How to leverage AI in the App development industry

Photo by Claire Satera on Unsplash

As Archimedes once said:

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

Leverage is everything in our day-to-day lives. If you want to keep up with the rest of the world and build wealth, leverage is important. In today’s world AI is the new leverage and in this blog, you will learn about “How to leverage AI in the app industry”.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we build, document, and maintain mobile and web applications. Below, we explore practical strategies for integrating AI into your app development process.

1. Automating Documentation Generation

Maintaining up-to-date documentation for every function and module is crucial but time-consuming. AI can streamline this process:

• Custom AI-Powered Generators: Train ChatGPT-based models on your codebase to produce context-aware documentation. By fine-tuning with internal repositories, you ensure that generated docs align with your project’s architecture and terminology.
• Enterprise Subscriptions: Leverage enterprise-level AI subscriptions to manage context windows and reduce hallucinations. Allocating dedicated tokens per team member helps maintain accuracy and consistency.

Benefits: Faster documentation updates, improved onboarding, and reduced knowledge gaps.

2. Accelerating Code Drafting

Writing boilerplate code — such as XML layouts, model classes, or API interfaces — can be repetitive. AI tools can handle initial drafts, freeing developers to focus on core business logic:

• GitHub Copilot & Cursor AI: Integrate AI assistants in your IDE (VS Code, Android Studio, Xcode) to generate code snippets on demand.
• Live Editing Extensions: Use specialized extensions (e.g., Cursor AI for VS Code, Copilot for Xcode) to refine code in real-time, ensuring seamless integration with existing code.

Benefits: Reduced development time, fewer trivial errors, and faster prototyping.

3. Enhancing Architectural Design

AI can serve as a creative partner when designing system architectures, particularly for complex features like real-time communication:

• Prompt-Based Brainstorming: Start with high-level prompts (e.g., “Design a real-time WebSocket architecture for our Android SDK”) to explore multiple architectural options.
• Iterative Refinement: Review AI suggestions, adapt them to your project’s requirements, and optimize for performance and scalability.

Benefits: Broader idea generation, accelerated design cycles, and informed decision-making.

4. Ensuring Quality through Human Oversight

While AI can generate and optimize code, human expertise remains essential:

• Contextual Review: Developers must validate AI outputs against the codebase’s architecture, business logic, and security requirements.
• Specialized Knowledge: Deep domain expertise — understanding system interconnections and business context — ensures code quality and maintainability.

Benefits: Maintains code integrity, prevents AI-induced errors, and upholds project standards.

5. Building a Culture of Documentation

AI tools perform best when fed high-quality input. Establish rigorous documentation practices to enhance AI performance:

• Comment-Driven Development: Encourage developers to write detailed comments and docstrings for functions, classes, and modules.
• Continuous Documentation Audits: Regularly review and update the documentation to reflect code changes, ensuring AI models have accurate training data.

Benefits: Improved AI accuracy, smoother onboarding, and comprehensive code understanding.

6. Preparing for the Future of AI in Development

As AI models evolve, they will gain deeper contextual awareness, potentially operating as local models with full access to company codebases. To stay ahead:

• Invest in Specific Knowledge: Cultivate specialized skills — combining domain expertise (e.g., microeconomics) with coding — to add unique value beyond AI capabilities.
• Focus on Oversight & Innovation: Shift developer roles toward strategy, architecture, and creative problem-solving, using AI as a collaborative tool.

Benefits: Future-proof careers, sustained competitive advantage, and leadership in innovation.

I hope you enjoyed this short article on leveraging AI in the App development industry. If you want to learn more, here is an interesting podcast for you:

I recently talked with Ishaan Jain, he talked about:
- Working as an Engineer Manager
- Getting hired as an Android Developer
- How to leverage AI in the app development Industry.