Editor-first workflow
Cursor works best when the team wants AI inside the editor rather than in a separate browser tab. That small difference matters because most productivity gains come from reducing context switches, not from generating longer answers.
The editor is particularly useful for medium-sized repositories where new contributors need to trace patterns quickly. Inline edits, file-aware chat, and refactor loops shorten the time between understanding a change and shipping it.
Best way to evaluate it
It is less compelling as a generic chatbot and much more compelling as a coding surface. That distinction is why teams evaluating developer tools should judge it against IDE workflows, not against standalone LLM apps.
In practice, its value comes from keeping developers in flow while still making AI assistance readily available at the point of change.