Code generation is the most common application of AI today. Major tech companies are in a race to develop the best AI programmer assistants for commercial use, indicating the growing importance of this technology.
If you’re a developer or business owner who wants to utilize AI programming assistants, you may be wondering what tools are best to use. With so many options available now, choosing the right one can have a significant impact on productivity and results.
Cursor AI
Cursor AI is a tool I’ve mentioned in previous articles due to its unique features. I have personally used it to build my own web applications, so I can attest to its capabilities.
The way it works is to simply tell the AI what you want to create. Cursor will automatically add the changes to the file and even highlight the changed code sections. All you have to do is accept or reject the changes.
To get started with Cursor AI, go to their website and download the installer. Install the application on your computer and log in with your account.
Also, if you encounter any errors during development or execution, there is a “Debug with AI” option to help you quickly troubleshoot the problem.
Bolt.new by Stackblitz
Bolt.new, developed by StackBlitz, is a browser-based AI development environment that allows you to create, run, edit and deploy complete web applications right in your browser.
It uses WebContainers technology, which means it runs entirely in the browser, not on remote servers, allowing you to quickly create secure and isolated environments for developers.
- It writes code from scratch;
- Creates files;
- Fixes bugs and warnings.
I experimented with Bolt for a few weeks and concluded that it does the best job of generating code for the frontend. While it can generate code for the backend, its quality falls short of that of Cursor AI.
My first impression is that Bolt understands prompts better and knows where to generate files. On the other hand, Cursor’s IDE-based format gives me more control over file structure, which some developers may like better than Bolt’s browser-based customization.
V0 by Vercel
V0 is an assistant specializing in web technologies and frameworks that helps you generate functional code and user interfaces with simple text prompts.
V0 has been around for a few months now, but it seems to have only started actively updating in recent weeks. Perhaps Vercel has been jeopardized by the growing popularity of Bolt?
A few months ago, V0 could only generate a single NextJS code file, but now it can already generate full-scale projects with a single prompt.
ChatGPT
You might not have expected to see ChatGPT on this list, but it really deserves the third position. Why? Because a few days ago OpenAI released a feature that allows ChatGPT to access the source code in your desktop applications like Xcode and VS Code.
The new application control button on the desktop is located next to the web search button, and when you click on it, it displays a list of compatible applications that you can enable/disable.
Claude Artifacts by Anthropic
If you don’t already know, Claude can write code and display the results right in the chat interface. The only downside is that the code consists of separate files and you can only create simple applications with it.
This Claude feature is implemented in Claude 3.5 Sonnet, which is one level below the most powerful model, Opus.
And that’s just the beginning. By 2025, we’re likely to see even more advanced programming tools. Anthropic’s “Computer Use” feature already allows Claude to control a user’s computer with simple interactions. Imagine you could tell the AI to create an app and it would do everything for you using various tools on your computer. ChatGPT’s recent “Work with” feature is also moving in this direction, allowing it to access Xcode and VS Code to write and debug code.
If you’re a developer, it’s important to know about these tools and the rapid changes in generative AI for programming. And if you’re a business owner, understanding how these tools can optimize processes and improve productivity can make a huge difference to your business.
