Cursor AI

What is Cursor AI?

Cursor AI was developed by Anysphere and launched as a VS Code fork with deep AI integration.

Cursor reimagined how developers write code by embedding AI models directly into the IDE. It brings AI-powered assistance into the same environment where you code, with full context awareness of your project. 

You can generate code just by giving a prompt in natural language, just like you talk to ChatGPT. The difference is that you don’t have to switch between a GenAI tool and your IDE and copy-paste code between them; you get to use Claude and other AI models inside Cursor AI. 

Features of Cursor AI

Cursor AI offers the following features.

• AI autocompletion to predict and write code as you type, and also write entire functions or blocks.

• Chat-based coding where you can give a prompt in a sidebar chat (e.g., Implement a React hook for this) and get code suggestions.

• Debugging and refactoring to automatically fix bugs, optimize code, or generate test cases.

• Multi-file editing to understand your entire codebase for context-aware changes.

• Composer mode to generate or edit code across multiple files at once.

• Shadow workspace to perform background AI iterations.

Developer Adoption & Real-World Impact

Cursor's growth reflects genuine developer satisfaction. According to Stack Overflow's 2024 survey, 72% of professional developers either use or plan to use an AI assistant in their daily workflow, and Cursor has become one of the most popular AI coding tools.

However, using AI for coding isn't without any limitations. 

A recent research has however shown that using an AI tool actually increased the code completion time by 19%. This is mainly due to the time spent in creating the prompts, reviewing and validating the generated code, and fixing mismatches between the AI’s suggestions and the developer’s actual intent.

AI tools amplify developer capability but don't replace developer judgment. The most effective use of Cursor comes from developers who know what they're building and can guide the AI toward the right solution.