Postman boosts AI development with new API enhancements

API collaboration platform leader, Postman has released v11, a significant update that drastically speeds up development by reducing collaboration friction on APIs. Announced in conjunction with POST/CON 2024, v11 is a groundbreaking advancement poised to revolutionize software development. Just as SVN gave way to Git, and Git evolved into GitHub, the next wave is upon us, driven by the symbiotic relationship between AI and APIs.

"In the age of AI, everything is an API," says Abhinav Asthana, co-founder and CEO of Postman, emphasizing the critical role APIs play in empowering artificial intelligence. In Postman’s most recent State of the API report, 60% of API professionals reported that they employ generative AI tools for use cases such as finding mistakes in code, producing code, and coding instruction. There was also wide agreement that AI will deliver a boost in developer productivity, with the largest share of respondents forecasting improvements of up to 25%. Furthermore, Gartner® estimates that by 2026, more than 80% of enterprises will have used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) APIs or models, up from less than 5% in 20231.

To realize those gains of AI, APIs must be thought of first and foremost. Organizations are starting to rethink their approach to building software to adapt to this monumental technological paradigm shift.

“Whether organizations realize it or not, APIs are the hands and legs that power AI’s ‘thinking.’ Those that don’t prioritize their API design strategy now to prepare for an AI-driven future will be left behind," Asthana continues. "The AI battle will be won by improving APIs. Postman’s latest features will empower even the largest organizations to capitalize on the productivity benefits of AI by easing collaboration and communication around APIs, both internally and with external partners. We look forward to seeing the innovation that results."

Key features of v11 include -

●        Postbot now generally available: A groundbreaking AI companion, offering capabilities ranging from test generation and documentation to expert debugging and data visualization, revolutionizing the development workflow. First introduced last year, Postbot’s understanding of the deep context of developers’ APIs has proven to dramatically speed API testing workflows.

●         Seamless communication of API changes: Updates to APIs will now appear in the new workspace updates feed for both internal and external API consumers, instead of scattered across email, chat, and repos. This eliminates the risk of API consumers using outdated APIs that can cost a company a lot of money, time, and resources to fix.

●         Expanded accessibility for Partner Workspaces: Partner APIs are pivotal, whether powering an app marketplace with thousands of partners or connecting two companies in a strategic partnership. However, as APIs are updated, it becomes difficult to ensure partners are working with the most up-to-date APIs without a place to collaborate on them. To address this need, Postman has expanded Partner Workspaces — where companies and their partners can collaborate on APIs and communicate API changes — with the ability to distribute Postman API collections to multiple external partners at once.