Low Code tools and Generative AI are both seeing increased usage for developing software. These technologies, though addressing the same issue of simplifying software development and making it more accessible, have distinct competencies, functionalities, and uses. While low-code environments lower the barrier to entry for citizen coders, generative AI produces code without the need for any coding knowledge, yet raises concerns about the opacity of its processes. However, this does not necessarily mean that low code and generative AI tools are in a collision course or in competition with one another; integrating them together will instead lead to tools that are accessible, flexible, and capable of increasingly complex code building. This amalgamation of functionality may transform the role of developers and democratize software development, reinventing what it means to be a developer.
This analyst insights report examines numerous key findings from across our syndicated survey report series together with secondary research on the trends in software development, detailing the trajectory of both low code and generative artificial intelligence and their interlinked potential.
Will Low-Code Tools Become Obsolete in a World Driven by Generative AI?
The wave of emerging technologies within the past decade has had a transformational impact on software development. Advancements in decentralized technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning models, and cloud and edge computing are shifting the paradigm of this line of work. Indeed, these changes have registered with industry giants as many have embraced these disruptive technologies; emerging technologies, and AI in particular, were central in the messaging to stakeholders for Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, and Microsoft, among many others, in 2023 and will surely continue to be a primary focus. The promise of industry growth that these rapid developments seem to indicate is, however, tempered by a substantial feeling of uncertainty surrounding the next major disruption to appear in the technology ecosystem; despite being in the midst of addressing current innovations, the industry is also preparing and positioning to embrace any future transformations. In this climate of excitement, continual change, and adaptation, identifying and distinguishing which technologies are the next big innovation and which are short-lived curiosities is paramount. At the center of this discussion is the role of software development and deciphering the future of this practice, whether it lies in low-code, generative AI, or another framework, as any changes in this fundamental domain of technology are sure to reverberate across multiple industries and indeed the wider economy.
In the last few years, the adoption of low-code frameworks and generative artificial intelligence has changed how software development is approached in many organizations. These technologies try to address the same issue with different approaches, while low-code environments look to lower the barrier of entry to software development by reducing and simplifying the coding necessary, generative AI does this by producing entire code samples for any given task. However, having two solutions to the same issue inevitably raises the question of whether one is more effective than the other and which will ultimately become obsolete or the new standard. Nevertheless, per trends observed in our AI and Machine Learning Survey Report series, the usage of both low-code frameworks and generative AI for producing code has been consistently increasing since 2019. In this instance, these technologies are not on a collision course but much the opposite; developments in one field can contribute to the growth of the other and result in an increasingly lower barrier of entry to developing software and other code. Understanding this outlook, however, first requires a careful examination of each frameworkâs competencies and role in software development.
