Kuala Lumpur, September 28, 2026 — Digital travel platform Agoda has released its AI Developer Report 2026, highlighting how software developers across Southeast Asia and India are increasingly moving beyond the use of artificial intelligence (AI) assistants for individual tasks towards deploying autonomous AI agents across the software development lifecycle.

The report examines how the growing adoption of AI is changing the way developers work, how organisations manage technology costs and where human oversight and accountability remain important. The study draws on insights from the developer community across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and India, providing an overview of the opportunities and challenges shaping the next phase of AI adoption across these markets.

According to the report, developers are experiencing stronger productivity gains from AI compared with the previous year. More than half, or 55 per cent, of respondents now report saving at least seven hours each week through AI, up significantly from 18 per cent in 2025. The usability of AI-generated code has also improved, with 62 per cent saying such code is usable often or almost always without requiring major changes.

AI is increasingly being applied across a broader range of software development activities, extending beyond code generation to areas such as code review, system architecture, debugging, learning and documentation. Despite these advances, human judgment remains an important part of the development process, with 86 per cent of respondents saying they still review or validate AI-generated outputs always or most of the time.

The report also highlights the growing presence of autonomous AI agents within organisations. More than half, or 53 per cent, of respondents said AI agents are already being used either in selected production workflows or more broadly across their organisations. However, only 38 per cent consider their codebase to be mostly or fully ready for completely autonomous AI agents, suggesting that adoption is progressing alongside ongoing efforts to prepare systems and processes for greater levels of automation.

Cost remains the leading barrier to wider AI agent adoption, cited by 28 per cent of respondents, followed by integration complexity at 24 per cent and a lack of governance at 19 per cent. The report notes that the cost of AI extends beyond model usage itself, with organisations also needing to account for the resources required to design, integrate, review and validate AI agents. Four in five respondents said they are currently operating under some form of AI usage limitation, including token quotas, usage caps or budget restrictions.

As AI agents become increasingly capable, developers are also becoming more selective about the level of autonomy they are willing to grant them. Lower-risk and reversible tasks, such as documentation, are viewed as areas where greater autonomy can be introduced. However, human oversight becomes more important when AI-generated work moves closer to production, with 79 per cent of respondents reporting that human approval is required before production deployment.

The increasing use of AI is also influencing the skills expected of software developers. Areas such as system architecture and design, AI literacy and agent orchestration are emerging as important capabilities as developers adapt to AI-assisted workflows. However, perceptions of the impact on career prospects vary across levels of seniority. The report found that 49 per cent of junior developers feel less secure about their future career prospects, compared with 17 per cent of CTO and VP Engineering respondents.

Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer at Agoda, said artificial intelligence is reshaping how developers across Southeast Asia and India build, learn and collaborate. He noted that what began primarily as a tool for accelerating individual tasks is evolving into a broader transformation of how software is developed, with developers increasingly using AI agents across different stages of the development lifecycle.

According to Zalzberg, the increased capabilities of AI also bring new responsibilities, particularly when it comes to ensuring that AI systems can be trusted in production environments. He highlighted the importance of managing costs carefully, implementing appropriate safeguards and maintaining human judgment in areas where it remains essential.

The study was commissioned by Agoda and conducted in partnership with Macramé Consulting. Through the report, Agoda aims to contribute to the understanding of AI adoption among technology professionals in the region while supporting local technology talent, encouraging innovation and promoting responsible approaches to AI development.

As a digital travel and technology company operating across the region, Agoda’s technology ecosystem extends beyond AI development. The platform currently offers more than 6 million holiday properties, over 130,000 flight routes and more than 300,000 activities, with travellers able to combine different travel services within the same booking experience.

The findings of the Agoda AI Developer Report 2026 underline the continued evolution of AI in software development, as organisations move from experimenting with AI-assisted tasks towards integrating increasingly autonomous systems into their workflows. At the same time, the findings highlight the continuing role of human oversight, cost management and governance as businesses determine how far AI can be deployed across their technology operations.

For more information and to download the free report, visit the Agoda AI Developer Report 2026 website.