How Fern creates articles
Fern is your AI documentation agent that researches, writes, and drafts articles for your help center. You give her a prompt, she figures out the rest.
This guide covers how the process works, what sources Fern uses, and how to get the best results.
How it works
Creating an article with Fern follows this workflow:
Give Fern a prompt - Go to the Fern page or press ⌘N anywhere in Ferndesk. Type what you need (e.g., "Document the webhooks feature" or "Write a guide for SSO setup").
Fern researches - She scans your codebase, support tickets, existing articles, and any files or links you provide. You'll see a breakdown of what she's researching.
Fern plans the work - She creates a todo list showing each step (research, writing, adding visuals). This gives you visibility into her progress.
Fern drafts the article - She writes the full article based on her research. The draft appears in the task viewer with status "Ready to review".
You review and publish - Edit the draft directly in the task viewer, then publish it to your help center when ready.
Fern doesn't auto-publish. You always have final control before articles go live.
What sources Fern uses
Fern pulls from multiple sources to create accurate, complete documentation:
Your help center - Searches existing articles to avoid duplicates and add relevant links
Support conversations - Analyzes tickets from Intercom, Zendesk, or Help Scout to identify common questions and pain points
Your codebase - Browses your connected GitHub repositories to document UI flows, routes, API endpoints, and error messages. If you have multiple repos connected, Fern can focus on a specific repository or branch when needed.
Files and links - Reads PDFs, text files, and external documentation you attach to the prompt
Images - Analyzes screenshots and diagrams (she can't generate images, only describe and contextualize them)
Videos - Embeds public videos from YouTube, Loom, Wistia, or Vimeo. You can also upload videos directly.
Web browsing - Researches external documentation, changelogs, or reference materials
Connect integrations like GitHub and Intercom in your workspace settings to give Fern access to these sources.
Getting the best results
The quality of Fern's output depends on how much context you provide. Here's how to set her up for success:
Write clear, detailed prompts
Be specific about what you want. Instead of "Document webhooks," try "Document the webhooks feature. Cover setup steps, available events, payload format, and troubleshooting common errors."
The more detail you provide, the better Fern can research and structure the article.
Set global instructions
Go to Settings → Fern to configure how Fern writes and researches:
Drafting instructions - Set your preferred tone (e.g., "Use a confident, friendly tone" or "Write for technical audiences")
Research instructions - Tell Fern what to prioritize (e.g., "Always browse the codebase for UI flows" or "Check support tickets for common issues")
These settings apply to every task Fern creates, so you don't have to repeat yourself.
Attach files and links
If you have reference materials (spec docs, screenshots, videos, existing documentation), attach them directly to your prompt. Fern will incorporate them into her research.
Use automatic PR drafts and audits
When Automatic PR drafts is enabled, Fern can draft from merged pull requests that change customer-facing behavior. Sensitivity and Guidance for PR drafts on Settings > Automations control how readily those drafts are created and which standing rules apply. Not every merged PR becomes a drafting task.
Fern also identifies documentation gaps through audits. Visit the Fern page to see audit findings, then assign tasks directly to draft the needed articles.
Working with drafts
When Fern finishes, the draft appears in the task viewer. You can:
Edit directly - Use the built-in editor to refine content, adjust formatting, or add sections
Ask for changes - Message Fern in the task thread to request revisions (e.g., "Add a troubleshooting section" or "Make the intro shorter")
Publish when ready - Save and publish the article to your help center collection
Drafts stay in the task viewer until you publish them. Nothing goes live without your approval.
Very long tasks may show a Context compacted divider in the thread. This is automatic behavior that keeps the task running. You can expand the divider to review the summary, and the draft continues normally.
After publishing
Fern only publishes primary language content. If you have auto-managed translation languages enabled, the translation suite queues translations for newly published articles automatically. They appear shortly after publish rather than instantly. To update existing translations, use the language selector in the article editor or go to Help Center > Translate to retranslate all content for that language.