Supercharging App Modernisation with AI: Top Tools for Developers

Application modernisation has become a top priority for organisations looking to stay competitive. Legacy systems hold back innovation, slow down delivery, and increase costs. The good news is this: AI-powered development tools are changing the game. They enable developers to re-architect, re-platform, and reimagine applications faster than ever before.

In this post, we explore the top AI tools developers can use to accelerate app modernisation and help teams ship modern, cloud-ready, and scalable applications at speed.

1. GitHub Copilot – Your AI Pair Programmer

GitHub Copilot uses OpenAI’s Codex model to assist developers by generating code, suggesting functions, and even writing documentation. For modernisation projects, Copilot helps:

1. Refactor legacy codebases faster

2. Generate boilerplate code for APIs and microservices

3. Speed up language migrations (e.g., .NET Framework to .NET 8)

   
   

2. AWS CodeWhisperer – AI for Cloud-Native Refactoring

AWS CodeWhisperer is purpose-built for developers working in the AWS ecosystem. It offers intelligent code recommendations, but its real value lies in accelerating cloud adoption. Developers can:

1. Auto-generate AWS SDK calls

2. Migrate on-prem workloads to serverless or containerised services

3. Modernise apps to fully exploit AWS capabilities

   
   

3. Tabnine – Enterprise-Grade AI Code Completion

Tabnine focuses on secure, team-trained AI assistance. Unlike general-purpose AI copilots, Tabnine can be fine-tuned on your company’s proprietary code. This makes it ideal for modernisation initiatives where:

1. Consistency across a large development team is critical

2. Legacy systems require domain-specific patterns

3. Intellectual property must stay private

   
   

4. Google Duet AI – AI for Cloud Transformation

Part of Google Cloud’s AI offerings, Duet AI integrates into development workflows to simplify app transformation. With Duet AI, developers can:

1. Generate code optimised for Google Cloud services

2. Simplify API integrations and data modernisation

3. Automate infrastructure-as-code for hybrid deployments

   
   

5. LangChain + Vector Databases – AI for Legacy Integration

Modernisation is not just about code. It is also about making old data accessible. LangChain (an AI framework) combined with vector databases like Pinecone or Weaviate helps teams:

1. Build conversational AI on top of legacy data

2. Expose insights from old systems via modern interfaces

3. Accelerate migration of unstructured data to cloud-native platforms

   
   

Final Thoughts

Modernisation is no longer a slow, multi-year grind. With AI tools embedded into every stage of development, teams can move faster, reduce risk, and unlock new capabilities. Whether you are migrating codebases, refactoring architectures, or reimagining legacy systems, AI should be at the heart of your strategy.

At Elixion, we help organisations harness these tools to modernise applications at speed and bridge the gap between legacy and future-ready systems.