As the AI landscape accelerates, most organizations are asking the same question: How do we adopt AI fast enough to stay competitive? Vendasta chose a different question, one that changed the trajectory of our entire business:
What if every employee, not just engineers, had the power to build with AI?
This single shift sparked the creation of Vendasta’s Citizen Developer initiative: an internal program led by our Director of Learning, Cal Cooper, that turns AI-curious employees into capable builders who design, prototype, and implement AI-powered automations inside their own workflows.
This program is a grassroots transformation that reaches far beyond “AI productivity hacks.” It represents a fundamental rethinking of how enterprise work gets done.
And it’s already reshaping our culture, our operations, and our platform.
Automate every step of the customer journey with AI employees
Why Democratizing AI Development Matters Now
Across industries, AI is reshaping expectations for speed, efficiency, and scale. But one stubborn barrier remains: most organizations still rely on a small circle of technical experts to drive AI execution.
Josh Bersin points to this same limitation in his research on the “superworker era,” arguing that leading companies aren’t just redesigning jobs; they’re re-engineering work itself to maximize productivity by combining domain expertise with AI capabilities. That framing closely mirrors how Vendasta thinks about Citizen Developers.
But the traditional model cannot keep up with the pace of change.
Enterprise AI has moved from complex engineering to accessible, cross-functional workflows. Tools from Google’s Agent Development Kit, AgentSpace, Writer’s AI HQ, and now Vendasta’s own AI Employees are lowering the barrier to entry. They enable non-technical professionals to participate meaningfully in the development of AI-powered solutions.
Vendasta’s leadership saw the moment clearly: AI adoption cannot be limited to technical teams. To compete, we needed a workforce capable of using, applying, and ultimately building with AI—responsibly, safely, and with measurable business outcomes.
So instead of treating AI as a technology rollout, we approached it as a workforce transformation.
From AI Champions to AI Builders: A New Model for Workforce Enablement
Vendasta has long cultivated a culture of AI curiosity. But curiosity alone doesn’t shift an organization. We needed to transform that curiosity into capability.
The Citizen Developer program sits at the highest level of our internal AI learning ecosystem. It turns AI champions (people who already advocate for AI) into AI builders capable of creating internal tools, automations, and agentic workflows.
The program focuses on three pillars:
1. Mindset Shift
Participants learn to think like workflow engineers:
- Identifying bottlenecks
- Translating business needs into system logic
- Considering triggers, dependencies, and edge cases
- Designing for rollback, security, and governance
It marks a shift from “How do I complete this task?” to “How do I build something that completes this for me?”
2. Skill Development
Participants gain competency in AI-powered development using:
- Cursor for AI-assisted coding and debugging
- GitHub for version control and structured collaboration
- Vendasta’s AI Employees and platform APIs
- Google Apps Script for workflow automation
- JSON, YAML, and Markdown for structured data handling
- Prompt engineering for structured agent workflows
They aren’t trained to be engineers. They’re trained to be system thinkers who can safely build inside guardrails.
3. Structural Clarity
Governance is baked in from day one:
- Access tiering
- Safe environments
- Peer-reviewed documentation
- Dependency mapping with IT and R&D
- Versioning and documentation standards
- Auditability and SOC 2 considerations
The result is a program that empowers without compromising platform integrity.
What Citizen Developers Are Building: Real Solutions, Real Impact
The clearest evidence that democratized AI development works is the output. The first cohort built solutions that eliminated bottlenecks across support, people operations, marketing operations, services, QA, and product.
Here are some examples of what non-engineers achieved in just a few months:
AI Support Assistant Correction Tracker
Built by a knowledge manager and a support champion.
A fully automated pipeline that identifies incorrect responses from the internal support assistant, logs corrections, creates Jira tickets, and drafts documentation updates via GitHub pull requests.
This replaces manual effort, reduces error rates, and strengthens the knowledge base feeding internal AI systems.
Lexi: AI-Powered Learning Discovery
Built by two People Operations professionals new to APIs.
A centralized AI assistant that unifies learning content from our learning management system, YouTube, internal documentation, and live sessions. It returns personalized learning plans within seconds, saving the People Operations team an estimated 10 hours per month and improving onboarding consistency—all built using the AI Employee tools inside the Vendasta platform.
AI Coach: Automated Quality Audits and Coaching
Built by quality and training specialists.
A streamlined QA workflow that automatically evaluates interactions, emails specialists instant coaching summaries, tracks engagement, and centralizes performance data. Early results show:
- 60% reduction in QA time
- Instant visibility into feedback
- Closed coaching loops
The best part? All were built without writing code from scratch.
Search Campaign Automation Tool
Built by a paid media team lead with no coding background.
An integrated workflow within the Vendasta platform that reads campaign content, generates policy-safe enterprise ads, and validates them against guidelines. This automation integration is a perfect example of what our partners can do and what our internal team members can build with an understanding of how systems “speak” to each other.
Third-Party Tool Reduction Using Apps Script
Built by a marketing operations specialist.
A lightweight, reusable Apps Script that replaced thousands of monthly third-party automation tasks, eliminating unnecessary costs and improving data flow reliability.
Why This Works: Vendasta’s AI-First Organizational Blueprint
Most companies attempt citizen-developer programs as one-off experiments. Vendasta approached it as a strategic capability, building a unified ecosystem that supports employees at every stage of AI literacy, with the end goal of building a sustainable community of practice.
Our approach is rooted in:
1. A Laddered Learning Framework
Employees can develop AI capability across a series of stages:
- Level 1: Understand (AI literacy)
- Level 2: Apply (role-specific AI workflows)
- Level 3: Build (low-code/no-code AI development)
- Level 4–5: Advanced development (owned by R&D)
Not all employees progress through every stage—and they aren’t expected to. Citizen Developers operate up to Level 3, where they build governed automations and AI-powered tools without production permissions.
All advanced development, platform modifications, and production deployments remain the responsibility of Vendasta’s R&D team. This ensures safe development practices, protects platform integrity, and maintains compliance with audit requirements.
2. Strong Partnerships with R&D and IT
Success in enterprise environments is built on strong partnerships, and internally, this is no different.
For citizen development to have a meaningful impact, enablement and operations teams must be deeply integrated with R&D and IT. R&D remains the architectural and policy authority, while IT ensures safe environments, identity controls, and access security.
Citizen Developers don’t replace engineering. They relieve pressure, accelerate iteration, and extend R&D’s reach across the organization.
3. Governance as an Enabler, Not a Barrier
Every solution follows:
- Scoped, peer-reviewed documentation
- Version control in GitHub
- Dependency mapping
- Safe deployment paths
- Security checks
This is what allows democratized development without compromising platform integrity.
The Organizational Impact: Faster Innovation, Greater Efficiency, Stronger Culture
Democratizing AI development has unlocked three major shifts inside Vendasta.
1. Innovation Velocity Has Increased
Teams no longer wait in queues for development resources. Ideas move from concept to prototype in days—not quarters.
2. Operational Efficiency Improves at Scale
Early results show:
- 50–60+ hours saved per quarter per solution
- 20%+ efficiency gain in targeted workflows
- Rapid elimination of manual processes
- Reusable playbooks lowering future build costs
This reflects what happens when business owners can build solutions themselves.
3. A Culture of Builders Emerges
Employees describe the program as unlocking:
- Confidence to build
- Systems-level thinking
- Collaboration across functions
- Curiosity and experimentation
- A shared language with R&D
This is how an organization becomes truly AI-first; not by buying technology, but by shifting how people think, work, and solve problems.
The Future of Citizen Development at Vendasta
We’re just at the beginning.
As Vendasta continues to expand its AI Workforce capabilities, platform APIs, and low-code tooling, the line between technical and non-technical contributions will continue to dissolve.
We envision a future where:
- Every team has embedded AI builders
- Cross-functional AI capabilities become standard
- Reusable internal playbooks accelerate innovation
- Partners can access similar enablement
- AI-driven orchestration becomes part of every workflow
When employees closest to the work can safely build the tools they need, the entire organization becomes more responsive, more innovative, and more aligned.
And as the AI ecosystem evolves, Vendasta intends not just to keep pace—but to lead.
Conclusion: AI Adoption Isn’t Enough. It’s Time for AI Execution.
Most organizations talk about AI adoption. But adoption alone isn’t enough.
Vendasta is operationalizing AI execution at scale, across functions and far beyond traditional technical boundaries.
Citizen Developers represent a new chapter in enterprise capability. A chapter where:
- People closest to the work become co-creators of the systems that power it.
- Innovation emerges from every corner of the organization.
- AI is not a silo, but a shared language.
And as this movement matures, it’s already influencing the evolution of Vendasta’s AI platform, not by pushing code to production, but by surfacing what real users need. As CEO Brendan King says, we’re “building Vendasta, with Vendasta.”
Citizen Developers are pressure-testing workflows, surfacing automation patterns, and generating early prototypes that inform R&D’s next wave of capabilities. Their work acts as a frontline discovery engine, shaping the next-generation tools our partners will ultimately rely on.
The future of work belongs to organizations that empower their people to build it.
Vendasta is building that future—one Citizen Developer at a time.
Citizen Developer FAQs
1. What is a citizen developer?
A citizen developer is a non-engineer who builds automated workflows, AI tools, or internal solutions using low-code or no-code technology. At Vendasta, citizen developers apply AI and automation to real business problems while working within structured governance and safe development environments.
2. How does a citizen developer program work inside a company?
Citizen developer programs train employees to identify bottlenecks, design system logic, and build governed automations. The most effective programs, like Vendasta’s, combine AI literacy, hands-on tooling, and IT/R&D guardrails to ensure solutions are safe, scalable, and aligned to business outcomes.
3. Do citizen developers need coding experience?
No. Citizen developers don’t need engineering backgrounds. Many start with zero coding experience and learn to build using tools like Apps Script, AI Employees, Cursor, and GitHub. Vendasta’s program focuses on system thinking, prompt engineering, and safe development—not deep software engineering.
4. What are the benefits of having citizen developers in an organization?
Citizen developers accelerate innovation by reducing dependency on engineering teams, eliminating manual work, and creating solutions informed by frontline expertise. The result is faster iteration, measurable time savings, and stronger cross-functional collaboration.
5. How is Vendasta using citizen developers to scale AI adoption?
Vendasta equips non-technical employees with training, guardrails, and platform access to build AI-powered automations. This approach transforms AI from a productivity enhancement into an execution strategy, driving rapid workflow modernization across support, L&D, marketing, services, and product.
6. What types of tools or workflows can citizen developers build?
Citizen developers can build automated QA processes, learning assistants, support workflows, campaign generation tools, cost-saving scripts, and even lightweight AI-powered applications. Vendasta’s program has produced solutions that cut hours of manual work and improve operational consistency.
7. Is citizen development safe for enterprise environments?
Yes, when supported by strong governance. Vendasta uses peer-reviewed documentation, version control, safe access environments, dependency mapping, and IT/R&D oversight to ensure every citizen-built workflow is secure, auditable, and aligned with SOC 2 requirements.
8. How do citizen developers collaborate with engineering teams?
Citizen developers don’t replace engineers. Instead, they extend engineering’s reach by pressure-testing workflows, surfacing needs, and creating prototypes that inform future platform capabilities. Citizen Developers are close to business problems, while engineers are close to technology and systems. Vendasta’s R&D and IT teams provide architectural guidance, safe environments, and review checkpoints.
9. Can citizen development reduce operational costs?
Yes. Citizen developers often replace manual processes and third-party tools with automated internal workflows. At Vendasta, this has included eliminating thousands of third-party automation tasks per month and reducing QA and onboarding time by 50–60% in key processes.
10. How does a citizen developer differ from a traditional automation specialist?
Traditional automation specialists typically work in IT or engineering, while citizen developers are embedded within business functions. Their proximity to real workflows allows them to design highly relevant, outcome-driven solutions, supported by light development tooling and AI capabilities.
11. Do organizations need special platforms to support citizen developers?
Organizations need accessible tools, governance frameworks, and AI-powered development environments. Vendasta’s platform, including AI Employees, APIs, and low-code automation, provides the foundation needed for non-engineers to build safely and effectively.
12. How does citizen development support digital transformation?
Citizen developers accelerate digital transformation by decentralizing innovation and empowering employees to automate their own work. This increases velocity, reduces bottlenecks, and ensures transformation isn’t limited by engineering capacity.
