---
title: "AI workflow current and expected — AI data 2026"
url: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data/ai-work
year: 2026
chapter: "ai"
question: "AIWork"
section: "Trust in AI and other trends"
licence: "ODbL 1.0 (https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/)"
---

# AI workflow current and expected

Adoption centers on familiar-code generation (69%), debugging/refactoring (64%), straightforward questions (59%), and tests (58%). Communications tasks have the strongest resistance: 46% do not use AI there and do not plan to.

Asked as: Which parts of your workflow are you currently integrating into AI or using AI agents to accomplish? Will they be more or less integrated over the next year? Please select one for each scenario. (`AIWork`, scale, optional, v2026.1)

## Options offered

1. Architecture or technical design exploration
2. Product, UX, or visual design
3. Generating code in a familiar area
4. Generating code in an unfamiliar area
5. Understanding or onboarding to a new codebase
6. Debugging, troubleshooting, or refactoring code
7. Writing or improving tests
8. Reviewing code, pull requests, or design decisions
9. Finding or fixing security issues
10. Writing documentation, comments, or knowledge base content
11. Answering straightforward technical questions
12. Answering complex or ambiguous technical questions
13. Searching, summarizing, or interpreting internal knowledge
14. Analyzing data, logs, metrics, or query results
15. Writing tickets, requirements, plans, or project updates
16. Writing emails, messages, summaries, or other communication
17. Creating or configuring development/test environments
18. Deploying, operating, or troubleshooting production systems
19. Generating visual, audio, or multimedia elements

## Results

### All Respondents

n = 12,547

|  | Currently use AI or AI agents for this | Expect to use AI More or AI agents more for this | Expect to use AI or AI agents less for this | Do not use AI or AI agents for this and do not plan to | This is not part of my workflow |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Analyzing data, logs, metrics, or query results | 41.9% | 37.5% | 5.7% | 16.3% | 13.0% |
| Answering complex or ambiguous technical questions | 50.0% | 32.7% | 11.4% | 17.9% | 4.4% |
| Answering straightforward technical questions | 59.4% | 29.0% | 7.5% | 16.5% | 4.2% |
| Architecture or technical design exploration | 47.4% | 28.2% | 8.2% | 19.2% | 12.1% |
| Creating or configuring development/test environments | 28.1% | 28.8% | 6.7% | 28.7% | 17.9% |
| Debugging, troubleshooting, or refactoring code | 63.8% | 36.1% | 8.2% | 8.8% | 2.7% |
| Deploying, operating, or troubleshooting production systems | 19.9% | 23.3% | 7.4% | 36.0% | 22.0% |
| Finding or fixing security issues | 34.6% | 37.9% | 6.6% | 14.7% | 19.1% |
| Generating code in a familiar area | 69.3% | 31.2% | 7.7% | 9.0% | 2.3% |
| Generating code in an unfamiliar area | 56.0% | 33.8% | 11.0% | 12.3% | 4.3% |
| Generating visual, audio, or multimedia elements | 17.5% | 18.8% | 5.3% | 24.1% | 42.9% |
| Product, UX, or visual design | 30.3% | 25.4% | 5.0% | 15.1% | 34.6% |
| Reviewing code, pull requests, or design decisions | 40.5% | 32.4% | 8.7% | 22.6% | 10.1% |
| Searching, summarizing, or interpreting internal knowledge | 49.7% | 36.1% | 5.7% | 15.8% | 7.9% |
| Understanding or onboarding to a new codebase | 49.7% | 35.1% | 5.7% | 12.9% | 11.6% |
| Writing documentation, comments, or knowledge base content | 51.1% | 35.9% | 7.0% | 16.3% | 6.7% |
| Writing emails, messages, summaries, or other communication | 23.5% | 20.8% | 8.2% | 45.9% | 10.9% |
| Writing or improving tests | 58.1% | 35.0% | 5.6% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| Writing tickets, requirements, plans, or project updates | 27.8% | 28.0% | 7.5% | 30.5% | 17.2% |

In context: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/ai/data.md