In a recent blog post, Grammarly, the popular online writing assistance tool, announced that it will be discontinuing its Text Editor SDK, a developer tool that integrates the company’s automated editing functionality into third-party applications. The Text Editor SDK will be shut down on January 10th, 2024, rendering its functionality non-operational in any applications where it is currently in use.
According to Drew Endick, senior manager for platform partners at Grammarly, the decision to deprecate the Text Editor SDK stems from the company’s strategic allocation of internal engineering resources. Grammarly aims to concentrate on its core product while incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technology into the tool. Endick emphasized the importance of integrating AI capabilities, citing the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.
By deprecating the Text Editor SDK, Grammarly intends to direct its resources toward realizing this vision and addressing the growing demand from enterprises. “Deprecating the Text Editor SDK allows us to focus on achieving this vision and meeting increased demand we’re seeing from enterprises by dedicating our resources to addressing the challenges they face,” Endick stated in an email response to TechCrunch.
Grammarly initially released a beta version of the SDK in 2021, expressing enthusiasm for empowering developers with the ability to incorporate Grammarly’s text editing capabilities into any application. Rob Brazier, head of product and platform at Grammarly, explained that the beta release provided developers with access to Grammarly’s automated editing power through just a few lines of code. This integration offered users a native Grammarly experience without the need for separate installations or registrations.
Since its launch, the Text Editor SDK has attracted thousands of developers who have evaluated the tool, with hundreds successfully integrating it into their applications. However, these developers will now have to adapt their programs to remove the SDK’s functionality, as it will only be accessible to customers who purchase the service.
Shutting down a tool that is merely two years old raises concerns, as it may place developers who have come to rely on it in a challenging position. Despite acknowledging the potential disappointment from affected developers, Grammarly asserts that it has been working closely with the community to mitigate the impact of this change. “As with any product deprecation, we recognize there may be disappointment from developers who invested in integrating the SDK, and we’re here to support them as they remove it from their apps,” Endick assured.
However, not all are pleased with Grammarly’s decision. A discussion on Hacker News revealed some discontent among users. One commenter, sbjs, expressed disappointment, saying, “This is such a shame. One of the most powerful features of the SDK is now exclusive to the site itself. I can see the incentive to make this decision, but it’s also going to have counterproductive results for the same reason.”
Grammarly clarified that no new functionality will be added to the Text Editor SDK before its shutdown in January. Developers who have integrated the SDK into their applications must plan to remove the integration before January 10, 2024, as per Endick’s instructions.
As Grammarly continues to refine its core product and explore new avenues for AI integration, developers and users will need to adapt to the changes and seek alternative solutions to incorporate advanced automated editing into their applications.
