Next steps after receiving an AI prompt response — AI data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Developer Survey 2026

Question

When you receive an AI-generated answer for a development task, what do you usually do before using it? Select all that apply.

multi select
Optional
v2026.1

Data

	Respondents	Percent
Run it locally	10,067	76.5%
Compare against codebase context	8,411	63.9%
Inspect tests/security implications	6,977	53.0%
Read official docs	4,998	38.0%
Search Stack Overflow	1,601	12.2%
Use as-is	1,265	9.6%
Ask a coworker	907	6.9%
I do not use AI tools.	228	1.7%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Next steps after receiving an AI prompt response”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-work-next

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "question": "Next steps after receiving an AI prompt response",
  "dataId": "AIWorkNext",
  "asked": "When you receive an AI-generated answer for a development task, what do you usually do before using it? Select all that apply.",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-work-next",
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  "data": [
    {
      "response": "Run it locally",
      "count": 10067,
      "pct": 0.765
    },
    {
      "response": "Compare against codebase context",
      "count": 8411,
      "pct": 0.639
    },
    {
      "response": "Inspect tests/security implications",
      "count": 6977,
      "pct": 0.53
    },
    {
      "response": "Read official docs",
      "count": 4998,
      "pct": 0.38
    },
    {
      "response": "Search Stack Overflow",
      "count": 1601,
      "pct": 0.122
    },
    {
      "response": "Use as-is",
      "count": 1265,
      "pct": 0.096
    },
    {
      "response": "Ask a coworker",
      "count": 907,
      "pct": 0.069
    },
    {
      "response": "I do not use AI tools.",
      "count": 228,
      "pct": 0.017
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  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Run it locally | 10,067 | 76.5% |
| Compare against codebase context | 8,411 | 63.9% |
| Inspect tests/security implications | 6,977 | 53.0% |
| Read official docs | 4,998 | 38.0% |
| Search Stack Overflow | 1,601 | 12.2% |
| Use as-is | 1,265 | 9.6% |
| Ask a coworker | 907 | 6.9% |
| I do not use AI tools. | 228 | 1.7% |

Spreadsheet

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