AWS Unleashes Kiro: AI Agent That Codes Independently for Days

Amazon Web Services announced a major leap in AI automation on Tuesday. The cloud giant unveiled three new “Frontier” AI agents at its re:Invent conference. The most advanced agent, named Kiro, is designed to write and manage software for days without human help.

This development marks a shift towards persistent AI workers in software development. AWS CEO Matt Garman introduced the agents during his keynote address. The news was widely reported by major outlets including Reuters and The Associated Press.

How the Kiro Autonomous Agent Operates

The Kiro autonomous agent is built for spec-driven development. It learns a company’s coding standards by observing how teams work. The agent scans existing codebases and tools to understand specific practices.

It then uses that knowledge to tackle complex tasks from a backlog. AWS claims Kiro maintains “persistent context across sessions.” This means it doesn’t forget its mission, allowing it to work autonomously for extended periods.

Garman gave a concrete example of its use. He described updating a piece of critical code used by 15 different applications. Kiro could handle all 15 updates from a single prompt, he said.

Broader Ecosystem and Competitive Landscape

The other two agents complete a software development pipeline. The AWS Security Agent independently identifies and suggests fixes for security flaws. The DevOps Agent tests new code for performance and compatibility issues automatically.

This trio aims to automate the entire software lifecycle. Amazon’s push reflects a broader industry race for capable AI agents. Competitors like OpenAI have also announced models designed for long-duration tasks.

Experts note a key challenge remains AI accuracy and hallucination. Developers often prefer short, verifiable tasks to avoid “babysitting” the AI. However, expanding context windows is a critical step toward more reliable agentic work.

The release of the Kiro autonomous agent signals a new phase of AI integration into core engineering. If successful, it could fundamentally reshape how software is built and maintained across the industry.

Info at your fingertips

What makes the Kiro autonomous agent different from other AI coders?

Kiro is designed for long-duration, independent work. It learns organizational coding standards and maintains persistent memory across tasks, allowing it to operate for hours or days on a single assignment.

How does the AWS Security Agent work?

It acts as an automated security reviewer. The agent scans code as it is written, identifies potential vulnerabilities, and proactively suggests fixes to developers, integrating security earlier in the process.

What practical task did AWS demo with Kiro?

AWS CEO Matt Garman demonstrated updating a critical piece of code used by 15 different software applications. Kiro was tasked with making all necessary updates across the entire codebase from one instruction.

Are these AWS AI agents available now?

Yes, preview versions of all three Frontier agents are available. Developers can access them through AWS to begin testing the autonomous coding, security, and DevOps capabilities.

What is the main challenge for AI agents like Kiro?

The primary hurdle remains accuracy and reducing hallucinations. While longer context windows help, ensuring the AI produces reliable, production-ready code without constant human verification is the ultimate goal.