In this episode of Leaders of Code, Eira May, B2B Editor at Stack Overflow, and Natalie Rotnov, Senior Product Marketing Manager for the Enterprise Product Suite at Stack Overflow, unpack the key takeaways from the 2025 Developer Survey for tech and business leaders. The discussion focuses on the evolving developer relationship with AI, the continued struggle with tool sprawl, and actionable recommendations for leaders looking to deliver value and improve developer experience.
The discussion covers critical findings for tech leaders:
- The decline in developer trust in AI is linked to two main frustrations: solutions that are "almost right, but not quite" and the time wasted debugging AI-generated code.
- Human connection and community validation remain vital: 80% of developers still visit Stack Overflow regularly, and the number of "advanced questions" on the public platform has doubled since 2023, underscoring AI’s limitations when it comes to complex, context-dependent questions.
- Tool sprawl continues, as most developers use 6–10 tools, suggesting that AI tends to complicate rather than simplify workflows.
Notes:
- Explore key insights from the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, consolidated into an executive-ready summary.
- Connect with Natalie Rotnov on LinkedIn.