Where Is Tongyi Lingma AI Developer? A Hands-On Comparison of the New UI and Responses From Doubao and Tongyi Lingma

1. While studying “Tongyi Lingma AI Coding in Practice: A Guide to Using the AI Programmer”,
I found that the interface in the tutorial is completely different from the one I am currently using.

The tutorial shows two side-by-side windows: see Figure 1.

• AI Chat
• AI Developer

But in my current environment: see Figure 2.

• There is only one “Smart Chat” window
• Pressing Ctrl+Shift+I brings up a floating window
• I did not see two side-by-side panels

This raised a few questions for me:

1. Is my Tongyi Lingma installation normal?
2. Why is my interface different from the tutorial?
3. Has AI Developer been removed?

To resolve this issue, I asked:

• Doubao
• Tongyi Lingma itself

Below are the complete comparison results.

2. Summary of Doubao’s response (structured). See Figure 3.

New version (2.5.0+):

AI Chat + AI Developer
have been merged into:

“Smart Chat”

It internally includes:

1. Smart Q&A (formerly AI Chat)
2. File editing (formerly AI Developer)
3. Agent mode (advanced tasks)

Doubao’s explanation of the shortcut

Ctrl + Shift + I

Opens: Inline Chat

Purpose:

• Quickly modify the current file
• Explain code
• Small-scale refactoring

Doubao’s one-sentence summary:
Your interface is normal;
it is the new design, not an anomaly.

3. Summary of Tongyi Lingma’s response (structured). See Figure 4.

Tongyi Lingma’s core conclusion
The interface difference may stem from version changes:

Old version:
AI Chat and AI Developer are separate panels

New version:
They may be integrated into a single interface
Explanation of Ctrl+Shift+I
Ctrl+Shift+I:

Opens the AI Developer mode entry
Used for handling complex tasks
Tongyi Lingma’s one-sentence summary
AI Chat and AI Developer
do not have to be displayed simultaneously;
rather, they are different interaction modes.

4. Comparative analysis of both responses (the most valuable part)

Comparison Item	Doubao	Tongyi Lingma
Clearly explains version changes	✅ Clear (2.5.0+)	⚠️ Vague (possibly)
Explains UI merge	✅ Very clear	⚠️ Not specific enough
Explains shortcut purpose	✅ Detailed	✅ Basically correct
Provides usage instructions	✅ Yes	⚠️ Less
Ease of understanding	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Doubao’s response leans more toward:

“A complete explanation of the actual current situation”

While Tongyi Lingma’s response leans more toward:

“A general explanation compatible with multiple versions”

Neither is wrong,
but Doubao’s explanation is clearer and more structured.

5. Final verification: my actual test results

I conducted the following tests:

1. Pressed Ctrl+Shift+I
   → Successfully brought up Inline Chat
2. Opened the Smart Chat in the sidebar
   → Able to execute multi-file tasks
3. Entered a complex requirement:
   “Generate unit tests for the current project”

→ The AI successfully generated test code

Verification results:

The current interface is completely normal,
no functionality is missing,
only the UI structure has changed.

6. Final conclusion

Through multi-AI comparison and actual verification, it can be confirmed that:

1. The current interface belongs to the new version of Tongyi Lingma (2.5.0+)
2. AI Chat and AI Developer have not been removed
3. They have been merged into the “Smart Chat” window
4. Ctrl+Shift+I is for Inline Chat

The dual-window structure in the tutorial belongs to the old version interface,
and is not an installation anomaly.

7. Why is Tongyi Lingma’s own response not as good as Doubao’s?

This is a very valuable point to consider.

Although Tongyi Lingma is the product itself,
when explaining interface changes,
Doubao’s response is actually clearer.

This does not mean Tongyi Lingma is less capable,
but rather because:

1. Tongyi Lingma focuses more on coding capabilities
2. Doubao is better at explanatory questions
3. Different AIs have different strengths

In actual development,
it is recommended to use multiple AI tools simultaneously,
rather than relying on a single assistant.