AI Documentation Generators: Do They Actually Save Time?

Documentation is notoriously neglected because it's tedious. AI documentation generators promise to change this. After using several across real projects, here's the honest assessment.

Code documentation from AI is genuinely helpful. Point it at a function and get a reasonable docstring. The time saved is real, and the quality is usually acceptable. Not perfect—AI misses subtle assumptions and context—but far better than no documentation.

API documentation is more mixed. AI can generate OpenAPI specs from code, but the descriptions need heavy editing. It captures structure well and intent poorly. Still faster than writing from scratch, but expect significant revision time.

Technical writing (guides, tutorials, explanations) is where AI struggles most. It produces grammatically correct content that's somehow still confusing. The AI doesn't understand what readers actually struggle with. Use it for first drafts, but expect to rewrite substantially.