API Developers survey about api security

Collecting feedback from API developers about API security can feel daunting, but using an AI survey generator makes it possible—fast. Generate a high-quality survey with a single click and get started today. Specific powers these tools, so you're covered with expert guidance every step of the way.

Why API security surveys for developers matter

If you’re not running regular API security surveys with your developer teams, you’re missing out on crucial signals that shape the reliability of your products. Here’s why:

• Rapid API growth: The average enterprise now manages over 600 API endpoints, and this number keeps rising. Without ongoing developer feedback, it’s easy to overlook shadow or outdated APIs that increase risk.

• Massive security exposure: 99% of organizations have faced API security problems in the past year. Nearly 60% allow ‘write’ access to at least half of their APIs, amplifying the attack surface and potential for breaches. [1] [2]

• Costly consequences: The average cost to contain and remediate an API incident in the US was $591,404 last year, and it’s even higher in finance or healthcare. Missing feedback from API developers can mean gaps in protocols, weak spots left unpatched, and expensive post-incident forensics. [3]

API security is a moving target, with rapid updates and evolving attack patterns. If you aren’t proactively gathering insight from your API developers, you’re likely missing critical vulnerabilities, workflow issues, or best-practice opportunities. Even performing a quick, targeted API developers feedback survey about API security brings overlooked risks to the surface—while boosting team engagement and showcasing commitment to prevention.

Want an extra edge? Check out our breakdown of the best questions for API developer surveys on security to fine-tune your approach.

The advantage of using an AI survey generator

Manual survey creation for APIs or security use cases feels slow and complex. You draft questions, manually thread follow-ups, and hope the language is clear. AI survey generators, like those offered by Specific, change the game completely. Here’s how they stack up:

Why use AI for API developer surveys?

• Speed and focus: Generate expert-level questions in seconds—just describe your need.

• Smart follow-ups: The AI interviewer clarifies and probes deeper, capturing insights that forms miss.

• Seamless user experience: With Specific, surveys feel like natural conversations, not chores—so API developers respond more thoughtfully.

With threats evolving so quickly—bot-related API attacks spiked 88% last year alone—switching to an AI-first process lets you keep pace and stay one step ahead. [4]

If you want more on the tech behind the process, the AI survey editor makes adjustments as simple as describing what you want to change in plain language—no manual work needed.

Designing questions that drive real insight

Too many API security surveys ask surface-level questions that yield little actionable info. Specific helps you avoid these pitfalls by applying expert logic to every question and follow-up, so you always get high-value feedback from API developers. Let’s look at an example:

• Bad question: “Are you confident in our API security?”
  This is too broad. Developers may say “yes” or “no,” but you won’t know why or how to improve.

• Good question: “What are the main pain points you encounter when working with our current API security implementations?”
  This asks for specifics and helps surface actionable context.

Specific’s AI detects vague, leading, or ambiguous wording by default—and instantly reshapes it for clarity, neutrality, and depth. Want your generic feedback question to dig deeper? Just say “probe for clarifications” or “ask for context” in the editor, and your AI-powered survey will nudge developers to elaborate.

One actionable tip: Always align technical context with business goals. For example, pair open-ended questions with follow-ups focused on “real-world examples” or “past incident response,” to capture practical recommendations. You can find even more guidelines in our article best questions for API developer surveys on security.

Automatic follow-up questions based on previous reply

The difference between a form and a conversation is follow-up—and this is where Specific’s AI shines. It asks relevant, targeted follow-ups in real time, based on what your API developer just said, to clarify ambiguity and dig into why certain practices exist or where processes break down.

This saves hours you’d spend chasing clarification via email or Slack and helps you avoid incomplete or unclear feedback. Here’s a quick example:

• API developer: “Some of our APIs don’t have authentication.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you share which specific APIs lack authentication and what risks you see arising from this?”

• API developer: “We had a minor data leak last month, but it wasn’t a big issue.”

• AI follow-up: “Can you describe how the data leak was detected and the steps you took to contain it?”

Compare this to the dead end you get from a simple form:

• API developer: “We had an incident last month.”

• (No follow-up, so no context on severity, response steps, or outcomes.)

These follow-ups transform surveys into real conversations, unlocking a level of detail usually reserved for interviews. Try generating a survey here and see how dynamic follow-ups feel in practice.

Follow-up questions are what make a survey conversational, not just a sequence of static forms. With Specific, each response shapes the next prompt, keeping the conversation going and the insights deepening.

Delivering your survey: best practices for API developer feedback

Specific keeps your surveys flexible, offering two proven delivery methods tailored for technical users and API security topics:

• Sharable landing page surveys: Perfect for quick sends via email, Slack, or posting links in developer communities. Great if you want targeted feedback from specific API teams or external developer partners, or to easily track who’s completed your API security feedback session.

• In-product surveys: The gold standard for embedded, real-time feedback from API developers directly inside your dashboard or platform. Use these to gather insights after critical events (like a new endpoint deployment), during security upgrade rollouts, or when onboarding new developer accounts—catching context when it’s freshest.

For security-critical or time-sensitive topics, in-product delivery gets you higher engagement and more accurate context, reducing risk—from API misconfigurations to malicious errors.

Instant analysis: AI-powered insights from developer feedback

Once you start collecting responses, the real value emerges in analysis. With Specific’s AI survey analysis feature, every answer is summarized, key risk themes are detected, and you can chat directly with the analysis AI to dig deeper—no more spreadsheets or manual tagging required. Turn open-ended answers about API authentication, error logs, and incident response into actionable themes in minutes.

Want a closer look at how it works? See this deep-dive on how to analyze API developer API security survey responses with AI.

Create your API security survey now

Get critical feedback instantly—generate your API security survey with AI in seconds and connect with your developer team’s real challenges today.