In conversation with CIO&Leader, Jayanth Saimani, DE, Mid-Market, DFY & IES on why developers are moving from writing code to shaping intent in the age of Generative AI
CIO&Leader: How is the role of a developer evolving in the age of Generative AI?
Jayanth Saimani: AI is changing the trajectory of software engineering. The developer’s role is shifting from writing code to shaping intent. Now that Generative AI is handling more of the routine coding tasks (the “how”), developers are freed up to focus on higher-level strategic tasks (the “why”) to solve customer problems with speed and at scale to drive significantly greater business impact.
Foundational to our approach in the midst of this shift has been our proprietary Generative AI Operating System (GenOS). It’s our “paved road” for driving development velocity across the Intuit tech ecosystem for thousands of developers across disciplines (software developers, product managers, AI scientists, machine learning engineers, data analysts, etc.). Over the past three years, this has enabled Intuit to fuel innovation with unparalleled speed for our approximately 100 million consumer and small- and mid-market business customers—not only keeping pace with rapid technological industry advances but setting the pace—by melding the best of artificial intelligence and human intelligence on our platform.
Like many companies, we’ve also benefited from AI-assisted coding tools. In fact, we’ve seen up to 40 per cent faster coding using generative AI code assistants.
CIO&Leader: In Intuit’s vision of “Vibe Coding”, how do developers and AI collaborate as creative partners?
Jayanth Saimani: Intuit does not have a vision for vibe coding, per se, but vibe coding has proven to be a useful productivity tool, enabling developers to use high level, multi-modal prompts via a combination of text, images, and even voice to have a conversation with the AI. In contrast to traditional prompting via a keyboard, it’s faster and more intuitive, helping free up developer time from rote work. Developers provide the intent and creative direction defining how an experience should function, while AI rapidly generates, iterates, and refines prototypes. This is just one of many AI methodologies emerging, but it’s unique in how it elevates the developer’s strategic role.
CIO&Leader: A real-world example where Vibe Coding improved trust or creative clarity.
Jayanth Saimani: Vibe Coding is a methodology and a mindset that transforms how our developers approach design and prototyping, but I wouldn’t characterize it as a practice that improves trust or creative clarity.
CIO&Leader: With AI learning from user workarounds, how do you ensure responsible evolution?
Jayanth Saimani: The very nature of AI systems is to learn from user behaviour. Intuit’s core strategy is to deliver highly personalised, AI-driven experiences at scale to its entire customer base, including consumers, small businesses, and mid-market businesses. This is accomplished through a unified, data-rich platform architecture powered by their proprietary Generative AI Operating System (GenOS).
Intuit’s AI-driven expert platform and products are built in keeping with our commitment to data privacy, security, and responsible AI governance. Intuit safeguards customer data and protects privacy using industry-leading technology and practices. We adhere to responsible AI principles that guide how we operate and scale our AI-driven expert platform with our customers’ best interests in mind.
CIO&Leader: How is Intuit preparing engineering teams for this new era of co-creation?
Jayanth Saimani: At Intuit, we are driving an intent-first development approach that fundamentally changes how our teams build. To succeed, every technologist—from front-end, back-end, UX/UI, to data specialists must share an AI-native mindset.
Our engineers are actively embracing artificial intelligence in their daily work. To enable this, we have provided our builders with access to powerful AI coding tools, including Qodo, Windsurf, and Cursor.
Developers experiment with Vibe Coding, prompting AI with intention and creative context rather than just syntax. For example, initiatives like Global Engineering Days, a weeklong code-a-thon that brings together Intuit technologists from all corners of the globe twice a year for a festival of innovation, bring cross-disciplinary teams together to rapidly prototype AI features alongside designers and product partners.
CIO&Leader: Why is India’s developer ecosystem uniquely positioned to lead creatively focused software design?
Jayanth Saimani: India’s developer community has always thrived on creative problem-solving and deep customer obsession—a mindset that perfectly aligns with Vibe Coding’s philosophy of creative ingenuity and strategic focus. The talent here is adept at translating abstract human challenges into scalable digital solutions, often for diverse audiences with varying levels of tech fluency.
As global software shifts from transactional to relational, India’s ability to code for both function and creativity gives it a defining edge. It’s not just about building faster; it’s about building smarter and truer: creating Agentic AI experiences grounded in trust, clarity, and strategic customer obsession across all realities.
CIO&Leader: Does India’s cultural and linguistic diversity give it an edge in training creatively focused AI systems?
Jayanth Saimani: Developers in India are uniquely attuned to nuance, constantly navigating multiple languages, dialects, and cultural contexts, which naturally sharpens their ability to design technology that understands and adapts to human complexity.
By combining technical depth with this cultural awareness, our teams ensure that innovation reflects real human behaviour and a focus on creative problem-solving.
CIO&Leader: Will the next decade of software creation be defined more by automation or strategic focus?
Jayanth Saimani: The future of technology is about automation in service of strategic focus. While tools and languages evolve, the core of great engineering remains the same: solving the right problems for our customers. The “soul” of great engineering remains constant. Even in an AI-driven era, three core pillars haven’t changed:
- The Priority of the Customer: Innovation is meaningless without empathy. We still start with the customer’s problem, ensuring that every AI agent is solving a real-world pain point.
- The Rigor of the Craft: As AI handles repetitive logic, the importance of robust architecture, security, and clean “intent” only grows. Great software still requires a disciplined foundation to be reliable at scale.
- The Power of the Team: Software is a team sport. AI can generate code, but it cannot replace the collaborative spark that happens when diverse minds come together to solve a mission.
As AI handles repetitive tasks, Intuit developers remain focused on building financial tools that instill confidence. The most successful products are those users describe not merely as “smart,” but as “transparent”, “reliable”, or “strategically useful”. Creativity becomes the ultimate differentiator in an automated world, a subtle, human superpower that shapes trust, loyalty, and the true impact of technology.