The Evolution of App Development: How Low-Code and AI Are Leading the Way

Low Code: From 4GLs to a Business Imperative 

The concept of low-code development has existed since the emergence of 4GLs (Fourth-Generation Programming Languages), which were developed from the 1970s through the 1990s. But ever since then, low code has been evolving. In their Risk and Opportunity Index: Low-Code Application Platforms research Gartner underline that; “The low-code application platform (LCAP) market is forecast to be $16.5 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3% from 2022-2027, creating a growth opportunity for current vendors and new market entrants.” 

Nevertheless, the tools that companies and development teams leverage today are far more comprehensive, empowering users with the app-building capabilities they need to drive innovation on every level, foster business growth, and achieve faster time to market – all while saving costs and boosting work efficiency. Full-featured low-code tools like App Builder now integrate AI functionalities, providing a head start and further streamlining development. 

Key Statistics 

• 95% of companies have used the tools for software development in the past 12 months. 
• 84% of tech leaders say that AI will not replace their reliance on low-code and no-code solutions, even as companies integrate AI into more parts of their business. 
• 76% say that AI will make their existing tools more efficient. 

Analysis

Interestingly, even though AI was first perceived as a threat to low code, its now believed the two technologies will work together rather than one replacing the other–and tech leaders are aligned that these tools will stick around (with only 16% of tech leaders thinking that AI will replace it.) 

More Than Just Convenience: Definition & the State of the Industry 

A low-code tool is a platform designed to streamline and automate app development, generating clean code for different frameworks. It is crafted for businesses of all sizes to cut development time and build modern-day software solutions faster. Software engineers and programmers with little coding experience can build apps without writing code line by line. Instead, they rely on a visual IDE, a comprehensive library of reusable, drag-and-drop UI components, pre-built app templates, additional options for customization and branding, code generation, real-time code preview, cross-platform accessibility, AI features, and more. 

Beyond their practical applications, failing to incorporate low code into app-building now signifies this: Businesses are put at a significant disadvantage, limiting their ability to remain competitive, agile, and scalable. 

The Changing Reasons Behind Low-Code Adoption 

Overview 

Companies’ reasons for using low-code tools have evolved. Almost half (43%) of App Builder’s survey respondents say they initially implemented these tools to improve developer productivity, and currently (37%) use them for the same reason. 

However, other reasons for companies still using the tools have changed since the initial implementation. 

Analysis 

The change in the usage motives for low code demonstrates that companies have started to prioritize more strategic initiatives. Improving developer productivity and internal workflows is still at the forefront of their goals, but more drivers emerge today. These include delivering better UX, increased end-user satisfaction, and reducing errors from hand-coding. 

Fact I: The Need for Speed: Nearly Every Company Is Saving Dev Time 

Overview 

Still, while navigating all these benefits and drivers, speed has long been a top priority in software development. Delays in deployment and prolonged development cycles have frequently impeded innovation and restricted business growth. However, these challenges are quickly being eliminated now thanks to the increasing adoption of low code. 

Key Statistics 

• Ninety-eight percent (98%) of tech leaders whose companies use low-code tools for recent or ongoing software development reported time savings. 
• Most companies (78%) saved up to 50% of development time. 

It becomes apparent that a primary reason for moving away from traditional development methods and opting for low-code app development is to improve organizational efficiency and complete projects faster. Companies can reduce the need for highly skilled developers for every project and empower every team member to contribute effectively. This, consequently, frees up development time so experienced programmers and software engineers can prioritize customizations and reallocate efforts on more complex apps.  

Fact II: Cutting Costs Within a Few Clicks 

Overview 

We know today’s software market is moving fast, with the demand for custom solutions outpacing supply and driving up app development costs. To cope with this, companies have shifted energy to establish new business models and software development processes, aiming at order-of-magnitude reductions in IT expenses and project overhead. Unsurprisingly, more than half of organizations participating in the most recent App Builder survey say low-code tools reduce costs. 

Key Statistics 

• Sixty-two percent (62%) of tech leaders report that low-code tools reduce development costs. 
• More than half of these tech leaders (67%) say they’ve reduced costs by up to 30%. 
• Ten percent (10%) say they’ve reduced costs by more than half. 

Analysis 

Low-code tools now have a major role in cost reduction. They don’t simply work as timesavers. The financial impact of these platforms is highlighted by the fact that 67% of organizations have seen cost reductions of up to 30%. More significantly, 10% of respondents reported cost reductions exceeding 50%. This clearly demonstrates that adopting low code can have positive financial effects, especially for businesses dealing with growing IT overheads. 

Fact III: Custom Is Key: The Shift Toward Tailored App Development 

Overview 

The low-code development paradigm has shifted—producing generic applications no longer suffices. It’s the era of custom apps, and that’s why one of the most significant 2025 trends in app development is the focus on creating flexible applications. This saves time and allows for innovative experimentation at the same time. 

Key Statistics 

• Significantly reduced development time is reported (42%) 
• Flexibility is rising in importance when it comes to building custom apps (29%) 
• Tailor apps to specific needs and reduce costs (27%) 

Analysis 

Business leaders expect more from low code. They want full team empowerment and the ability to align with specific business criteria and needs. And because today’s business environment is more dynamic than ever, organizations require tailored solutions to stay ahead of the curve. To achieve this, low-code tools now prioritize code flexibility. Which is a major differentiator. It is not just a technical feature. It’s a business growth enabler that supports faster time to market, better digital-driven strategies, sustainable innovation, and more productive teams. 

The most comprehensive and feature-rich low-code platforms, like App Builder, don’t have proprietary functionality. They prioritize flexibility. Developers own their code, while C-level executives are not restricted to a single vendor. Any technology decision aligns with long-term business goals. 

Fact IV: Going Beyond Productivity 

Overview 

Low code isn’t just about efficiency. It has now become a tool for implementing business strategies, too. Companies increasingly rely on these platforms to drive innovation, enhance user satisfaction, and reduce errors from manual coding practices, which consume a lot of time and slow down tasks that can otherwise be automated. 

While many of the top reasons remain the same, companies are growing reliance on the tools to allow developers to handle various challenges. 

Key Statistics 

Analysis 

Low–code platforms are visibly evolving—they’ve risen from productivity boosters to strategic business enablers. Executives and business stakeholders are becoming increasingly involved; it isn’t just about developers anymore. While technical experts and engineers benefit from work efficiency, the entire company is driven toward delivering innovation and digital transformation. 

Concerns: Why Still Resisting the Change? 

While only 5% of tech leaders reported not using low-code tools, there are still some concerns – many of which are now more myth than reality. However, it is important to outline why exactly some companies remain hesitant. 

Key Statistics 

• The tools won’t be impactful (63%) 
• Integration challenges (63%) 
• Security risks (56%) 

Following the three primary concerns, additional reasons cited by tech leaders included separation between AI and low code and prioritizing the formal, vendor lock-in risks, customization limitations, costs, and others in the graph. 

Analysis 

However, comprehensive, modern-day low-code tools are evolving fast, and even though such concerns  persist to some extent, they are far less significant today. Largely because of: 

Polished Impact & Effectiveness: Modern low-code platforms now support enterprise-grade and AI-driven automation, built and used for real-world scenarios. Comprehensive, modern-day tools like App Builder no longer provide the useless spaghetti code. Instead, they generate production-ready, pixel-perfect code that’s easy to modify. 

Seamless Integration: Today’s low-code platforms offer robust APIs, connectors, and seamless interoperability with existing enterprise systems. 

Strong Security: Low-code vendors implement enterprise-grade security, compliance standards, and governance controls to eliminate security risks associated with low-code tools. 

AI-Powered Capabilities: Low-code platforms are being improved by AI-powered features allowing for automation, data source and image generation, and more. This helps companies remain even more agile while embracing innovation and low-code trends. 

Ease of Use: Low-code tools are designed for developers and non-technical users. They deliver intuitive UI, drag-and-drop components, seamless integration, and an easy learning curve. 

Transparent and Flexible Pricing: Many low-code vendors offer affordable and cost-effective licensing models, plus free trials to test the product. 

How Does App Builder Revamp App-Building & Why Is It the New Trend-Setter? 

App Builder has become the driving force in app development, empowering teams and business stakeholders to build faster and maintain innovation. 

Drivers and Dev Benefits

• Ease of Use and Developer Freedom: Providing an intuitive WYSIWYG UI lets users quickly build apps by dragging and dropping 65+ UI components for high-performance grids, charts, templates, and more. 
• Lowering the Entry Barrier: Democratizing app development and is suitable for citizen developers and more experienced programmers. According to Forrester; “The democratization of development to workers outside of IT shows no signs of slowing down — and as citizen developer strategies mature, we believe that this relatively untapped use case will sustain a 21% growth rate for the next five years, growing to approximately $30 billion in 2028.” 
• Agility and Speed: Users can start building apps from scratch, use sample apps, or convert Figma designs to code. Then, they can generate code for Angular, React, Web Components, and Blazor, preview it, and edit it right away. 
• Customization Options: There is code flexibility, and users can easily tailor apps to unique requirements and use cases – with theming options, editable components, gen AI capabilities, and more. 
• Easy Integration: Users can leverage built-in integrations, connectors, and APIs. 
• Using and Handling Data: Including data binding, CRUD operations, and integration with any source APIs and services. There are also master-detail patterns, routing, navigation, variables management, AI-generated data sources based on plain language prompts, remote data operations, remote paging, Form Builder, and more. 

Drivers and Business Benefits 

• Scalability and Continued Innovation: Scaling business faster to meet customer needs and market changes 
• Workflow Efficiency and Developer Productivity: Low code enables “citizen developers” and less experienced programmers to build apps and handle repetitive tasks with minimal coding, using drag-and-drop components, customization options, and more. Software engineers can then focus on more complex tasks and the business logic. 
• Built-in Security: Includes essential security features.​ 
• Cost-Effective: With faster developer cycles and automated workflows. 
• Time-Efficient: Save time for developers by reducing the need for time-consuming and error-prone 

Final Thoughts: Low-Code Development Now and in the Future 

The 2025 App Development Trends report confirms that low-code tools are here to stay, with low-code adoption at an all-time high. Even more so, the low-code paradigm is now more closely intertwined with AI technologies to redefine the industry and how companies craft solutions. The low code plus AI power combination provides teams and businesses with new perspectives for innovation while ensuring agility, business growth, digital transformation, cost efficiency, and time effectiveness. 

As highlighted and explained by Jason Beres, Sr. VP of Development Tools at Infragistics; “Companies’ use of low-code and no-code tools have steadily increased over the past decade–and today these solutions are critical to how developers, designers, CIOs and others build scalable applications and effective development processes. Now, as AI converges with low-code and no-code, we’ll see an entirely new paradigm emerge that will change how apps are built, who can build them and how fast it can happen,” said Jason Beres, SVP of Developer Tools, Infragistics. 

Key Takeaways 

• 95% of companies confirm they leverage these tools for recent (past 12 months) or ongoing software development. 
• Companies began implementing low-code tools (43%) and are currently using low-code tools (37%) to improve developer productivity. 
• 98% of tech leaders report significant development time savings, and 62% cite cost reductions. 
• Most companies (78%) saved up to 50% of development time. 
• Low-code moves away from generic app-building, prioritizing custom application development. 
• AI will not replace low-code tools, with 76% of tech leaders expecting AI to improve efficiency. 
• 62% of analyzed companies that use low-code tools reduced software development costs. 
• 52% of the organizations that reported cost reductions due to low-code usage reduced their development costs by 10-29%. 

Preparing for the Future 

As industries move forward, companies are expected to amplify the low-code use for faster, cost-effective, and tailored app development. As a strategic imperative, low-code tools will reposition teams’ and companies’ efforts toward a more collaborative approach to software development that scales capabilities and keeps up with the fast-moving market. 

You can find the full report here. 

Survey Methodology and Source of Data 

The insights and findings presented in this whitepaper are based on data from 2025 App Development Trends report, which was conducted in partnership with Dynata, a global leader in first-party data collection and insights. Dynata surveyed 300 U.S. tech leaders and C-level executives across a range of industries and demographics, gathering a comprehensive view of low code and the impact of AI on app development.