20% Productivity Boost: A Real-World Look at AI Coding Assistants

A 12-year-old SaaS company with 40 developers experimented with AI coding assistants, Cursor and Claude Code. Eight developers use them almost exclusively, while 11 use them about half the time. Claude excels at writing entire features, while Cursor is better for smaller changes. The AI assistants boosted productivity, particularly in repetitive tasks and understanding unfamiliar code. However, AI-generated code sometimes needs careful review, and the consistent style sacrifices individuality. The author argues mastering AI coding assistants is a crucial future skill, but ultimately, human thought remains paramount in defining software functionality.