State of Docs Podcast

GitBook

The State of Docs podcast brings you the conversations behind the research. Each year, the State of Docs report captures how the industry thinks about documentation — and this is where you hear it straight from the people who do the work. Interviews with technical writers, developer advocates, and developers who own docs, on the tools, workflows, and ideas shaping how we build and maintain documentation. Produced by GitBook.

Épisodes

  1. 13 oct.

    The tech writer as the product's first user | State of Docs Podcast

    Most technical writers will tell you the job involves much more than writing. In this episode of the State of Docs podcast, host Tal Gluck talks with Rutva Safi, a senior technical writer at Gantner, where she documents digital locker management systems — both the hardware and the software that runs it. We discuss what the role looks like day-to-day, how AI has changed where her time goes, and why the human side of the work still can't be handed off to an LLM. Rutva sees herself as the first user of the product. She connects the hardware to the software herself before writing an installation guide, and she files tickets for the bugs she runs into along the way, including the ones that only show up once she starts recording a screen capture for the docs. We talk about how she works with product managers and business analysts as the solo writer on her project, and why information architecture matters more now that docs are written for both people and AI. Rutva also explains how she sets up a separate AI agent for each audience her docs serve, and why she tells writers who are worried about AI to learn the tools rather than fear them. Some of the questions we cover: - What does a technical writer do besides writing? - How do you document a product that combines hardware and software? - How can technical writers use AI without losing accuracy? - How do you write docs for different audiences with AI agents? - Why does information architecture matter more when AI reads your docs? - What advice would you give a technical writer who feels uncertain about AI? Topics covered: the technical writer as the product's first user, documenting hardware and software together, technical writers as QA, AI as a writing assistant, hallucinations and human review, persona-based documentation, AI agents for different audiences, information architecture for humans and AI, working as a solo technical writer, translation and glossaries, and career advice for technical writers. State of Docs is an annual research initiative tracking trends in technical writing, developer documentation, and knowledge management. This podcast releases the full conversations behind the report. Read the 2026 report here: https://www.stateofdocs.com/2026 GitBook transforms documentation into an intelligent knowledge system that connects content, context, and AI — so your docs don't just exist, they actively learn and get better over time. Learn more: Learn more: ✨ Get started for free: https://app.gitbook.com/join 📚 Explore the docs: https://gitbook.com/docs 🌐 Visit GitBook: https://gitbook.com

  2. 22 sept.

    A code pattern and a cliche: AI and the written word | State of Docs Podcast

    Technical writing isn't disappearing in the age of AI — it's being redefined. In this episode of the State of Docs podcast, host Tal Gluck talks with Eric Holscher, co-founder of Write the Docs, and a foundational figure in the modern documentation community. We discuss what AI is doing to the written word: where writers still matter, where agents are pulling ahead, and how the craft holds its value as the ground shifts.Eric draws a sharp line between a code pattern and a cliché — the same move of leaning on what came before, but a virtue in code and a failure in prose — which is why AI has surged ahead on code while, as he puts it, the value of the written word has never been higher. We talk about why "the writing is the part where you do the thinking," the rise of the "context gardener" as a new kind of documentation role, what the Write the Docs salary survey reveals about the profession right now, and why being visibly, verifiably human becomes a real advantage as AI-generated content floods the web.Some of the questions we cover:- Will AI replace technical writers?- How is AI changing the role of the technical writer?- Why is AI better at writing code than documentation?- Do AI coding agents actually read your docs?- What new skills do technical writers need in the age of AI?- How can you benchmark your salary as a technical writer?- How do you stand out when hiring is flooded with AI-generated applicants?Topics covered: AI in technical writing, the future of the technical writer role, writing for AI agents vs. humans, whether coding agents read documentation, the Write the Docs community and salary survey, context and the "context gardener" role, human authorship in the age of AI, docs as marketing for open source, and career advice for technical writers.Check out Write the Docs at: https://www.writethedocs.org/State of Docs is an annual research initiative tracking trends in technical writing, developer documentation, and knowledge management. This podcast releases the full conversations behind the report.Read the 2026 report here: https://www.stateofdocs.com/2026GitBook transforms documentation into an intelligent knowledge system that connects content, context, and AI — so your docs don't just exist, they actively learn and get better over time. Learn more:Learn more:✨ Get started for free: https://app.gitbook.com/join📚 Explore the docs: https://gitbook.com/docs🌐 Visit GitBook: https://gitbook.com

  3. 17 juin

    Carbon and Iron: the human role in AI-era documentation | a conversation with Fabrizio Ferri-Benedetti | State of Docs Podcast

    Technical writing isn't disappearing in the age of AI — it's being redefined. In this episode of the State of Docs podcast, host Tal Gluck talks with Fabrizio Ferri Benedetti, Principal Technical Writer at Elastic and author of the documentation blog Passo.uno, about the human's role in AI-era documentation: where writers still matter, where the work is being automated, and how technical writers stay valuable as the craft changes. Fabrizio borrows a phrase from Isaac Asimov — "carbon and iron" — to describe what the most valuable technical writers will be: not human or machine, but a fluent combination of both. We talk about why the "human in the loop" is the question keeping him up at night, how documentation is splitting into content written for machines and content written for humans, why writers "should have gotten nerdier earlier," and why human authorship — a real name and a real face on the docs — becomes more valuable, not less, as AI-generated content floods the web. In this conversation, we answer: - How is AI changing the role of the technical writer? - What skills do technical writers need to stay relevant in the age of AI? - Will AI replace technical writers? - How do you prove the value of documentation to leadership? - What is documentation observability, and how do you measure docs impact? - How should documentation be written differently for humans and for LLMs? Topics covered: AI in technical writing, the future of the technical writer role, human-in-the-loop documentation, writing docs for LLMs, documentation observability and metrics, docs as a product, content strategy and system thinking, and career advice for technical writers. Check out Fabrizio's blog at: https://passo.uno/ State of Docs is an annual research initiative tracking trends in technical writing, developer documentation, and knowledge management. This podcast releases the full conversations behind the report. Read the 2026 report here: https://www.stateofdocs.com/2026 GitBook transforms documentation into an intelligent knowledge system that connects content, context, and AI — so your docs don't just exist, they actively learn and get better over time. Learn more: Learn more: ✨ Get started for free: https://app.gitbook.com/join 📚 Explore the docs: https://gitbook.com/docs 🌐 Visit GitBook: https://gitbook.com

  4. 20 mai

    Why AI makes good docs more important, not less | State of Docs Podcast

    Good documentation doesn't just support your product — it is your product. In this episode of the State of Docs podcast, we talk with Shahed Nasser, Head of DX at Medusa, about how a developer-first open source platform thinks about documentation: building a custom docs platform from scratch, measuring what actually matters (hint: it's not page views), and why the best feedback about your docs often has nothing to do with your docs directly. We also get into AI — not just as a writing tool, but as a lens for finding knowledge gaps, simulating user journeys, and understanding why good documentation is more critical in the AI era, not less. This conversation took place a couple of months ago, and some of Shahed's workflows have evolved in that time. You can read more about that here: https://medusajs.com/blog/up-to-date-docs-with-agentic-automation/ Topics covered: technical writing workflow, docs as a product, measuring documentation impact, indirect feedback, AI in technical writing, search analytics, developer experience, open source documentation, and the future of the technical writer role. State of Docs is an annual research initiative tracking trends in technical writing, developer documentation, and knowledge management. This podcast shares some of the fuller conversations behind the report. Read the 2026 report: https://www.stateofdocs.com/2026 Learn more about Medusa: https://medusajs.com/ GitBook transforms documentation into an intelligent knowledge system that connects content, context, and AI — so your docs don’t just exist, they actively learn and get better over time. Learn more: ✨ Get started for free: https://app.gitbook.com/join 📚 Explore the docs: https://gitbook.com/docs 🌐 Visit GitBook: https://gitbook.com

  5. 28 avr.

    From Caboose to Product Manager: How Technical Writing is Reinventing Itself | State of Docs Podcast

    Technical writing is changing fast — and not in the ways most people expect. In this episode of the State of Docs podcast, we talk with Sarah Dugan, GitBook's first dedicated technical writing and documentation lead, about the evolving role of technical writers in AI-powered products, how developer documentation is becoming a core driver of product success, and what it takes to build a documentation strategy that actually scales. Topics covered: AI in technical writing, docs as a product, measuring documentation impact, developer documentation best practices, and the future of the technical writer role. State of Docs is an annual research initiative tracking trends in technical writing, developer documentation, and knowledge management. This podcast releases the full conversations behind the report. Read the 2026 report here: https://www.stateofdocs.com/2026 GitBook transforms documentation into an intelligent knowledge system that connects content, context, and AI — so your docs don’t just exist, they actively learn and get better over time. Learn more: ✨ Get started for free: https://app.gitbook.com/join 📚 Explore the docs: https://gitbook.com/docs 🌐 Visit GitBook: https://gitbook.com

  • 5 épisodes

À propos

The State of Docs podcast brings you the conversations behind the research. Each year, the State of Docs report captures how the industry thinks about documentation — and this is where you hear it straight from the people who do the work. Interviews with technical writers, developer advocates, and developers who own docs, on the tools, workflows, and ideas shaping how we build and maintain documentation. Produced by GitBook.

Informations

  • Création
    GitBook
  • Années d’activité
    2026
  • Épisodes
    5
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © GitBook
  • Site web de l’émission
    State of Docs Podcast