Free report·
Progression of how developers engage with AI
Trends amongst professional software developers, Q1 2024 to Q1 2026
88% of professional developers work with AI models, tools, APIs, or services.
This report examines how professional software developers’ engagement with artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved between Q1 2024 and Q1 2026. We first establish the current state of AI engagement in Q1 2026 and discuss the sharp increase in adoption over the past two years. We then focus on developers who are adding AI functionality to applications to understand what types of models they are using, with open-source leading the way by a large margin.
Key findings
- Working with AI has become mainstream, with 88% of professional developers working with ML/AI models, tools, APIs, or services.
- Non-use has fallen sharply over the past 12 months, from 24% in Q1 2025 to 12% in Q1 2026. The largest share of growth has come through practical tools such as chatbots and Al-assisted development environments.
- The share of developers using Al-assisted tools has increased from 61% to 79% over the past two years, with 53% using Al chatbots and 42% using Al development tools and agents in their coding environments.
- Al adoption is advancing fastest in larger organisations, pointing to growing confidence in its use for structured and scalable deployment.
- Open and open-source models remain the leading choice for developers embedding AI into applications (67%). However, proprietary and closed-source models are strengthening their position (51%).
Questions this report answers
What share of professional developers now work with AI?
88% of professional developers work with ML/AI models, tools, APIs, or services, meaning nearly nine in ten now engage with AI in some form.
How has the use of AI-assisted development tools changed over the past two years?
The use of AI-assisted development tools or agents integrated into coding environments rose from 30% in Q1 2024 to 42% in Q1 2026.
What share of professional developers are adding AI functionality to their applications?
As of Q1 2026, 32% of professional developers report adding AI functionality to their applications.
What types of models do developers use to add AI functionality to applications?
Open or open-source models remain dominant at 67% in Q1 2026, while proprietary or closed-source models rose from 43% in Q3 2024 to 51% in Q1 2026, and in-house models fell from 25% to 21%.
Where is AI adoption growing fastest across organisations?
AI usage is growing faster amongst developers at larger companies, while usage amongst freelancers and self-employed developers has remained relatively unchanged over the past two years.
Who it's for
- Vendors offering AI models, APIs, infrastructure and deployment tools
- Product and marketing leaders shaping AI onboarding and messaging
- Market analysts tracking developer AI adoption trends