In a clear sign of how deeply artificial intelligence is reshaping product development, Spotify has disclosed that its top engineers have not written a single line of code since 12/2025.
The disclosure came during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, where co-CEO Gustav Soderstrom explained that an internal AI system named Honk has taken over most coding tasks. The system has helped the company speed up feature development and shorten release cycles across its platform.
Honk is an in-house system built on technology from Anthropic and is tightly integrated with Slack to allow real-time code deployment. The tool enables engineers to manage bug fixes, add new features, and deploy updates almost instantly. Rather than manually writing code, engineers now guide the AI with instructions and later review and approve its output.
The shift to AI-led development has significantly accelerated Spotify’s product rollout pace. In 2025, the company introduced over 50 new features and updates to its streaming app. In early 2026, it launched AI-powered Prompted Playlists, Page Match for audiobooks, and About This Song within a short span of weeks.
According to Soderstrom, such rapid delivery would not have been possible without AI supporting engineering teams and handling much of the execution work behind the scenes.
While AI now performs a large share of coding, Spotify stressed that human engineers remain central to the development process. Their responsibilities are evolving from writing repetitive code to supervising AI-generated work, designing system architecture, and making key product decisions.
As Soderstrom summed it up during the call: “Honk handles execution. Humans handle judgment.”
The development reflects a broader shift across the tech industry, where AI is increasingly becoming a core part of how software is built, tested, and deployed.
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