AI is rapidly changing how software gets built—but knowing how to ask an AI to write PHP code is not the same thing as knowing how to use AI effectively as a software engineer.

In this hands-on, practical session, we'll explore what AI-assisted development actually looks like in a real PHP codebase. We'll move beyond simple autocomplete and code generation to examine how AI can participate throughout the development lifecycle: understanding existing code, planning changes, refactoring, writing tests, debugging, reviewing implementations, and working through problems that span an entire application.

You'll see how to give AI the context it needs, how to structure tasks so it produces useful results, and—perhaps most importantly—where AI-generated code needs to be challenged, tested, and rejected.

We'll also look at the emerging role of the developer as an orchestrator of AI-powered development, rather than simply a programmer using an AI-powered autocomplete tool.

This isn't a session about replacing developers, nor is it a collection of clever prompts. It's about building a practical development workflow where PHP expertise and AI capabilities reinforce each other.

You'll leave with concrete techniques, workflows, and patterns you can apply to your own PHP projects immediately.

Designed for PHP developers, senior engineers, tech leads, and engineering managers who are interested in incorporating AI into their development workflows. Attendees should have working knowledge of PHP and Git; no prior experience with AI coding tools is required. The session is best delivered as a 60–90 minute talk with live demonstrations and practical examples. It can also be adapted into a longer hands-on workshop. Examples will focus on modern PHP development and real-world codebases rather than toy applications.