This article is based on Uttam Tripathi’s outstanding talk at the 2024 Developer Engagement Summit. As a DMA member, you can enjoy the complete recording here.
AI is no longer just a buzzword; it’s reshaping how we live, work, and build – and it’s revolutionizing how developers engage with new platforms and technologies.
This article explores how AI is transforming developer relations (DevRel) and what you can do to stay ahead.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- The impact of AI on developer relations
- How AI can streamline developer engagement and support
- Practical ways to incorporate AI into your DevRel strategy
Let’s dive in.
AI: The fourth industrial revolution
By now, you’ve probably heard it a hundred times: we’re living through the fourth industrial revolution. But what exactly does that mean?
It all started back in late 2022 when ChatGPT first launched, and suddenly, AI was all anyone could talk about. People were amazed, saying things like, "This is the end of Google as we know it." And since then, there’s been no looking back. The technology has advanced at breakneck speed, with more and more companies entering the space.
It’s safe to say that AI is driving this revolution. Just look at the streets of San Francisco – self-driving cars are becoming a common sight. For visitors especially, it’s a bit unsettling. But these are just the early signals of what’s to come. We’re at the start of a long journey, and just like we saw with the mobile revolution, it’s the developers and builders who will shape the future.
Big companies will provide the platforms, but real innovation – the kind that solves local problems – will come from developers and builders.
The role of developers in the AI revolution
Right now, everyone’s eyes are on generative AI, but the focus will eventually shift toward on-device capabilities, driven by concerns over privacy and security.
That’s where developer relations (DevRel) comes in. Our job is to take these platforms and make them accessible to developers around the world, so they can create solutions for their communities. We must ensure these developers have a great experience and use the technology in a responsible, safe, and positive way.
The solutions that come out of this AI-driven revolution will span across industries. We’ll see advancements in healthcare, transportation, drug discovery, and even in the everyday tasks that people do. This is the big wave of change that’s already underway, and it’s only going to keep growing.
AI’s impact on developer relations
AI is not just transforming technology – it’s also changing how we approach developer relations. For years, we’ve done DevRel in a certain way, but AI is here, and it’s going to shake things up.
You’ve probably seen the headlines about AI transforming people’s jobs, and DevRel won’t be immune to that. Our roles will evolve, and the key to staying ahead is embracing AI and using it to innovate. By doing so, we’ll ensure that we’re not only keeping pace with change but leading it.
Teresa Garanhel
The developer journey: From connection to champions
In most companies, the developer journey follows a similar path. Here’s a simplified view of how it usually works.
Phase one: Connect
Your goal in the first phase of the developer journey is to ensure that third-party developers know your API or platform exists.
You can do this in the following ways:
- Creating introductory content
- Showing up at meetups
- Running your own events
- Participating in third-party conferences
- Being active on social media.
In short, the focus is on visibility – making sure developers can find you.
Developer Marketing Alliance
Phase two: Engage
Once developers know about you, the next step is to build relationships and educate them on how to use your product.
You want to make sure they complete any prerequisites needed before they can start working with your platform. This is where your “how-to” content and code samples become crucial. Post-event engagement, such as follow-up workshops, also plays a big role here.
Phase three: Adoption
Once you’ve engaged your developer audience, it’s time to turn your focus to adoption.
Chances are, your CFO is asking about the return on investment (ROI) from all the resources spent on developer relations. While it’s important not to tie everything directly to revenue, adoption is the metric you want to highlight. It shows that more developers are using your products and launching their own projects with them.
The quality of your documentation, the ease of use of your software development kits (SDKs), and the support services you provide will be key in driving that adoption.
Phase four: Advocacy
Ultimately, the aim is to turn developers into champions. When developers are so satisfied with their experience that they start advocating for your product, you know you’ve succeeded. An enthusiastic developer promoting your platform can be far more powerful than any internal team member.
Innovating the developer journey with AI
AI offers an opportunity to innovate at every stage of this developer journey. Let’s explore some examples of how AI is transforming the process, starting with the connect phase.
Using AI to create introductory content for developers
Creating introductory content like blog posts is essential to the first phase of the developer journey. Thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, much of this content can now be automated.
These tools are already being used to produce blog posts and other intro-level content at scale, which means we need to rethink how we build our DevRel teams. Instead of hiring people to handle all the content creation manually, we can now leverage AI to handle the repetitive tasks, freeing up our teams to focus on more strategic, high-value work.
Reimagining documentation with AI
The next element to consider is documentation, which is key to driving adoptions as developers visit your site to find the information they need to get started.
Historically, we've tried to anticipate what developers are looking for and organized our documentation around that. But now, technology gives us the chance to let developers tell us what they want.
Imagine a search box where a developer types exactly what they’re looking for, and the relevant information is immediately populated. Or, instead of wading through pages of documentation, they could ask for a two-minute video that summarizes your platform, or maybe a ten-minute one if they need more detail.
The technology to make this a reality isn’t far off. Just look at the demos from OpenAI and Google earlier this year – automated videos based on user prompts are becoming a possibility. This could completely transform the way we structure not only our documentation portals but also the video content that supports them.
AI also opens up opportunities to personalize the learning experience for each developer. Some developers prefer text-based learning, while others might learn better with videos or interactive chat assistants that can answer questions in real time as they watch tutorials.
This personalized learning journey could be the future of developer relations, creating a more tailored and effective experience for every individual.
AI-driven developer support
Another area ripe for innovation through AI is developer support.
Once your API gains traction and more developers begin using it, questions will inevitably flood your support communities and forums. While you can hire more customer support engineers, there's always a point where they become overwhelmed, especially if they're not fully trained to handle all the queries.
This can quickly become a major problem. A developer might try out your platform, hit a snag, post a question on your forum – and get nothing but crickets in return. That’s a sign of an inactive ecosystem, and it’s a fast way to lose developer interest. With limited attention spans and tight schedules, developers will quickly move on to a different platform if they don’t get the support they need.
AI-driven solutions could dramatically improve responsiveness and prevent these support gaps from happening. Instead of relying solely on manual responses, you could automate a portion of your support queries.
This sounds obvious, but when you look at how many companies are currently handling support, automation isn’t happening at the scale it could. Ideally, AI should be automating responses for common queries, freeing up your team to handle the more complex issues.
Capturing the pulse of your developer community with AI
One of the final areas AI can revolutionize is how you capture the pulse of your developer community. As a developer relations professional, it’s crucial to understand what’s happening within your community – what kind of engagement we’re seeing, and more importantly, what the top pain points are.
Imagine going into a quarterly business review with your stakeholders and presenting a slide that highlights the top five challenges developers are facing – without having to run costly surveys.
The good news is that this data already exists. Developers are constantly giving us this information through their questions on support forums, the feedback they give to developer advocates, and the signals picked up by the developer relations and marketing teams.
By consolidating this information in one place, and using AI to derive insights from it, you can present a clear picture of the community’s needs and challenges.
There are also valuable signals to be captured from your web portal. For example, where are developers dropping off in their journey from registering to downloading the SDK, to exploring links and getting started? By identifying these drop points, you can improve and automate the journey, making it more efficient and user-friendly.
Investing in these areas can lead to huge efficiency gains – something that’s incredibly important in today’s environment of constrained budgets and pressure to do more with less.
Freeing up time for relationship-building
One of the greatest benefits of using AI in the ways I’ve outlined is the time it saves. By automating much of the manual work in DevRel – whether that’s answering support queries, collecting feedback, or optimizing documentation – you free up time for building relationships. After all, relationships are at the heart of developer relations.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if AI could handle the repetitive tasks, allowing you to spend more time attending meetups, going to conferences, and engaging with developers face-to-face? That personal connection is something AI can’t replace, but it can create the space for you to focus on it.
At Qualcomm, we’re working to implement some of these innovations ourselves. This focus on refining the developer journey is part of a broader strategy to build an entire engine for our developer go-to-market efforts. As Qualcomm embarks on its next wave of growth, we’re making sure that the developer experience is front and center, driving that growth forward.
Summary: Embracing the AI revolution in developer relations
In summary, we’re living through the fourth industrial revolution – an AI-driven transformation.
The first wave of this revolution is already making its way into consumer products, but the real game-changer will come when platform companies expose their APIs and platforms to developers. This will enable builders and developers to create solutions that span industries, cross regional boundaries, and solve everyday problems. And that’s where the DevRel comes into play.
DevRel is at the forefront of ensuring that the developers building on your platform have the best possible experience. It's about helping them get unblocked quickly and supporting them in achieving their goals.
Qualcomm has been leading the way in technology innovation for years, but more recently, we've been doubling down on the opportunities AI presents, especially in supporting third-party developers.
However, it's not just the developer's job that will be transformed by AI – our own roles in DevRel are going to evolve too. The key is to challenge ourselves, embrace AI, and look for ways to make our lives easier by implementing these technologies in thoughtful and safe ways. By automating certain tasks, we can free up time to reinvest in meaningful, human-centered engagement.
