IBM's AI coding 'partner' Bob hits general availability

AI + ML 7 IBM's AI coding 'partner' Bob hits general availability 7 80,000 internal guinea pigs, Bobcoins, mainframe dreams and a name that really should have raised more flags Joe Fay Tue 28 Apr 2026 // 17:18 UTC IBM has announced global availability of Bob, the AI coding assistant - sorry partner - which it claims has delivered a productivity boost to the 80,000 big bluers pressed into guinea pig status last year. The GA status coincides with the launch of an IBM Bob Premium Package for Z, "which integrates and enhances the capabilities of IBM watsonx Code Assistant for Z to deliver advanced features for enterprise-scale mainframe applications." IBM said in a statement it's teams that used Bob saw an "average of 45 percent productivity gains across complex, multi-step workflows." <a…

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