Although AI adoption among developers continues to rise, confidence in the reliability of AI-generated output remains shaky. A recent comprehensive survey by Stack Overflow shows that 84% of software developers are either already integrating AI tools into their workflow or intend to do so—up from 76% the previous year. Despite this growing usage, only 33% of developers express trust in the accuracy of AI tools, marking a noticeable drop from 43% in 2024.
Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey:
Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey gathered insights from more than 49,000 developers across 177 nations, making it one of the most extensive yearly assessments in the tech community. It’s widely regarded as a reliable indicator of how AI is being received in the development world.
The latest findings reveal a dip in both confidence and positive sentiment toward AI. The approval rating for AI has dropped to 60%, falling from 72% in 2024 and 77% in 2023, signaling a steady decline in enthusiasm among developers.
“The growing lack of trust in AI tools stood out to us as the key data point in this year’s survey, especially given the increased pace of growth and adoption of these AI tools. AI is a powerful tool, but it has significant risks of misinformation or can lack complexity or relevance,” said Prashanth Chandrasekar, CEO of Stack Overflow, in a statement.
Majority of developers still steer clear of advanced AI agents:
When it comes to adopting AI agents, over half of developers either avoid them entirely or rely on more basic AI tools. Additionally, 38% have no intention of integrating AI agents into their workflow.
On the flip side, among those who do leverage AI agents, 70% reported a noticeable drop in the time required to complete development tasks, while 69% observed a boost in overall productivity. That said, only 38% believe AI agents have actually enhanced the quality of their code. As for vibe coding, a large majority—72%—said they aren’t engaging in it at the moment.