Let It Ride on the IDE's Code Understanding
Unlike a bare LLM, JetBrains AI Assistant has the IDE's symbol index, type information, and inspections to draw on. That means context-aware completion and explanations that respect your real types and call hierarchy. Ask "what calls this method and is it safe to change the signature?" and it answers against the indexed project, not a guess.
Generate Commit Messages from the Diff
One of the highest-ROI features: in the commit dialog, generate a message from your staged changes. It produces a clear, conventional summary you can tweak — far better than the "wip" messages everyone defaults to when in a hurry.
Use AI Inside Refactorings
JetBrains is famous for safe, structural refactorings. The AI Assistant complements them: name suggestions, "explain this regex", generating docstrings, and proposing a refactor you then apply through the IDE's reliable machinery rather than free-hand edits.
Hand Larger Tasks to Junie
Junie is JetBrains' coding agent. For multi-step tasks — implement a feature, write the tests, wire it up — it plans and edits across the project inside the IDE, using the same indexes for accuracy. Give it a clear goal and review its plan and changes like a pull request.
Pick Your Model
The Assistant lets you choose among providers/models and, in some setups, use local models. Match the model to the task: a fast one for completion and commit messages, a stronger one for tricky reasoning or generation.
Run the IDE's inspections first, then ask the Assistant to fix the flagged issues in bulk. You get the precision of static analysis plus the speed of AI edits.
Ask in the Context of a Selection
Select the code first, then invoke the Assistant. Scoping to a selection gives sharper explanations and edits than a whole-file question, and keeps generated changes contained to what you meant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which JetBrains IDEs support the AI Assistant?
It works across the IntelliJ-based family — IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand, Rider, and others — sharing the same project indexes for context.
What is Junie?
Junie is JetBrains' autonomous coding agent that plans and implements multi-step tasks inside the IDE, using its code understanding for accuracy.
Can I use my own model?
The Assistant supports choosing among models and, depending on configuration, local models — useful for cost control or sensitive code.