Merge request backlogs are the silent productivity killer in modern DevOps. While CI/CD pipelines move fast, human code reviews often lag behind — delaying features and draining focus. This blog explores how integrating AI-powered reviewers, like CRken, into GitLab pipelines can transform the process. By delivering instant, actionable feedback, LLM-based tools reduce review times, improve code quality and let developers focus on what really matters: architecture, not formatting.