Written by Mike Vizard, this article explores a Harris Poll survey revealing how AI adoption is transforming software development, boosting productivity, creating economic value, and presenting new challenges for organizations.

Survey Attributes Massive Economic Gains to Rise of AI in Software Development

Author: Mike Vizard

A recent global survey of 2,786 C-level executives, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of GitLab, highlights substantial economic advantages linked to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in software development. Key findings indicate that organizations are saving an estimated $28,249 per developer annually, driven in part by a 48% boost in developer productivity related to AI initiatives.

Key Survey Highlights

  • Business Growth: 58% of respondents associated direct business growth with software innovation efforts over the previous year, resulting in an estimated 44% increase in revenue.
  • Executive Buy-In: 91% stated their organization’s board recognizes the benefits of software innovation, and 82% reported a willingness to devote more than half their company’s IT budgets to such efforts.
  • Measuring Success: Success metrics cited included business growth (40%), improved problem-solving capabilities (40%), and enhanced developer productivity (39%).

Emilio Salvador, GitLab’s VP of Strategy and Developer Relations, notes the profound economic impact of AI on software development. Despite efficiency increases, 90% of organizations continue hiring application developers to speed production. Moreover, 91% see software innovation as a primary business priority.

A notable trend is the growing belief in agentic AI—AI agents that can handle tasks beyond code generation, such as testing. In three years, 89% of respondents anticipate agentic AI becoming the industry standard for software development.

Developers will be able to dedicate more time to creative problem-solving, rather than repetitive, manual tasks, as AI agents take on more routine work.

Human-AI Collaboration

  • Ongoing Human Role: Nearly all (99%) respondents agree that human contributions remain vital.
  • Partnership Model: 73% envision at least an even split between human and AI software development efforts, while 27% believe AI should do the majority of the work.
  • Valued Skills: Creativity and strategic vision (both 39%) are seen as the top human inputs.

Challenges & Governance

While AI adoption climbs, concerns remain.

  • Top Concerns: Cybersecurity threats (52%), data privacy and security (51%), and governance (45%) are top of mind for executives.
  • Governance Measures: Over half of organizations (53%) implement regulatory-aligned governance; 52% have internal AI policies and 47% already rely on third-party audits of AI usage.
  • Operational Impact: As more code is generated, the number of DevOps pipelines also expands, creating further management needs.

The Need for Retraining

Organizations are encouraged not to overlook reskilling, as software development teams—including “citizen developers” using low-code tools—adapt to the AI-accelerated environment. 92% of executives believe focused training to bridge skills gaps and facilitate effective AI-human partnership is essential.

Outlook

Though it remains to be seen exactly how much AI will accelerate software development, one point is clear—AI is reshaping how software is built, updated, secured, and managed. The pace of this transformation remains the key unknown.

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Related Topics:

  • Agentic AI in DevOps
  • AI Governance and Cybersecurity
  • Human-AI Collaboration in Application Development

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