Over two and a half decades I have observed and been engaged in first-hand the evolution of Web and Software development. The current landscape for web development has undergone one of its most drastic and profound transformations yet. The advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) which are automating complex tasks once performed by human developers is leading to questions about the future role of web developers and software engineers within the Tech Industry.
AI Integration and Task Automation
Various tools have been developed of the last few years, one of the most prominent being GitHub Copilot. Powered by the OpenAI Codex model, GitHub Copilot assists developers by automating repetitive tasks and enhancing the speed at which code can be written by suggesting appropriate snippets. Studies have shown that using GitHub Copilot can increase the speed at which tasks are completed by up to 55.8% which large organization may leverage to reduce the workforce and improve efficiency.
Additionally other platforms such as Wix and Shopify are incorporating AI to assist non-technical users to create websites with no coding experience. Whilst this does reduce the need for more specialized web development skills it implies a need for complete trust in the platform to deliver high quality and performing websites.
The Economy
The common goal of any business is the generation of revenue and profit thus many companies are swift to embrace measures that can maintain the same level of quality for the product or service delivered whilst minimizing overheads. With that in mind they have been swift to adopt new AI tools to aid in reducing the work force and cutting costs.
Whilst there was an abundance of traditional development roles both contract and permanent within the industry and experienced developers were highly sought after, within the space of a few years the demand for these skilled developers has significantly reduced.
Investment & Adoption
The global investment in AI is in the Billions as major tech companies rush to invest in AI-related projects. These investments are reshaping the software development process, and the use of AI has rapidly become an integral part of development workflows. The surge in AI usage prompting more investment in infrastructure can be seen in the below:
2015: AI usage in its infancy with only 10% of organizations reporting using or planning to implement AI within the business workflow.
2019: Within the space of 4 years the adoption rate surged to 37% which demonstrated a growing interest in AI solutions across industries.
2021: Demonstrated a continued increase reaching approximately 50%.
2022: Another surge in adoption reaching 72% which showed a significant increase.
2025: Projections indicate that a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is expected to reach 36.6% with AI integrations across various sections continuing until around 2030.
2040: AI will be present in all sectors.
Below represents the growth in the number of users demonstrating a steady linear increase and interest in AI. Social platforms have seen a rapid increase in AI generated content as users explore the depths of Generative AI capabilities.
The main factors influencing adoption include Technological advancements in AI algorithms and machine learning, continued investment and innovation, a growing demand for efficiency, streamlining of processes, an improvement to customer experiences and the growing availability and general user awareness.
Adapt or Die
As AI continues to automate routine tasks, web developers and software engineers must adapt by acquiring new skills. Understanding AI and machine learning concepts, as well as developing expertise in areas like cybersecurity and system architecture, will be crucial for staying relevant in the industry. As a seasoned professional I have seen popular technologies such as Macromedia/Adobe Flash come and go and have always been willing to grow and learn, enhance and adapt to suit the direction the industry is moving towards.
Creativity and Problem-Solving
Whilst Artificial General Intelligence is still evolving, currently AI can handle repetitive tasks, complex calculations and generative systems can output what some might consider creative ideas, human developers will remain essential for creative problem-solving and innovation. Various roles that exist and new roles which may come about which require critical thinking, such as designing user experiences and architecting complex systems, will continue to rely on human expertise.
Indeed, AI can remove the need for certain areas of coding, but it should be considered an augmentation of your own capabilities. In 2022 I would not have believed I would allow AI to write some of my code for me, but here we are, in a world where time is a precious commodity, it would be foolhardy to not embrace technologies which speed up deliveries and remove repetitive tasks. Ultimately however it is essential not to let one's own coding skills degrade and logical to understand the output your AI counterpart is generating.
Security Concerns & IP
Clearly there are several security concerns when using 3rd Party AI tools to work on projects of a sensitive nature particularly new concepts and ideas, I personally have not used AI to help work on several internal projects since information security is paramount. However, by limiting access to the entire scope of a project, AI can still be useful whilst minimizing security concerns.
The necessity to understand the code being generated remains important in making informed decisions, the ability to scrutinize AI generated code is essential in deploying a stable maintainable system. ChatGPT and Copilot are your collaborators, it's almost like working with another developer, enhancing productivity and enabling more focus on higher-level tasks.
Traditional web development is thus transitioning into oblivion whilst modern web development utilizing AI and automation is here to stay. Embrace it and create more, think more, do more.
References
[1] The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot (2023). https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.06590
[2] Software Companies Squeezed by AI Alixpartners (2025) https://www.businessinsider.com/software-companies-squeezed-by-ai-alixpartners-2025-4
[3] How Amazon overcame a GPU crunch (2025). https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-strategy-overcome-gpu-shortages-nvidia-2025-4
[4] What We Learned About AI From This Week's Big Tech Earnings (2024) https://www.investopedia.com/what-we-learned-about-ai-from-big-tech-earnings-8738426
[5] Cloudflare's CEO told us why you should still learn to code (2025). https://www.businessinsider.com/cloudflare-ceo-matthew-prince-learn-to-code-2025-4
[6] Global AI Adoption Over Time (2025). https://heostheory.com/global-ai-adoption-over-time/
[7] Global AI Adoption to Surge 20%, Exceeding 378 Million Users in 2025 (2025) https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2025/02/global-ai-adoption-to-surge-20-exceeding-378-million-users-in-2025
[8] AI adoption statistics by industries and countries: 2024 snapshot (2024). https://ventionteams.com/solutions/ai/adoption-statistics
[9] International Digital Publishing Form (2014) EPub3 Standard. https://hypersense-software.com/blog/2025/01/29/key-statistics-driving-ai-adoption-in-2024
[10] Key Statistics Driving AI Adoption in 2024 (2025). https://www.historytools.org/ai/ai-stats
[11] Best trading apps in the UK (2025). https://www.finder.com/uk/share-trading/share-trading-research/ai-statistics
[12] AI Adoption in 2024: 74% of Companies Struggle to Achieve and Scale Value (2024). https://www.bcg.com/press/24october2024-ai-adoption-in-2024-74-of-companies-struggle-to-achieve-and-scale-value
[13] Artificial general intelligence - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence