- Feature
- Use AL language intelligence from AI agents and other editors
- Availability
- Generally available (October 2026)
- Industry focus
- Software development houses and digital agencies
Software houses and digital agencies are increasingly asked to build on Business Central. A client wants an e-commerce integration, a customer portal or a mobile app connected to their ERP. These firms have strong engineering teams and established tools, but AL development has traditionally meant Visual Studio Code. Business Central 29.0 loosens that tie.
The industry challenge
A digital agency or software house typically has:
- Developers who prefer different editors and IDEs
- AI coding agents built into their workflow
- Standard tooling for code review, refactoring and automation
When Business Central work arrives, the team has had to adopt VS Code to get full AL language intelligence: completion, go-to-definition, find references, rename and formatting. AI coding agents that work outside VS Code got much weaker support for AL, because they couldn't use the project-aware intelligence the AL extension provides.
That made Business Central projects feel like a special case. They needed different tools, different habits and often different people.
What Microsoft delivered in Business Central 29.0
According to Microsoft, teams can now run the AL language server as a standalone component. It provides completion, navigation, references, rename, formatting and other project-aware features through the Language Server Protocol (LSP), outside Visual Studio Code.
Microsoft says this lets teams use full AL language intelligence in AI coding agents and in any development environment that supports LSP, without needing VS Code as the client. It opens AL development to more editors and agent-driven workflows, while keeping accurate project-aware navigation and refactoring.
Where the value shows up
| Business area | Impact for a software house or agency |
|---|---|
| Talent | Developers can work on Business Central in tools they already know |
| AI productivity | Coding agents get accurate AL intelligence, not guesswork |
| Code quality | Safe rename and reference search in any LSP editor |
| Delivery model | Business Central projects fit standard engineering workflows |
| Market opportunity | Easier to take on Business Central integration work |
The strategic gain is that Business Central stops being an island. Agencies can staff projects from their wider team and bring their AI tooling with them.
A worked scenario
Consider a digital agency that builds e-commerce sites and customer portals (an illustrative example). A wholesale client asks it to build a B2B portal that reads stock, prices and order history from Business Central, plus a small AL extension to expose the data the portal needs.
The agency's developers use a different editor and run an AI coding agent as part of every project. Before 29.0, the AL part of the job would have gone to the one developer comfortable with VS Code and AL.
With Business Central 29.0, the agency connects its editor and AI agent to the standalone AL language server. The agent can navigate the base application, find references and propose a correctly structured API page. A front-end developer makes a small change to the extension using the same editor they use for the portal. The project runs as one team rather than two.
Adoption considerations
- Check editor support. Confirm your editor or agent framework supports LSP well.
- Standardize configuration. Share language server settings across the team so results are consistent.
- Keep AL expertise in reviews. New tools make AL easier to write, but experienced review is still essential.
- Mind environment access. Language intelligence may need symbols and connections to Business Central environments. Secure them properly.
- Combine with other agent features. Object discovery and ID allocation help agents produce code that compiles.
The bottom line
For software houses and digital agencies, Business Central projects are an opportunity, but only if they fit the way the team already works. The standalone AL language server in Business Central 29.0 brings full AL intelligence to more editors and to AI coding agents. That makes Business Central work easier to staff, faster to deliver and more natural for modern engineering teams.
If your agency is starting to take on Business Central work, it's worth talking to an experienced adviser about tooling, standards and the AL skills your team will need.
Source: Microsoft roadmap 573338