AI Coding Assistants Boost Tech Efficiency for Small Businesses

Published Date : 02/06/2025 

Small businesses are leveraging AI-powered coding assistants to reduce development costs and enhance their digital capabilities, making it easier to compete with larger firms. 

Small businesses are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding assistants to slash their technology development expenses while maintaining competitive digital capabilities, according to industry practitioners.

AI coding assistants are tools based on large language models that can generate code, fix bugs, and more. They enable smaller teams to perform tasks that would otherwise require a larger engineering team, saving both time and money. These tools also help businesses bring products to market faster, a crucial advantage in today's fast-paced tech landscape.

“The game has changed with the advent of AI coding tools, particularly for small firms,” Lei Gao, CTO of social engagement platform SleekFlow, told PYMNTS. “They don’t need an entire engineering team anymore because now they can save money and time too by developing apps, trying out new frameworks, or automating procedures.”

Mike Stone, co-founder of customer web and mobile development firm The Gnar Company, whose clients include the state of Massachusetts, Grubhub, and AARP, described the old playbook for building a development team:

- Hire five junior developers

- Add two senior developers to mentor them

- Hope they gel as a team

- Wait six months to a year for productivity gains

With AI coding tools, Stone said the playbook has changed to this:

- Hire two exceptional senior developers

- Equip them with AI tools

- Watch them outperform entire teams

- Ship product code from ‘Day One’

“One senior developer with the right toolchain now delivers what used to take a small team,” Stone told PYMNTS.

Small businesses recognize the benefits of AI. According to a recent survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, nearly all (98%) small businesses are using an AI-enabled tool, and for good reason. “AI allows small businesses — who many times do not have the staff or resources of their competitors — to punch above their weight,” said Jordan Crenshaw, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center, in a blog post.

This data dovetails with PYMNTS Intelligence research, which shows 82% of enterprise CFOs surveyed either use AI in their accounts payable (AP) functions or are considering its adoption. Popular AI coding assistants include GitHub Copilot, Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Windsurf, Tabnine, Replit Ghostwriter, and others.

Particularly salient is the latest trend called “vibe coding,” which is a new, more intuitive way for people to write computer code using natural language — like how one would talk to a friend. Instead of writing complex code in a particular syntax, users just need to describe what they want the software program to do, and an AI model helps turn that into working code. This speeds up the creative process and lets users focus more on ideas and less on technical details.

Gao said AI coding tools give small firms the potential to move quickly by eliminating monotonous tasks and providing code concepts. “We utilize AI on our platform at SleekFlow to enhance customer engagement for businesses with limited advanced technical resources,” Gao said. “For small business players, it is doing more with less while maintaining quality and staying true to their vision.”

AI coding tools will get even better. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in April that the company plans to unveil AI that can do the work of a mid-level software engineer in 2025, with plans to scale the assistant next year.

However, Ilia Badeev, head of data science at the Trevolution Group, told PYMNTS that non-technical folks using AI coding tools can only go so far. “It is quite difficult to write a fully functional solution that will scale and continue to develop at the level of large tech companies without engineering skills or experience in industrial software development.”

Daniel Gorlovetsky, CEO at TLVTech, agreed. While solo founders and lean teams get prototypes off the ground faster, AI coding assistants “don’t replace strong engineering,” he told PYMNTS. However, they do “lower the barrier. You can go from idea to working MVP (minimum viable product) without hiring a full dev team.” That’s massive for SMBs that can’t afford $150,000+ engineers or a full-stack agency.

Still, there’s a trade-off. “AI tools can get you 80% of the way, but if you don’t know what ‘good’ looks like — clean architecture, security, scalability — you risk building something you’ll have to throw away later.” The smart approach is to use AI to move fast and test ideas. Once it works, bring in “real” developers to lock it down, Gorlovetsky said. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: What are AI coding assistants?

A: AI coding assistants are tools based on large language models that can generate code, fix bugs, and perform other programming tasks. They help developers work more efficiently and reduce the need for large engineering teams.

Q: How can small businesses benefit from AI coding assistants?

A: Small businesses can benefit from AI coding assistants by reducing development costs, speeding up product development, and maintaining competitive digital capabilities with fewer resources.

Q: What is vibe coding?

A: Vibe coding is a new, more intuitive way to write computer code using natural language. Users describe what they want the software to do, and an AI model helps turn that into working code, making the process faster and more accessible.

Q: What are some popular AI coding assistants?

A: Some popular AI coding assistants include GitHub Copilot, Amazon Q Developer, Cursor, Windsurf, Tabnine, and Replit Ghostwriter.

Q: What are the limitations of AI coding assistants?

A: While AI coding assistants can significantly speed up development, they may not replace the need for experienced developers. Non-technical users may struggle to create fully functional solutions that scale and maintain security and scalability. 

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