Agentic Software Engineering (often shortened to ASE) is a way of building software where AI “agents” don’t just suggest code - they take on goal-driven jobs across the whole development workflow. Instead of you prompting a tool line-by-line, you give a higher-level objective (like “add passwordless login” or “fix the flaky test”), and an agent can plan the steps, change multiple files, run tests, write docs, and iterate until it reaches a working result. Think of it like moving from “smart autocomplete” to “a junior engineer that can actually pick up a ticket,” while you stay in charge.
Deepen your understanding of how generative AI can transform technical strategy and innovation by exploring the AI Agent Organizational Strategy for Leaders course on Coursera*. This course offers practical insights into applying AI-driven approaches like agentic design within real-world business and engineering contexts, making it a perfect complement to the concepts discussed here. 👉 Enroll now and strengthen your ability to lead AI-powered projects.
The “agentic” part means the system has some agency: it can make decisions, sequence tasks, and take actions with limited supervision - within constraints you set. In practice, ASE often looks like a small team of specialized agents: one reads requirements and drafts a plan, another implements, another writes tests, another updates documentation, and a coordinator agent keeps them aligned. Visually, imagine a cockpit-style “mission control” for your repo: you set the destination, the agents fly the route, and you monitor checkpoints (diffs, test results, and review notes) before anything lands in production.
What makes ASE different from regular AI coding tools is the workflow depth. A typical copilot helps you type; agentic software engineering helps you finish. This is because it can operate over time, revisit earlier decisions, and verify work (for example by running tests or checking build output). That said, the human role becomes even more important: you’re not “replaced,” you’re the editor-in-chief and safety officer—defining acceptance criteria, limiting permissions, reviewing changes, and deciding what ships.
ASE is exciting because it can compress cycles (plan → build → test → document) and make teams faster, but it also raises real-world concerns: cost, reliability, and governance. Not every “agentic” product is truly agentic (some are just rebranded chatbots), and many organizations are learning that without strong guardrails - like audit trails, access controls, and clear human review - agentic projects can stall or get scrapped. Done well, though, Agentic Software Engineering is simply software engineering with capable AI coworkers, working inside a structured process you control.