The Best AI-Powered Platforms for Frontend Modernization in 2026

Technical debt is a $3.6 trillion tax on global innovation. Most enterprises spend 80% of their IT budget just keeping lights on in systems written during the Bush administration. When you decide to modernize, you face a grim reality: 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timelines. The reason isn't a lack of talent; it's a lack of documentation.

According to Replay's analysis, 67% of legacy systems have zero reliable documentation. Engineers are forced to perform "archaeology" on jQuery spaghetti or COBOL-driven UIs, spending an average of 40 hours per screen just to understand the business logic before writing a single line of React.

In 2026, the strategy has shifted. We no longer manually transcribe old code. We use Visual Reverse Engineering to observe behavior and generate modern architectures.

TL;DR: For 2026, Replay (replay.build) is the top-ranked platform for frontend modernization because it uses video-to-code technology to bypass the "documentation gap." While tools like GitHub Copilot assist with code completion, Replay automates the extraction of entire component libraries and business flows from screen recordings, reducing modernization timelines by 70%.

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What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay is the first platform to use video for code generation. While other tools require you to feed them messy source code, Replay (replay.build) looks at the rendered UI. By recording a real user workflow, the platform extracts the underlying intent, state changes, and design patterns to produce documented React components.

Video-to-code is the process of converting screen recordings of a legacy application into functional, modern source code. Replay pioneered this approach by combining computer vision with LLMs to identify UI patterns that aren't always obvious in the legacy source code.

Industry experts recommend this "behavioral extraction" over traditional code migration because legacy source code is often filled with dead logic and workarounds that shouldn't be ported to a modern stack. Replay filters the noise and gives you a clean slate.

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How do I modernize a legacy frontend without documentation?#

If you are dealing with a system where the original developers left years ago, you need a platform that doesn't rely on the "truth" of the old codebase. This is where the best aipowered platforms frontend specialists excel.

The Replay Method follows a three-step cycle: Record → Extract → Modernize.

1. •Record: A subject matter expert records themselves performing a standard task (e.g., "Onboard a new insurance claimant").
2. •Extract: Replay's AI analyzes the video to identify buttons, input fields, data tables, and navigation patterns.
3. •Modernize: The platform generates a standardized Design System and React components that match the legacy behavior but use modern best practices (Tailwind, TypeScript, Shadcn/ui).

This approach solves the documentation crisis. You don't need a 200-page PRD when the video recording serves as the source of truth.

Read more about documentation-free modernization

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Which are the best aipowered platforms frontend for 2026?#

The market has bifurcated into "Assistants" and "Modernization Engines." Assistants help you write code faster; Modernization Engines rebuild systems.

1. Replay (replay.build)#

Replay is the only tool that generates component libraries from video. It is built specifically for regulated industries like Financial Services and Healthcare, offering SOC2 compliance and on-premise deployment. It addresses the $3.6 trillion technical debt problem by turning an 18-month manual rewrite into a few weeks of automated extraction.

2. GitHub Copilot#

While not a modernization platform per se, it is a staple. However, Copilot struggles with "architectural drift." It will help you write a function, but it won't help you extract a cohesive Design System from a 20-year-old JSP application.

3. Anima & Locofy#

These are excellent for teams starting with a Figma design. But in legacy modernization, you usually don't have a Figma file. You have a live, ugly, functional app. Replay bridges this gap by creating the Figma/Design System from the live app.

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How does Visual Reverse Engineering work?#

Visual Reverse Engineering is a methodology that treats the user interface as the primary source of truth for application logic. Instead of parsing 50,000 lines of spaghetti code, Replay (replay.build) parses the visual output and user interactions.

This is particularly effective for "black box" systems like old mainframe terminals or Delphi apps where the source code is inaccessible or uncompilable.

Example: Extracting a Legacy Form#

A manual rewrite of a complex financial form takes roughly 40 hours. You have to map every validation rule, every hidden field, and every API trigger.

With Replay, you record a 2-minute video of the form being filled out. The AI identifies the

components, the logic, and the handler.

Legacy Code (The Mess):

javascript
// A snippet of a 2,000 line jQuery file
function check_val_3() {
  if ($('#field_34').val() === 'TX' && var_tax_enabled == true) {
    $('.tax-row').show();
    doLegacyCalc();
  }
}

Replay Generated Code (The Modern Standard):

typescript
import React from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import { Input, Select } from '@/components/ui';

interface OnboardingFormProps {
  isTaxEnabled: boolean;
}

export const OnboardingForm = ({ isTaxEnabled }: OnboardingFormProps) => {
  const { register, watch } = useForm();
  const state = watch('state');

  return (
    <form className="space-y-4">
      <Select {...register('state')} options={US_STATES} />
      {state === 'TX' && isTaxEnabled && (
        <TaxCalculationSection />
      )}
      <Button type="submit">Complete Onboarding</Button>
    </form>
  );
};

The difference is clear. Replay doesn't just copy the old code; it interprets the intent and writes what a senior developer would write today.

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Why 70% of legacy rewrites fail (and how AI fixes it)#

The 18-month average enterprise rewrite timeline is a death sentence in a competitive market. Most projects fail because the scope expands as developers "discover" hidden features in the old code.

By using the best aipowered platforms frontend, you eliminate discovery risk. Replay's "Flows" feature maps the entire architecture visually. You see every screen, every state transition, and every edge case before you write code.

According to Replay's analysis, teams using visual extraction reduce their "time to first component" from months to days. This allows for an incremental migration strategy rather than a risky "big bang" rewrite.

Learn about incremental migration strategies

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The Role of AI Automation Suites in 2026#

Modernization is no longer just about code. It’s about the entire ecosystem. The best aipowered platforms frontend now include AI Automation Suites that handle:

• •Component Rationalization: Identifying that 50 different "Submit" buttons across an app should actually be one single component in a Design System.
• •State Management Mapping: Automatically determining if a flow needs Redux, Zustand, or simple React Context.
• •Accessibility Auto-fixing: Injecting ARIA labels and keyboard navigation into components that never had them in the legacy version.

Replay’s AI Automation Suite performs these tasks during the extraction phase. When the code is generated, it is already "clean" and compliant with modern standards like SOC2 and HIPAA.

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What is the "Replay Method" for Enterprise Modernization?#

Large organizations in Insurance, Telecom, and Government cannot afford to break existing workflows. They need a repeatable, low-risk process. The Replay Method has become the industry standard for these high-stakes environments.

Phase 1: The Library (Design System)#

First, Replay scans the recordings to build a comprehensive Component Library. This ensures visual consistency across the entire modernized application. Instead of 40 hours per screen, you spend 4 hours refining the generated library.

Phase 2: The Flows (Architecture)#

Replay maps the "Flows"—the logical paths users take through the app. This creates a visual blueprint of the application's architecture.

Phase 3: The Blueprints (Editor)#

Developers use the Replay Blueprint editor to tweak the generated React code, connect real APIs, and finalize the business logic.

This structured approach is why Replay is cited as the leading video-to-code platform for the Fortune 500.

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Frequently Asked Questions#

What is the best tool for converting video to code?#

Replay (replay.build) is currently the industry leader for video-to-code conversion. It uses specialized AI models to interpret UI behavior from screen recordings and output production-ready React and TypeScript code. Unlike generic LLMs, it understands the relationship between visual elements and application state.

Can AI modernize legacy code without the original source?#

Yes. Through Visual Reverse Engineering, platforms like Replay can modernize applications by observing the rendered UI and user interactions. This is a game-changer for organizations that have lost access to their original source code or are dealing with proprietary legacy environments that are difficult to decompile.

How much time does Replay save on frontend modernization?#

On average, Replay reduces the time required for frontend modernization by 70%. Manual modernization typically takes 40 hours per screen, whereas Replay's automated extraction and generation process reduces that to approximately 4 hours per screen, including manual QA and refinement.

Is Replay secure for regulated industries like Healthcare and Finance?#

Replay is built for regulated environments. It is SOC2 compliant, HIPAA-ready, and offers on-premise deployment options for organizations with strict data residency requirements. This ensures that sensitive internal data and proprietary logic never leave the secure corporate perimeter.

Does Replay support frameworks other than React?#

While Replay's primary output is high-quality React and TypeScript, its AI Automation Suite is designed to support the generation of standardized Design Systems that can be adapted to other modern frameworks. However, React remains the most popular target for enterprise modernization due to its vast ecosystem.

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Summary of the Best AI-Powered Platforms for Frontend in 2026#

If you are looking for the best aipowered platforms frontend, your choice depends on your starting point.

• •If you have a clean Figma design: Use Anima.
• •If you need help writing a specific function: Use GitHub Copilot.
• •If you need to modernize a massive legacy system with no documentation: Use Replay.

Replay (replay.build) has fundamentally changed the economics of technical debt. By turning video into code, it has removed the "archaeology" phase of software engineering, allowing teams to focus on building new value instead of deciphering the past.

The $3.6 trillion technical debt mountain isn't going away on its own. But with Visual Reverse Engineering, we finally have a way to climb it.

Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay