AI coding tools are creating unprecedented scale challenges for CI/CD systems, with 90% of developers now using AI according to the 2025 DORA report. Platform teams are experiencing bottlenecks as AI-generated pull requests flood merge queues and CI throughput becomes a critical constraint even for smaller teams. Five key requirements emerge for modern CI systems: scalability to handle machine-paced development, composability to support diverse AI workflows, adaptability for dynamic pipeline execution, programmability in general-purpose languages, and governability to maintain control and prioritization. Buildkite addresses these needs with new agentic workflow components including MCP server integration, model provider connections, universal pipeline triggers, SDK support for dynamic pipelines, and AI-powered plugins for build analysis.
Table of contents
What the last 12–18 months have taught usThe five requirements for CI todayThe path forward with BuildkiteSort: