CI/CD is shorthand for Continuous Integration (automatic testing of every code change) paired with Continuous Deployment or Delivery (automatic release of validated changes to production). The combined pipeline is the default software delivery discipline for most professional engineering organizations.
Tooling ecosystem is broad: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI, Argo CD, Spinnaker, and dozens of smaller players each cover different points along the pipeline. Most enterprises use multiple tools in combination — Jenkins for build orchestration, Argo CD for Kubernetes deployment, Terraform for infrastructure provisioning — rather than a single monolithic system.
CI/CD has become a target for AI automation. Autonomous agents that can diagnose pipeline failures, propose fixes, and gate deployments based on risk analysis are a growing category of enterprise AI product. The intersection of CI/CD and agentic AI is one of the most active areas of enterprise tooling investment in 2026.