# Ask Fern now sits in your documentation's sidebar

**Date:** 2025-09-16  
**Author:** Ryan Tish  
**Source:** https://buildwithfern.com/post/ask-fern-sidebar

> Three improvements to Ask Fern, the AI assistant for documentation.

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_TLDR: We’ve made three improvements to Ask Fern, the AI assistant for documentation:_ 

1.  **_Sidebar:_** _We shifted Ask Fern from a popup modal to a sidebar so users can ask questions while browsing your documentation._
2.  **_New API endpoints:_** _Connect Ask Fern to your blog posts, help center, or marketing site for more complete answers. The new_ _`Documents API`_ _makes it easy to add context that lives outside your docs._
3.  **_Filtering:_** _Users can tailor Ask Fern responses by filtering on version, product, and role (RBAC)._

## 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. 

![](/blog/68c88d87db511ede364751c6_h7t5tjmafpjpwasbimfg-791a75ef.avif)

_Example of ElevenLabs documentation with Ask Fern sidebar enabled_ 

## Bring in outside sources with our Documents API 

We’ve added a [**Documents API**](https://buildwithfern.com/learn/ask-fern/configuration/documents) 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. 

## 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. 

![](/blog/68c88dd19a28b91cf7248546_rhwjqbyzkssjl5mqyt6k-b58ef67f.avif)

_Example of ElevenLabs documentation with filters_

## Explore Ask Fern today 

Ready to bring AI-powered search into your documentation? We’d love to help you get started. [Reach out](https://buildwithfern.com/book-demo) and see how Ask Fern can instantly answer questions for users reading your documentation.