AI Coding Agents

AI Coding Agents are autonomous or semi-autonomous AI systems that perform software development tasks independently or in collaboration with human developers. Unlike traditional code-completion tools like IntelliSense, these agents operate at a higher level of abstraction: they analyze requirements, plan implementation steps, write code, execute tests, and iterate based on feedback. Examples include Claude Code by Anthropic, Cursor with its integrated AI assistant, and OpenAI's Codex. These systems combine large language models with tool calling, file access, terminal commands, and sometimes browser automation to tackle complex development tasks. The key difference from passive assistance systems lies in the agent architecture: they run their own loop (Agent Loop) where they plan, act, observe results, and adapt their strategy—similar to a human developer in miniature.