Odds are, you’ve noticed that things are changing rapidly in the digital space. Over the past two years, no one can deny the ripple effect caused by artificial intelligence (AI). This is essentially Pandora’s Box, and opening it has forever changed things (like custom software development).
But change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Companies of all sizes now have access to the same tools and technology once reserved for the big players. AI lets you build software products in new and exciting ways, keeping costs low and outcomes big.
Harnessing the power of AI in an effective, responsible, and productive way could help you gain a huge competitive advantage. This blog kicks off a series looking at how machine learning (ML) and AI impact custom software solutions and change the development process.
How AI Software Development Empowers Product Customization
AI has a profound impact on software development, revolutionizing how we we build, test, deploy, and maintain applications. Moreover, AI supports cutting-edge technologies and custom software solutions that were previously limited to the imagination.
While AI might feel like a hot topic, it isn’t a new one for the software industry. For more than a decade, industries have been considering the potential benefits and challenges of AI technologies.
In 2016, Evans Data Corp. found 29% of software developers already felt the pressure to adapt or be replaced by AI. Early tools included debuggers, compilers, and open-source coding platforms to support development. For those navigating these waters early on, finding ways to work with — not against — AI makes all the difference in the world. Professionals can use this technology to solve problems faster and more effectively than ever before.
- Accelerate delivery by streamlining and automating repetitive tasks
- Improve outcomes with fast and thorough machine-based testing
- Increase insights from vast amounts of data processing
- Reduce costs with more efficient creation processes
- Customize effectively with lower costs and increased insights
Xperity Vice President of Engineering, Amit Yadav, notes, “AI-enabled software development is changing the limits for software development companies. It influences the pricing and timelines, making these intricate, one-off projects fall within scope. And it changes what’s even possible. Because of this, we are looking towards the future and how we can leverage these tools to best serve our customers.”
What is Applied AI?
Technology has rapidly evolved, with AI at the forefront of today’s trends. Applied AI simply brings artificial intelligence onto the scene with real-world administration. AI could impact everything around us. For example, the application of smarter technology can help reduce costs, improve decision making, and help companies get the competitive edge with their tech solutions.
Applied AI includes machine learning and can improve software in many ways.
Fast processing: AI provides human-like decision making to improve creativity and reduce errors by introducing context.
Tireless application: Unlike the rest of your workforce, AI doesn’t sleep or have a bad day — it can automate redundant tasks.
Improved efficiency: Applied AI helps speed up processes and cut down on wasted time or effort.
Responsive solutions: Software can use AI to react to users in real time, improving the experience with relevant solutions.
What is Generative AI?
For some applications, AI can use deep-learning models to create images, text, videos, music, and more. ChatGPT is probably the most well-known form of generative AI; when the user enters instructions, the AI software produces a generated answer in text. Generative AI can use random samples to create its outcome, or it can be trained on data specific to its use.
Companies can use generative AI within their solutions in a number of innovative ways.
Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots can help users in real time with complex questions by being trained on company-specific data and natural language processing (NLP) while holding onto a set of answer parameters.
Explainer videos: Giving AI a face, voice, and script, companies can use generative AI with text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities to produce new videos without the hassle of a real video session.
Training courses: AI can generate immersive labs and virtual training scenarios that help participants learn course material and explore training concepts.
Style consistency: When trained on the look and feel of a brand, AI can help manipulate new or existing images, videos, and text to keep everything consistent.
3D shaping: AI isn’t restricted to only generate flat images; generative AI can be used to create 3D shapes in real-time for virtual reality or augmented reality scenarios.
Security: Since AI can be trained to generate and understand code, it can help catch or fix bugs within an application.
Product updates: Generative AI can rapidly analyze a code and determine if it’s more cost-effective to retool or recreate the software to achieve specific outcomes.
How Does Machine Learning Impact Custom Software Product Creation?
Machine learning (ML) and AI capabilities disrupt software development as we know it. As a result, things will never be the same. Advanced technology impacts everything from the creation process to the capabilities of the products.
How is AI software development revolutionizing today’s creation process?
Automated code generation: Developers can harness AI to support code creation after being trained on large codebases and programming patterns.
Bug detection: Code can be improved through AI support in catching vulnerabilities and errors.
Data augmentation: AI can synthesize or expand on existing data to solve for issues of data scarcity.
Adaptive design: Generative AI can follow existing design principles to create interfaces and experiences in products that align with the brand.
Formalizing specs: AI can use NLP to understand descriptions of software requirements and then transform them into code.
Language translation: Developers can use AI to quickly change their code from one programming language to another, expanding compatibility across platforms.
Code refactoring: To improve performance and maintenance, generative AI can suggest refactoring options.
Software analysis: AI can determine how a software works, run tests, and suggest additional functions.
The Shift to Next-Generation Software Development
AI’s newest wave of releases shapes and evolves traditional capabilities, leading to next-generation software development.
Xperity President Mark Rivers explains, “We serve independent software vendors who are asking, ‘What can AI do for my product?’ It’s more than just a buzzword — AI has become practical and companies are looking to plug into that advantage.”
According to McKinsey, custom software developers will focus on adding new and innovative features as AI helps automate repetitive tasks. Because of this, AI drives the wave of next-gen software development and impacts a huge number of sectors. These changes include highly technical industries that want to solve repetitive tasks:
- Financial Services
- Healthcare Systems and Pharmaceuticals
- Manufacturing Processes
- Retail
- Hospitality
- Media
However, it’s important to consider the challenges of AI for sensitive industries. There are valid concerns surrounding intellectual property (IP), data privacy, regulatory compliance, legal changes, behavioral vulnerabilities, and ethical issues.
AI Software Development Through Xperity
To support better custom software products, Xperity uses AI as a supplemental tool throughout the design and deployment processes. Yadav says there are many key areas where the Xperity team uses AI to support faster, more robust, and truly custom software solutions, including:
- Supportive Code Generation
- Software Review
- Predictive Analytics
- Testing and Quality Assurance
- Continuous Integration and Deployment (CI/CD)
- Personalized User Experience
- Code Refactoring and Optimization
- Version Control
- Project Management and Organization
- Threat Detection
AI continues to evolve and support new applications in software development, helping developers build smarter, more efficient, and more secure applications. However, it’s important to remember that AI is a tool; human expertise and oversight remain essential for responsible and successful software development. Xperity partners with brands as an extension of their team to provide custom software development solutions.
Want to learn more about what our team has done with AI tools for real customers? Check out this case study on how our team used Bluetooth Beacons to provide smart notifications to retail customers in the area.
