A JetBrains survey of over 10,000 professional developers found that 90% now regularly use at least one AI tool for coding at work. Claude Code tied Cursor for second place at 18% adoption, with the highest satisfaction score in the market at 91%.
What Happened
JetBrains ran the second wave of its AI Pulse survey in January 2026, surveying developers across eight languages worldwide. The results show AI coding tools have crossed from early adoption into standard practice, with 74% using specialized AI developer tools like coding assistants, editors, and agents.
GitHub Copilot remains the most widely known tool at 76% awareness and 29% work adoption, though its growth has stalled compared to previous surveys. The real story is the rapid rise of newer tools: Claude Code jumped from roughly 3% adoption in mid-2025 to 18% by January 2026, a 6x increase in nine months. In the U.S. and Canada, Claude Code adoption reached 24%.
Cursor matched Claude Code at 18% adoption but with slower recent growth. Google Antigravity, launched in November 2025, already reached 6% adoption in just two months. OpenAI Codex sat at 3% work adoption with 27% awareness.
Why It Matters for Creators
For creative professionals who code, whether building tools, prototyping interfaces, or automating workflows, this data confirms that AI coding assistants are no longer optional. The satisfaction gap is notable: Claude Code's 91% CSAT and 54 NPS (on a scale from -100 to +100) suggest developers who try it tend to stay. Compare that to the broader market where choosing the right AI coding tool can mean significant productivity differences.
The enterprise split is also telling. GitHub Copilot dominates at companies with 5,000+ employees (40% adoption), while Claude Code and Cursor perform strongest at smaller companies and among individual developers. If you are a freelance creator or work at a small studio, the tools your peers prefer differ from what large enterprises deploy.
Key Details
Sample: 10,000+ professional developers across 8 languages.
Top tools by adoption: GitHub Copilot (29%), Claude Code (18%), Cursor (18%), JetBrains AI Assistant (9%), Gemini (8%).
Fastest grower: Claude Code, 6x in 9 months. Highest satisfaction: 91% CSAT, 54 NPS.
Chatbot usage: ChatGPT (28%), Gemini (8%), Claude (7%) for general coding questions.
What to Do Next
Read the full JetBrains AI Pulse report for breakdowns by region, company size, and programming language. If you have not tried Claude Code or Cursor alongside your current tool, the satisfaction data suggests it is worth experimenting.
This story was covered by Creative AI News.
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