Microsoft is quietly redefining who gets to build software. By testing Anthropic’s Claude Code across teams in Experiences + Devices and CoreAI, the company is enabling designers, product managers, and non-engineers to create early-stage prototypes without waiting for traditional engineering cycles.
This move builds on a striking data point revealed earlier by CEO Satya Nadella: 20–30% of Microsoft’s internal code is already AI-generated. What’s changing now is not just how much code is written by AI, but who is empowered to write it.
The strategic implication is significant. Software creation is shifting from a specialist-only activity to a more collaborative, intent-driven process, where ideas can be translated into working prototypes using natural language. For Microsoft, this shortens feedback loops, reduces dependency bottlenecks, and accelerates experimentation across teams.
From an organisational perspective, this signals a deeper transformation in workforce capability and productivity models. AI is no longer positioned as a developer productivity tool alone it is becoming a cross-functional creation layer, blurring the lines between design, product thinking, and engineering.
The Claude Code pilot also reflects Microsoft’s multi-model AI strategy. Rather than relying on a single provider, Microsoft is testing best-in-class tools for specific use cases, reinforcing resilience and flexibility in its AI stack.
Long term, this approach could reshape enterprise software teams entirely. As AI handles more of the translation from idea to execution, engineers may increasingly focus on systems architecture, safety, and scalability, while non-technical teams gain hands-on agency in building.
Microsoft’s experiment points to a future where coding becomes a universal business skill, not a gated technical function and where AI acts as the connective tissue between creativity and computation.
