In episode 4 of the Observe It podcast, host Daniela Miao engages with Jean Yang, Head of Product on the observability team at Postman, to explore the evolving field of API observability. Jean describes how Postman, originally a tool for storing API requests, has expanded to include features such as collections, mocking, and testing, and discusses the impact of Postman's acquisition of her company, Akita, which reinforces their emphasis on API observability. She elucidates on the nascent category of API observability, focusing on providing higher-level abstraction insights into production systems compared to traditional DevOps methods. The conversation highlights how Akita's tools have successfully identified API errors overlooked by other monitoring tools and facilitated smoother code launches, and delves into the potential of AI in enhancing API observability through improved path parameter inference and anomaly detection. Jean, once a tenure-track professor at Carnegie Mellon University, shares her vision for AI's role in offering insights and assisting with root cause analysis in complex production environments.