The Rise of Agentic AI: How Software Development is Shifting from Coding to Orchestration
For years, developers spent the majority of their time within the integrated development environment (IDE). Today, that’s changing. Increasingly, developers are finding themselves delegating tasks to AI agents, signaling a fundamental shift in how software is built. The IDE remains key, but it’s no longer the central hub.
The IDE’s Reign and the Three Waves of AI
For three decades, the IDE – from Turbo C and Visual Studio to IntelliJ and VS Code – was the cockpit of software development. These tools focused on assisting developers with editing, navigating, refactoring, debugging, and building code. The core principle was “human writes code, tools assist,” optimizing the loop between intent, and implementation. The developer was the bottleneck, making decisions at every keystroke.
The introduction of AI into the developer workflow unfolded in three distinct waves. Wave 1 brought AI into the IDE as a feature – autocomplete, inline edits, and chat sidebars, exemplified by GitHub Copilot. The IDE hosted, and AI was a guest. Wave 2 moved AI into the terminal, enabling agents to execute higher-level instructions like fixing failing tests or refactoring services, with tools like Gemini CLI and Claude Code. The terminal became a workspace for agents, marking the beginning of them taking over traditional IDE tasks.
We are now witnessing Wave 3: desktop control planes designed for multi-agent, long-running, parallel task management. Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and OpenAI’s Codex desktop app are early examples, hinting at a trend where agents handle various development tasks traditionally performed in an IDE.
What is an Agent Control Plane?
An agent control plane is a desktop application that coordinates:
- Tasks – what needs to be done.
- Tools – what the agent can use.
- Permissions – access to local resources.
- Context – knowledge about the codebase and project.
- Review – developer approval or rejection of output.
This goes beyond IDE-first workflows, enabling parallelism (multiple agents working simultaneously), long-running jobs (test suites, refactors running in the background), and system-level actions (reading/modifying files, running commands within defined boundaries). OpenAI’s Codex app supports offloading long-running tasks to the cloud.
The IDE: From Orchestrator to Verification Tool
The shift doesn’t mean the IDE is obsolete. It’s being demoted from the orchestration layer to a verification and debugging surface. IDEs will become places to review agent-produced code, debug subtle errors, and handle precise editing where human judgment is critical.
Apple recently integrated OpenAI Codex and Anthropic’s agents into Xcode, demonstrating that established IDE vendors will fight to maintain their central position. The battle isn’t IDE versus agent; it’s about where orchestration lives.
The Shifting Competitive Landscape
If orchestration moves above the IDE, the competitive landscape changes. IDE-first companies face pressure, as the editor risks becoming commoditized. JetBrains, for example, must decide whether to become the best review/debug surface or build and control the orchestration layer. Microsoft, owning Visual Studio, VS Code, and GitHub Copilot, faces a complex situation, potentially preferring to embed orchestration into existing surfaces rather than build a competing product. Google, with its CLI-first approach via Gemini CLI, has an opening to promote orchestration across surfaces without cannibalizing an IDE business.
What Could Change This Trajectory?
Three counterarguments deserve consideration. First, IDEs might deeply integrate agents, recapturing the orchestration layer. Second, desktop control planes could fragment attention, as developers already juggle many tools. Third, security and compliance requirements might constrain agent actions, consolidating orchestration within enterprise toolchains.
The Evolving Job Description
The IDE used to be where software was created. Now, it’s where software is verified and reviewed. This shift from editing to orchestration is already happening with tools from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Apple. The future battleground will be trust – auditing, provenance, and the ability to answer the crucial question: who did what in this codebase, and can I verify it?
FAQ
What is an AI agent in software development?
An AI agent is a tool that can autonomously perform coding tasks, such as fixing bugs, refactoring code, or writing new features, with minimal human intervention.
Will IDEs become obsolete?
No, IDEs will remain valuable tools for debugging, reviewing code, and making precise edits. However, their role is shifting from orchestration to verification.
What is an agent control plane?
An agent control plane is a desktop application that coordinates tasks, tools, permissions, context, and review processes for AI agents.
What are the benefits of using AI agents in software development?
AI agents can save developers time, reduce errors, and automate repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more complex and creative work.
