among US respondents. As adoption grows, it’s clear developers will define AI’s next phase – shifting the question from “what can AI do?” to “how can AI help me and my organisation reach our goals?”
Redefining success
AI isn’t the only factor driving change among developers, as there are cultural aspects at play too. Coders are now redefining what ‘success’ looks like, from focusing almost exclusively on measuring technical performance – velocity, build time and rapid recovery – to now looking at more holistic measures of overall productivity. It’s no surprise then, that two-thirds of respondents globally (66%) said traditional metrics didn’t reflect their true contributions.
Developer satisfaction, engagement and sentiment topped the list for the metrics growing most in popularity, which look more squarely at whether developers are empowered to do their best, rather than ignoring the process and focusing only on the output.
Looking to the future
Today’s developers are experiencing an industry undergoing rapid evolution. AI is changing how they work and keeping a realistic view of how the technology applies to their roles.
Perhaps most importantly, amid all this change, it’s clear developers still love what they do. To the extent that over half (52%) globally find time after hours to code for fun. In an industry where the relationship between people and AI tools is evolving, the people involved continue to display a passion for building great things – something no technology can replace.
By Arun Gupta, VP Developer Experience at JetBrains