Do developers really trust AI for coding? Stack Overflow conducted a survey.
The 2025 Developer Survey by Stack Overflow shows that 84 percent of developers use or want to use AI tools, but only 33 percent trust their accuracy, a decrease compared to 43 percent in 2024.
Trust is Declining
The biggest issue is that AI often generates “almost correct” code. Two-thirds of respondents say this creates extra work for them, while 45 percent indicate that debugging AI code takes more time than expected. Developers need to correct faulty solutions, which undermines productivity and leads to new technical debt.
Overall appreciation for AI tools dropped from 77 percent in 2023 to just 60 percent this year. Only 29 percent of developers believe AI can handle complex problems. For professional work, most reject “vibe coding”: 77 percent do not use AI output directly without human oversight.
Human Expertise Remains Necessary
Despite AI, Stack Overflow remains the primary source of knowledge according to the survey: 84 percent of developers visit the platform regularly, often precisely to correct errors in AI answers. GitHub and YouTube are also used for additional expertise.
For companies, it’s important to maintain quality. Stack Overflow advises investing more in debugging and review processes, and training developers in AI usage. Human expertise remains indispensable to avoid the pitfalls of “almost correct” code.
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