TLDR: We’ve made three improvements to Ask Fern, the AI assistant for documentation:
- A sidebar that users can chat with while browsing developer documentation
- A Documents API that allows you to index content beyond your documentation
- Contextual-dependent responses based on what role you’re assigned, or what product or version you’re on
Introduce a sidebar interface to your documentation with Ask Fern
We’ve revised our Ask Fern experience to live within a sidebar directly in your docs, so you can chat with Ask Fern while browsing content. This reduces context switching for readers and makes it easier to get answers to questions.
Bring in outside sources with our Documents API
We’ve added a Documents API that lets you extend Ask Fern’s knowledge beyond your documentation by indexing additional custom content. You can add materials such as:
- Internal FAQs
- Help desk tickets
- Knowledge base articles
- Marketing sites
- Blog posts
- Research papers
- And more
To get started, upload a document, title, and URL via the Documents API. Ask Fern can then use this content to answer developer questions and surface the URL as a citation if referenced..
1{
2 "document": "Ferns are plants native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are characterized by their fronds, which are large, leaf-like structures that are often found in the understory of forests.",
3 "title": "What are ferns?",
4 "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern"
5}
Ask Fern filtering based on versions, products, and RBAC
We’ve launched filtering for Ask Fern, so users will get responses that are only related to the product or version they are viewing, or the role they are administered. You can keep your documentation personalized, while ensuring sensitive information stays protected.
Explore Ask Fern today
Ready to bring AI-powered search into your documentation? We’d love to help you get started. Reach out and see how Ask Fern can instantly answer questions for users reading your documentation.
