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India's Developer Ecosystem: WSO2’s Dr. Rania Khalaf on Embedding GenAI Across the API Lifecycle
As AI transitions from experimentation to widespread implementation, organizations are looking for secure, scalable, and developer-friendly platforms to maintain a competitive edge. The future involves operationalizing GenAI throughout the API lifecycle with an emphasis on governance, control, and rapid innovation.
In this exclusive interview, Dr. Rania Khalaf, Chief AI Officer at WSO2, shares how platforms like Choreo and tools like Choreo Copilot are enabling this transformation. She also discusses ethical AI design, the role of RAG and AI agents, and India’s rising developer ecosystem.
How is WSO2 bridging the gap between generative AI experimentation and enterprise-grade implementation across platforms like Choreo?
At WSO2, we're focused on operationalizing generative AI in a way that’s not just impressive in the lab but reliable in production. Only about 26% of AI prototypes move beyond Proof of Concept, often due to integration, performance, or governance challenges. Through internal developer platforms like Choreo, along with products in Integration, API Management, and Identity and Access Management (IAM), we help customers quickly and securely build, deploy, scale, and manage AI-native applications. We provide the essential building blocks, from LLM connectors to capabilities for building RAGs, AI agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP)-enabled tools. Our platforms let you expose APIs as tools for AI agents, manage identity with agent-aware IAM, and enforce governance over generative AI usage. Additionally, we’re embedding AI natively into the development and integration lifecycle through copilots and AI-enhanced workflows embedded within our platforms, super-charging customer teams. We're not just adding AI as a layer on top, but rather weaving it into the architecture, enabling organizations to go from experimentation to real-world deployment without compromising on governance or performance.
With tools like Choreo Copilot and API Chat leveraging natural language interaction, how do you envision redefining the developer experience, especially for those new to integration and API testing?
Generative AI has the potential to transform the entire software development process. We're entering a new phase where platforms don’t just work with code, but also understand and use human-friendly inputs like requirements and design docs as part of the development logic.
Natural language interfaces are simultaneously lowering the entry barrier to complex systems and increasing user productivity for all. Tools like Choreo Copilot and API Chat turn what was once a steep learning curve into an intuitive conversation. We’re not just speeding up tasks, but we’re expanding who can participate in building and integrating software. This means a product manager can test an API without writing a single line of code, or a junior developer can create workflows through guided suggestions. It’s about democratizing the developer experience while preserving the sophistication needed by power users.
In an age of digital doubles and behavioral profiling, how do you ensure ethical boundaries aren't crossed in pursuit of hyper-personalization?
The responsibility lies in design. At WSO2, our AI systems are built with privacy, consent, and transparency at the core. Hyper-personalization should empower the user and not exploit them. That means being clear about what data is used, how it's processed, and ensuring opt-in mechanisms wherever behavioral insights are leveraged. We also keep a close watch on emerging AI regulations and best practices globally. While many are still evolving, they provide important direction, and we’re committed to staying aligned as they mature.
How is AI inside platforms transforming developer productivity and scalability, specifically for Indian innovators?
India has a massive base of developers, startups, and enterprises building for scale, and AI can be a multiplier here. By embedding AI directly into platforms like Choreo, we’re giving Indian innovators tools that automate the mundane, highlight best practices, and surface insights in real time. Whether you're building a fintech app or integrating government services, AI-powered platforms reduce cycle times and accelerate time-to-market. And because these tools are accessible through low-code/no-code and natural language interfaces, they’re opening doors for the next generation of builders across India's diverse tech ecosystem.
As WSO2 navigates the frontier of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and dynamic prompt engineering, what role do you see these innovations playing in the evolution of autonomous API ecosystems or self-optimizing platforms?
RAG and dynamic prompt engineering are critical enablers of intelligent, adaptive systems. In the context of APIs, they allow for real-time learning and context-aware responses. This means platforms can now understand what an API does, how it’s used, and even recommend improvements or orchestrate changes automatically. We see this leading to self-documenting APIs, autonomous integration flows, and eventually, self-healing systems that detect and correct issues without human intervention. These capabilities move us closer to the vision of API ecosystems that are not only connected but constantly evolving and optimizing themselves.
