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 to generate code, fix bugs and more. They enable smaller teams to do tasks that would cost a lot more and require additional engineers. They also cut development time for businesses to bring products to market faster. “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.” That’s the experience of Mike Stone, co-founder of customer web and mobile development firm The Gnar Company, whose clients include the state of Massachusetts, Grubhub and AARP. “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. 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.” Continue reading here.