Generating Useful Docs From Code With AI

Generated docs feel useless when they restate signatures. They become useful when AI is forced to include intent, examples, and pitfalls.

What AI does well here

• Draft README sections from a working example you provide.
• Generate runnable usage snippets from a function plus an input.

What AI cannot do

• Document trade-offs the author never wrote down anywhere.
• Know which use cases your team considers primary.

Practice this safely

Use a small project example from your own work. The useful move is to compare the AI's draft against your goal, sources, and constraints before you trust it.

1. 1Ask AI to explain documentation in plain language, then underline anything that sounds uncertain or too broad.
2. 2Give it one detail from "Generating Useful Docs From Code With AI" and ask for two possible next steps plus one reason each step might be wrong.
3. 3Check readme against a trusted source, teacher, adult, expert, or original document before you use it.