Ask AI

Ask AI lets readers ask a question in their own words and get an answer taken from your documentation, with links to the pages the answer came from.

What readers see

On a published site where Ask AI is turned on, readers see an Ask AI button. They type a question and receive a written answer. The answer lists the pages it used, so the reader can open the source and check it.

Where the answers come from

Ask AI answers only from your published articles, and only from knowledge bases that have Ask AI turned on. It does not use drafts, articles that have not been published, or anything from outside your documentation.

If your documentation does not contain the answer, Ask AI says so and invites the reader to rephrase or ask something else. It does not guess.

Answers are limited to your own organization’s documentation. A reader on your site never receives content from another organization.

Short social messages such as “hello” or “thanks” get a brief friendly reply, without searching your documentation.

Keeping answers current

Ask AI works from the version of the site that is live. When you publish a new version, its content becomes the source for answers shortly afterwards. Editing or saving an article does not change Ask AI’s answers until you publish.

What you control

For each knowledge base you choose:

Setting	What it does
On or off	Whether readers can ask questions of this knowledge base
Tone	How answers sound: professional, friendly, concise or formal
Persona	A short description of who the assistant is and how it presents itself

Tone	Style
Professional	Clear and businesslike. A safe default for most documentation.
Friendly	Warm and approachable, like a helpful colleague.
Concise	Short and direct answers with no extra words.
Formal	Precise and measured, for regulated or technical audiences.

Better answers start with better articles

Ask AI is only as good as the articles it reads. Articles that are clearly structured, with descriptive headings, short sections, and a clear title and description, give better answers. The AI readiness review checks for exactly this. See Reviewing your writing.

Using Ask AI in your own applications

An organization can also connect Ask AI to its own software, such as a help widget or an internal tool, by creating an API key in the organization’s settings. A key gives access only to that organization’s published, Ask AI-enabled documentation. Keep keys on your own servers and never place one in a web page.