“What makes IBM Bob different is that IBM did not build it as another point coding assistant,” said Michael Kwok, VP of IBM Bob. “The market conversation has moved from ‘which model writes code fastest?’ to ‘which platform helps enterprises deliver software safely, repeatedly, and economically across the full lifecycle?’”
Bob is designed to address that broader problem, he said: understanding complex systems, planning changes, executing work, validating results, and giving leaders visibility into usage, governance, and cost. “IBM Bob supports the work around the code, as much as the code itself,” he said.
Bob’s new features
Bob, which was made globally available in April, embeds agentic AI across the entire development process: discovery, planning, design, coding, testing, deployment, and operations. It offers different persona-based modes (‘Agent,’ ‘Plan,’ ‘Ask’), reusable playbooks, and enforced standards.