Why AI Skills Are Now a Must-Have for Developers in 2025

Study Overview

Ingl​asides a recent study titled “2025 Application Development Trends Report” conducted by Infragistics in partnership with Dynata, which surveyed over 300 U.S. technology leaders between December 2024 and January 2025. The report reveals that AI and machine‑learning skills have become a baseline requirement for developers.

Key Findings on Hiring Priorities

71% of respondents said they would not consider hiring developers who lack AI/ML expertise. Additionally, 30% identified hiring qualified developers as one of their biggest challenges this year.

Beyond AI, 53% of leaders are seeking developers with cloud‑computing skills, while 35% prioritize problem‑solving ability and secure‑coding practices.

Leadership Perspective

Infragistics COO Jason Beres notes that AI is rapidly transforming how enterprises build applications, streamlining workflows and reducing security risks. However, without a technically proficient team, AI alone cannot drive these changes. Investing in developers skilled in AI and ML is essential for innovation and competitive advantage.

Additional Challenges

Other major concerns include cybersecurity threats (45%), AI implementation hurdles (37%), and retaining qualified developers (35%).

AI Adoption in Development

87% of development teams already incorporate AI into their processes. Among companies not yet using AI, 45% plan to adopt it within the next year, indicating rapid growth in AI adoption.

Common AI use cases include automating repetitive tasks (40%), generating layouts and pages (34%), and error detection.

Approximately one‑third of leaders believe AI frees developers from mundane tasks, allowing more time for creative and strategic work.