Use case · Updated
Self-updating help center
Most help centers are accurate the day they launch and drift from then on. A chatbot on top makes the drift visible, one wrong answer at a time. usedocs builds the chatbot and the upkeep into the same help center.
TL;DR
Short answer
A self-updating help center drafts its own fixes and waits for your approval. usedocs does that from two sides: merged pull requests become proposed edits, and questions customers ask that no article answers become drafted articles. Ask AI answers on every page with a link to the source, and nothing goes live until you approve it.
Who this is for
SaaS teams that run a public help center, or want one, and answer the same questions in chat and email. Typical owners are founders and small support teams without a dedicated writer. Best fit when articles go stale after releases and customers ask things no article covers.
Problems this solves
- Search finds an article, but it describes a screen that changed two releases ago.
- Customers ask Ask AI something no article covers, and it guesses.
- The team knows articles are missing but never gets to write them.
- Moving to a new help center means broken links and lost search rankings.
- Readers in other languages get English labels and English articles.
How usedocs works for this job
Move or start your help center Import from Zendesk Guide, Intercom, GitBook, Notion, or any docs URL, with redirects from old paths, or start fresh.
Make it yours Custom domain or a subfolder of your site, your logo and colors, a docs layout with sidebar navigation, and light and dark modes.
Add Ask AI The assistant answers on every page with a link to the source and says so when the docs do not cover a question.
Keep it current Merged pull requests propose edits; unanswered questions become drafted articles; you approve both in one queue.
What you get
Docs style layout
Sidebar collections, an "On this page" rail, code blocks with copy buttons, and previous and next links.
Copy page for AI tools
Copy as Markdown, view as Markdown, or open the page in ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, and connect Cursor.
Translations
Four extra languages on Growth, with the help center's own labels translated too.
Private collections
Limit a collection to signed-in readers with magic links, a shared password, or your app's login.
Two loops of upkeep
Edits from merged PRs and drafts from customer questions, approved in one review queue.
Migrating without losing rankings
Import from your current help center and keep the old paths as redirects. Check the twenty most visited articles first, then publish. Search engines follow the redirects, and readers with old bookmarks land on the right page. Set the custom domain last, once the content is right. If you serve the help center from a subfolder of your marketing site through a proxy, links, the sitemap, and llms.txt all use your own domain, so the authority stays with your site.
Your first week
Turn on Ask AI and read every question it could not answer. Each one is already a gap with a drafted article. Approve the top five, then connect GitHub and clear the first drift report. By the end of the week the help center covers what customers asked and matches what you shipped.
Keeping it right every month
Set a recurring thirty minutes for the review queue. New releases bring proposed edits, new questions bring drafts. Check "not helpful" votes too; they point at articles that exist but do not answer the question.
Make it work for AI readers too
More customers now ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor about your product before they ask you. Every usedocs page has a Markdown copy, the site publishes llms.txt, and the Copy page menu opens an article straight in those tools. Keep article titles specific and the first paragraph self contained, so an answer quoted out of context is still right.
Why teams pick usedocs
- Hosted help center with a custom domain
- Ask AI with sources on every page
- Translations and private collections on Growth
- Imports with redirects from Zendesk, Intercom, GitBook, and Notion
Not for you if
Skip this if you need a full helpdesk with SLAs and agent routing, an omnichannel contact center, or an internal wiki. usedocs runs the customer facing help center and its assistant.
FAQ
What is a self-updating help center?
An assistant on your help center that answers questions from your articles. Good ones show the source and admit when the articles do not cover a question.
Can I migrate my existing help center?
Yes. Import from Zendesk Guide, Intercom, GitBook, Notion, or any docs URL, with redirects from the old paths.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes. Growth includes a custom domain, or you can serve the help center from a subfolder of your site.
How do articles stay current?
Merged pull requests propose edits to the affected articles, and questions customers ask become drafted articles. You approve both.
Can parts of the docs stay private?
Yes. Make the help center private, or limit collections to signed-in readers with magic links, a shared password, or a token from your app.
Can the docs be translated?
Yes. Growth includes four languages beyond your primary one, translated automatically on every publish, sent to review first, or by hand.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. A 7 day Growth trial with no card, then one plan at $99 a month.
Does the help center work on phones?
Yes. The layout adapts to small screens with a menu for navigation, and readers can switch between light and dark modes.
Does usedocs replace our helpdesk?
No. Keep your helpdesk for tickets; usedocs runs the help center and hands off by email when the assistant cannot help.