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Write the Docs Newsletter – April 2026

Ahoy there, documentarians! Spring is beginning to pop up in these parts, which means growth, flowers, and of course pollen. I hope you are all able to find some pleasure around you that isn’t covered in too much discomfort.

In community news, the Portland 2026 conference has released the full schedule – in-person and virtual tickets are still available. And the Berlin 2026 conference has been officially announced! Start getting your ideas together for a proposal and book September 6–8 so we can meet up again. Looking forward to it already!

We have articles this month on whether or not to build a docs platform yourself with AI, how to react to job requirements for “native” English speakers, and what people thought about companies replacing documentarian teams with AI.

But first, a note from the community.

Community note

Eric Holscher, one of the co-founders of Write the Docs, here. I wanted to pass along a message from Troy, one of the other co-founders who has had some recent health troubles. Troy was an integral part of creating Write the Docs and making it what it is today. You can read a part of this in our origin story, and I hope that you’ll consider donating to his GoFundMe or just reaching out and sharing a memory if he had an impact on you.

Howdy folks! My recent heart issues were as scary and surprising to me as they are to you. Brushing shoulders with death was not what I had planned for my Thursday afternoon. But, the good news is that I’m out of the hospital and recovering slowly-but-surely, getting stronger every day. Hearing from my friends and community while in this low-power mode has been a huge source of strength. People have been sharing little stories about their memories of me alongside the fundraiser link, and reading those has felt like a lovely “premature eulogy” that I actually get to enjoy!

Please reach out if you’d like to chat. I’d love to catch up! While I’m not really ready to return to the full-time grind just yet, I am looking to take on some lower-stakes part-time/contract work as I focus on my recovery and bridge the gap back to full-time work later this year. I’m eager to keep myself busy and contribute where I can.

To buy or build in the age of AI

As AI has developed, new challenges have emerged for documentarians. A discussion in #doctools focused on a possible opportunity: whether to use AI to build a custom documentation platform instead of using an existing solution.

The basic reasoning for the original post was that by building your own platform, you have full control over implementing the features you want. Of course, you have to determine what those features are, develop the prompts to get them implemented, and if they don’t work as expected, you’ll have to resolve any problems. Therefore, unless you are proficient in the code developed by the AI agent, you need to have engineering resources to check and test the code and to maintain the platform. Also, realize that if product development is a priority for your company, then allocating any engineering resources to a documentation platform will be considered secondary.

If your company has access to AI agents (such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or ChatGPT Codex), then perhaps the costs to develop the platform seem to be minimal compared to costs associated with a commercial solution. But, you need to factor in the ongoing costs of maintaining the custom platform: bug fixes, updates for newly determined features, and addressing security or performance issues that may arise.

Consider building your own solution if you have:

  • Access to a AI coding agent,

  • Dedicated engineering support,

  • Either highly specialized/unconventional or very simple requirements,

  • Technically proficient team, and

  • Significant time (months, not days) available to implement

Use existing tools if there are:

  • Limited engineering resources,

  • Need for reliability and fast deployment,

  • Standard documentation requirements, or

  • Mandates to focus on timely content development

While building a custom solution may be appropriate under certain conditions, most contributors expressed concern about the long-term costs outweighing apparent gains.

See more Write the Docs resources about choosing tools for documentation, doc tools, and AI and LLMs.

“Native” speaker requirements for jobs

How often have you seen “Native English speaker” as a requirement in a tech writer job ad? A recent Slack thread got our members thinking about what that requirement actually means, and whether it does more harm than good.

The concept of “native speakerism” inevitably creates the “non-native” opposite, and these binary labels don’t adequately reflect language identity, use, and understanding. In job ads, it seems to conflate two separate things: fluency and writing ability. The assumption being that if English is your first language, you are automatically a better writer.

Documentation written by “non-native” speakers can accumulate telltale signs over time: stylistic quirks, unusual phrasing, an overly formal register, or obscure vocabulary where a simpler word would do. Discussion in the thread included the other perspective that “non-native” speakers often bring more rigor to technical writing. Having had to consciously learn the language, they’re less likely to make assumptions and more likely to question their choices. In technical writing, this instinct to question is a real asset, with one contributor noting that “doubt and second guessing are a key ingredient of authoring and editing.”

The discussion also suggested employers use “native” as a proxy for something they can’t define or assess, making it an HR problem rather than a linguistic one. The real motivation behind the requirement is often that managers don’t want to be responsible for evaluating a candidate’s English skills. Like requiring a college degree for a role that doesn’t need one, “native speaker” becomes a blunt filter rather than a meaningful qualification — and one that portfolios and writing samples should be taking care of anyway.

There’s also a legal dimension worth noting. In some jurisdictions, specifying “native English speaker” in a job ad may expose an employer to discrimination risk, especially when the requirement is about language ability not background.

If you see this requirement in an ad, it might be worth reaching out to query what recruiters actually mean by it. And if you see it in your own organization’s listings, try to encourage use of “expert” or “highly competent” instead.

See more Write the Docs resources about jobs and careers.

Docs without dedicated documentarians?

As its capabilities continue to grow, some companies have positioned AI as a suitable replacement for human knowledge managers. In at least one instance, an entire writing staff was laid off as part of a “targeted adjustment” to the company’s overall strategy. WTD members questioned how companies plan to implement AI systems without a dedicated team in place to manage them.

Most respondents agreed that this decision was short-sighted and irresponsible. People noted that this business model relies on engineers to produce docs using AI, and AI agents are currently incapable of producing product docs without the help of documentarians.

Lack of industry understanding

A major concern was the absence of marketing efforts to showcase the company-wide impact of documentarians’ efforts. Some wanted to present a unified front highlighting the value of documentarians. Good docs reduce costs through deflecting support calls and converting sales. But others highlighted a lack of access to real, verifiable data to show how we’ve contributed to a certain revenue line. The pervasive misunderstanding of what documentarians contribute to a company’s success illustrate the need to develop a new model and process for demonstrating value.

Redefining the narrative

Some stressed the necessity of connecting quality docs to AI performance to garner executive buy-in. The criteria for acceptable profit margins has shifted and companies are evaluating “revenue per seat” in their decisions to lay off employees. Investment in docs may increase company status in areas such as competitions (for example, for the best documentation).

Moving forward

The group was in consensus about these tenets: quality and customer service lags behind other priorities for some companies. Overarching decisions such as laying off an entire department are deeply impactful, but typically not a reflection of anyone’s individual performance. Prepare for the unexpected because your level of readiness in the face of uncertainty may be tested. At the same time, it’s more important than ever to evangelize docs, share wins, and find ways to tell the story of your value, so that company leadership can clearly understand the role tech comms play in delivering quality products.

See more Write the Docs resources about building docs culture.

From our sponsor

This month’s newsletter is sponsored by Inkstone.

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You don’t have a writing problem. You have a tab problem. Research here. Draft there. Proofread in tool 3. Fact-check in tool 4. Inkstone puts all of it on the same surface where you write. Deep research, web search, proofreading, and fact-checking, built right into the editor. Even claim verification, inline, as you work. No other writing tool does that.

And here’s the best part: nothing touches your docs without your say. Every AI suggestion, whether it’s flagging a term that conflicts with your style guide or catching an inconsistency across your API descriptions, appears as a tracked change. Accept or reject. It’s the sharp technical editor that never overwrites you. Your call, every time. Try Inkstone →

Interested in sponsoring the newsletter? Take a look at our sponsorship prospectus.

Write the Docs resources

Write the Docs offers lots of valuable resources related to documentation. See all of the Write the Docs learning resources. To discuss any of these ideas or others related to documentation, join the conversation in the Write the Docs Slack community in one of the many channels.

Events coming up

Announcing Our Conference Schedule   One Month Until Write the Docs Portland