Engineering leadership in the age of AI: Insights from GitHub
May 6, 2025 // 2 min read
What GitHub data reveals as the top priorities for modern engineering teams.
Published via GitHub Executive Insights
The developer tech stack is shifting, which means that the notion of who a developer is and what they do is evolving, too. With powerful AI models rapidly changing the development landscape, the most nimble business and engineering leaders are embracing generative AI to keep pace.
Our latest white paper, Engineering Leadership in the Age of AI: Insights from GitHub, distills findings from our 2024 Octoverse report—which explores all public data from GitHub’s global base of developers—to give leaders like you the knowledge to navigate these changes and leverage them for strategic advantage.
You’ll also find critical insights into the latest trends in AI, the rise of Python, and the growth in global developer activity, enabling you to make strategic investments in the technology and talent that will help you win.
What’s inside the white paper:
- How a 98% year-over-year surge in public generative AI projects on GitHub underscores how AI experimentation has moved from curiosity to mainstream development
- The importance of investing in agentic AI to compress workflows with new multi‑agent systems that can plan, generate, and validate code (and security fixes) autonomously
- Specific guidance for leaders on how to equip teams with the right tools and strategies to stay competitive.
This asset was designed to be your comprehensive guide to understanding the current landscape, making informed decisions, and giving your teams what they need to excel in the age of AI.
Key takeaways for business and engineering leaders:
- AI coding tools are now central to software development
- AI is driving productivity (up by 55%) and improving code quality
- Developers are shifting toward more efficient AI models that reduce compute and operational costs
- AI agents (e.g., GitHub Copilot Autofix and Copilot Workspace) are extending developer capabilities
- AI is attracting more developers and expanding talent pools
- AI-powered security tools are helping bridge the cybersecurity talent gap
Generative AI has moved from a curiosity and area of experimentation to a core reality in today’s software development lifecycle. With the emergence of more powerful AI models and agentic AI, the scope of what these technologies can help engineering teams achieve is only expanding.
Read the white paper to learn what this shift means for organizations, along with strategic insights on how to guide your teams in the months, quarters, and years ahead.
Want to learn more about the strategic role of AI and other innovations at GitHub? Explore Executive Insights for more thought leadership on the future of technology and business.
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