Shensi Ding, CEO and co-founder of Merge, discusses with Ashby engineer Aaron Norby the integration of Remote Procedure Call (RPC) APIs, highlighting Ashby's decision to utilize RPC for its Applicant Tracking System (ATS) rather than the more common REST or GraphQL API styles. Although GraphQL was used internally, Ashby opted against it for their external API due to its steep learning curve, while REST's ease of use and standardization were attractive but sometimes cumbersome for simpler operations. Norby, having prior experience with Slack's RPC API, found RPC more intuitive and akin to writing functions, despite its unfamiliarity compared to REST, which is more prevalent for public integrations. The team found that RPC facilitated easier documentation and error handling, and despite initial concerns about the learning curve, the feedback from early customers has been positive. Merge's platform enables businesses to seamlessly integrate with Ashby and other services, promising transformative customer-facing integrations.