I just finished reading the Salesforce Developer Survey 2025 report, and it’s a reality check for anyone working in the ecosystem right now. We’ve all felt the pressure to do more with AI, but this data from 240 active developers shows what’s actually happening on the ground.
Look, the market is shifting. If you’ve been feeling like you need to learn more than just Apex and Flow, you’re not alone. The survey results show a community that is working hard to stay relevant while the goalposts keep moving. Let’s break down what this actually means for your daily work and your career path.
What the Salesforce Developer Survey 2025 tells us about AI
Here’s the thing that surprised me: almost everyone is using AI tools to help them write code, but only about a third of respondents are actually building AI features for their business. That’s a massive gap. It means we’re using AI to work faster, but we aren’t necessarily “AI developers” yet.
In my experience, many teams are still stuck in the “experimentation” phase. They’re using Copilot to finish a method or explain a complex SOQL query, but they haven’t started building custom retrievers or grounding data yet. If you’re looking for a way to stand out, moving from “AI consumer” to “AI builder” is the path. You might want to look into practical Agentforce use cases to see how this looks in a real project.
So, why aren’t more people building AI projects? It usually comes down to data quality or just not knowing where to start. But the survey makes it clear that the demand is coming, and those who can bridge that gap will be the ones getting the best offers in 2025.
Key findings from the Salesforce Developer Survey 2025
- Skill Diversification: Developers are looking outside the “Salesforce bubble.” People are learning React, Node.js, and AWS to make sure they aren’t tied to just one platform.
- AI Adoption: High usage for coding assistance, but low implementation in actual business logic.
- Career Anxiety: There’s a noticeable trend of developers wanting to increase their flexibility because the ecosystem feels a bit uncertain right now.
- The Confidence Gap: Many developers feel okay with their current skills but admit they have a lot to learn when it comes to newer technologies like Data Cloud.
One thing that trips people up is thinking they can just “learn AI” later. The data shows your peers are already using these tools daily. If you aren’t using AI to speed up your unit tests or documentation today, you’re already behind the curve.
Why you should care about these trends
If you’re a hiring manager, this report is a wake-up call. You might be looking for “Salesforce developers,” but the best talent is becoming more “platform agnostic.” They want to work with modern stacks. If your org is stuck on legacy code and won’t let devs use AI tools, you’re going to struggle to keep your best people.
For those of us in the trenches, it’s about career insurance. I’ve seen teams get blindsided by layoffs because they only knew how to do one thing. Expanding your toolkit isn’t just a hobby – it’s a necessity. If you’re prepping for your next move, it’s worth checking out some developer interview questions for 2025 to see if your knowledge matches what the market wants now.
Practical advice for moving forward
So, what should you actually do with this information? Don’t just read the report and go back to your old tickets. Start by picking one “off-platform” skill that complements your Salesforce work. Maybe that’s learning how to build a middleware integration or getting comfortable with a Javascript framework.
Now is also the time to get serious about AI-assisted workflows. Don’t just use it to write code; use it to find bugs or refactor old, messy classes. The more you use it, the more you’ll understand its limitations, which is just as important as knowing what it can do.
Download the full report
The SF Ben Salesforce Developer Survey 2025 was sponsored by Heroku, and they’ve put together some great charts that go much deeper into the methodology and demographics. You can grab the full PDF here: SF Ben Salesforce Developer Survey Results 2025 Download.
Key Takeaways
- AI is currently being used more for productivity than for building new features.
- The most successful developers are learning technologies outside of the Salesforce platform.
- There is a significant gap between knowing how to code and knowing how to implement AI-driven solutions.
- Career flexibility is the top priority for most professionals this year.
The Salesforce Developer Survey 2025 shows us that the “standard” developer role is changing. It’s not enough to just know Apex anymore. We have to be part architect, part AI prompt engineer, and part integration specialist. It sounds like a lot, but it’s actually a great time to be in this space if you’re willing to keep learning. Grab the report, look at the data, and start planning your next skill upgrade.