AI Coding Tools Explained: What They Do and What They Don't

What can AI coding tools actually do? This short explainer looks beyond autocomplete to show how AI coding assistants and developer tools help generate code, explain unfamiliar projects, investigate errors, create tests, review changes, and keep documentation current. You will see how individual developers and engineering teams use these tools, from building an early prototype to helping a new colleague understand an existing codebase. We also explain the limits: AI can introduce bugs, suggest APIs that don't exist, or produce insecure code, and results vary across languages and frameworks. AI helps with repetitive work. You still bring the engineering judgment.