***

title: Ask Fern Discord bot
description: >-
Enable your customers to get instant answers to product questions directly in
Discord using Ask Fern's AI-powered documentation bot.
------------------------------------------------------

<Info>
  Ask Fern is also available for Slack. See the [Slack app documentation](/learn/docs/ai-features/ask-fern/slack-app) for setup instructions.
</Info>

The Ask Fern Discord bot allows customers to ask questions about your products directly in Discord channels and receive AI-generated answers from your documentation database.

Fern stores all questions and answers from Discord interactions for [analytics purposes](/learn/docs/ai-features/ask-fern/features#analytics).

## Setup

Install the Ask Fern bot in your Discord server and configure it for your channels.

<Note>
  To install Ask Fern in your Discord server, you must have **Manage Server** permissions. This is set in **Server Settings > People > Roles**.
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enable Ask AI in your dashboard">
    Before installing the Discord bot, you need to enable Ask AI for your documentation site.

    Go to your [Fern Dashboard](https://dashboard.buildwithfern.com) and enable Ask AI in the "Settings" tab of your domain. For more advanced configuration instructions, see the [Ask Fern setup guide](https://buildwithfern.com/learn/docs/ai-features/ask-fern/setup).

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/fern.docs.buildwithfern.com/learn/536fe3d4608684dd07a6850ecbb2b133e5f7977fed43ff40da77b55c02db7022/products/docs/pages/ask-fern/assets/enable-ask-fern-dashboard.png" alt="Enable Ask Fern in your dashboard" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get your unique install link">
    Use the [API Explorer](/learn/docs/ai-features/ask-fern/api-reference/discord/create-discord-integration) to get a unique Discord installation link for your organization.

    You will need:

    * Your [Fern token](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#fern-token)
    * Your domain without protocol or path (e.g., `website.com`, not `https://website.com/docs`)

    You can alternatively use this cURL request:

    ```bash
    curl -X POST "https://fai.buildwithfern.com/discord/install?domain=<YOUR_DOMAIN>" \
         -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_FERN_TOKEN>"
    ```

    Follow the URL returned in the `integration_url` response field.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add to your server">
    You'll be redirected to Discord to authorize the Ask Fern bot. Select the server where you want to add Ask Fern and click **Authorize**.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/fern.docs.buildwithfern.com/learn/4587272c4c36e5acb80164d81f2099e3eda65a850f11ac87fa567a44fbdd86e0/products/docs/pages/ask-fern/assets/allow-discord-permissions.png" alt="Allow Ask Fern for Discord server" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure channels">
    Once the bot is added to your server, use the `/configure` slash command in each channel where you want the bot to respond. Without this configuration, the bot won't respond to messages in that channel.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/fern.docs.buildwithfern.com/learn/f0d77f18a0ebbe3281574dc8decb98fb0d7b0c1d193acccf50f3129715e4e19b/products/docs/pages/ask-fern/assets/set-config-discord.png" alt="Configure bot by channel in Discord" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Configuration

Customize the bot's behavior to match your workflow needs.

### Bot settings per channel

Use the `/configure` slash command in any channel to adjust the settings. This opens an interactive menu where you can configure:

| Setting           | Description                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Response mode** | Controls whether the bot responds only when directly mentioned with `@Ask Fern` (`mentions_only`) or automatically responds to questions while ignoring casual chat (`auto`). |
| **Help role**     | Optionally select a role or user to tag when users click the "Ask for help" button on bot responses.                                                                          |

After selecting your preferences, click **Save Configuration** to apply the changes.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/fern.docs.buildwithfern.com/learn/bb85b64c3298b2774e5e81e03d0d12582da595c54eed378aafe98ba7b71f925b/products/docs/pages/ask-fern/assets/config-saved-discord.png" alt="Config set success message in Discord" />
</Frame>

### Customize the bot name

You can rename the bot to match your brand (example: "YourCompanyName Support"):

<Note>
  To rename your Bot, you must have **Change Nickname** permissions. This is set in Server **Settings > People > Roles**
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Go to the Members List section at the top of the Discord server

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://files.buildwithfern.com/fern.docs.buildwithfern.com/learn/745fb502a571db28e9d6a95608fe66818183733d8b42419c2a0e7fdff285fe63/products/docs/pages/ask-fern/assets/members-list-discord.png" alt="Discord members list" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Right click the AskFern bot and select "Change Nickname"
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Enter your preferred bot name and click "Save"
  </Step>
</Steps>

Now, users will see your custom bot name instead of the default "Ask Fern" name.

## Architecture

When a user asks Ask Fern a question in Discord, the bot receives the message and triggers Fern's servers to search your documentation database and retrieve relevant context. Using that context, Ask Fern generates a response and replies in a thread.

<Accordion title="Diagram">
  ```mermaid
  sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
      participant U as User (Discord)
      participant D as Discord Bot
      participant F as Fern Servers
      participant V as Documentation Database
      participant A as Ask Fern

      U->>D: Ask question to @Ask Fern
      D->>F: Forward message to Fern servers
      F->>F: Convert query to vector
      F->>V: Search for relevant chunks
      V->>F: Return matching documents
      F->>A: Send query + context
      A->>A: Generate response
      A->>D: Return answer
      D->>U: Reply in Discord thread
      F->>F: Store question and answer for analytics
  ```
</Accordion>