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The DevRel Revolution

5 min read
DevrelTech Writer

Devrel

AI scales your content. It doesn't scale your relationships. Double down on the latter.

Tech Writer

Same. Your voice and accuracy are the moat.

The DevRel Revolution

TL;DR

  • AI can draft talks, write tutorials, and answer forum questions. It can't build trust, read a room, or represent your product with authenticity.
  • DevRel's value shifts from "produce content" to "build community and represent the human face of the product."
  • Use AI to scale production. Use your time for the stuff that doesn't scale: relationships, presence, nuance.

Developer relations has always been a mix of content creation and community building. AI is great at the first. It's useless at the second. The revolution isn't "AI replaces DevRel." It's "AI handles the boilerplate; DevRel handles the human stuff."

What AI Changes

Content volume:

  • Tutorials, blog posts, code samples — AI can draft at scale. You edit, verify, and add the "why" that only you know.
  • Output per person goes up. That's real. Use it.

Support-style answers:

  • "How do I do X with your API?" AI can generate answers from docs. Fine for tier-1, repetitive questions.
  • Complex, ambiguous, or "your docs are wrong" — that needs a human. Don't fully automate.

Demo and talk prep:

  • AI can draft outlines, suggest flows, even generate slide bullets. You still have to deliver. You still have to handle the "wait, that didn't work" moment live.
  • Use AI for prep. Own the stage.

What Stays Human

Trust and authenticity:

  • Developers can tell when content is AI slop. They can tell when a reply is templated. Your credibility comes from being real.
  • Put your name on it. Show up. Admit when you don't know. That's DevRel.

Community:

  • Discord, Twitter, conferences — people want to talk to humans. AI can't host a hallway track or make someone feel welcomed.
  • Your job: be the human face. AI can't do that.

Product feedback loop:

  • "Why is this breaking for me?" "What would make this easier?" That feedback flows through you. AI can triage; it can't build the relationship that makes people share honestly.
  • You're the bridge between developers and the product team. Protect that role.

Nuance and judgment:

  • "Should I use your product for X?" Sometimes the answer is "no" or "not yet." AI trained on marketing will say "yes." You have the judgment to be honest.

The New DevRel Playbook

  • Produce more with AI. Draft with AI. Edit with care. Publish under your name. Volume up, quality maintained.
  • Protect time for unscaleable work. Office hours, 1:1s, conference presence. Say no to some content to make room.
  • Be the human in the loop. When AI answers a question, have a human sign off on high-value or sensitive replies. Escalate the rest.
  • Measure what matters. Not just "posts published." Community health, developer satisfaction, adoption. AI helps with production; you own the outcomes.

AI Disruption Risk for Developer Relations

Moderate Risk

SafeCritical

AI drafts content at scale. Trust, community, and authenticity remain human. Moderate risk for content-only roles; low for relationship builders.

Write every tutorial by hand. Answer every forum question. Limited by your hours.

Click "AI-Augmented DevRel" to see the difference →

Quick Check

What can AI NOT replace in DevRel?

Do This Next

  1. Run one experiment — Draft a tutorial with AI. Edit it. Publish. Compare time to your usual process. What did you have to add?
  2. Block time for "unscaleable" work — One session per week: office hours, Discord, or 1:1s. No content creation in that block.
  3. Define your "human-only" list — What will you never fully delegate to AI? (e.g., conference talks, escalations, sensitive feedback.) Write it down. Protect it.