Matthew Berman’s Big Players newsletter is always interesting for AI-related trends. In recent newsletters, he has posted about the marketing value of being recommended by a chatbot.
Your competitor just got recommended by ChatGPT to 400M users last month. You weren’t even mentioned. Welcome to AI SEO warfare.
So what does that look like through the prism of technical writing? It’s likely their documentation is feeding the machine.
What’s changed
ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity command 1.2 billion active users who are asking “What’s the best tool for [your category]?” If your documentation isn’t optimised for AI engines, you’re invisible in the buying conversation.
A brutal truth
AI doesn’t browse your marketing site. It doesn’t watch your demo videos. It doesn’t read your case studies.
It reads your documentation.
And it decides whether you’re worth recommending.
Why documentation wins in AI search
✅ Structured, answer-ready content
✅ Clear problem → solution mapping
✅ Technical specificity AI engines trust
✅ Natural language that matches user queries
✅ Frequently updated (because it signals active development)
What AI models look for in documentation
- Concise, quotable explanations (50-100 words)
- Clear use cases with real examples
- Step-by-step “how-to” sections
- Formats that mirror conversational queries
- Technical accuracy with verifiable claims
The importance of visibility
AI trusts what the internet says about you, not just who links to you.
Great documentation get cited. In Stack Overflow. In Reddit threads. In GitHub discussions.
Those mentions = AI authority.
Where your documents need to live
Not just your site. AI scrapes:
- GitHub, wikis and readme files
- Stack Overflow answers
- Developer site tutorials
- YouTube transcripts
- Reddit threads
One well-crafted guide in the right place can be far more valuable than generic blog posts
Reddit is your documentation’s best friend
ChatGPT saw Reddit citations jump 436% post-licensing.
When developers discuss solutions on Reddit and cite your documents? That’s compound AI visibility.
The “best of” list strategy
Authoritative lists have 64% impact weight in Perplexity.
Get your product and documentation featured in:
- “Best API documentation examples”
- “Most helpful developer resources”
- “Top technical writing in [your category]”
A ChatGPT playbook
47.9% of ChatGPT citations come from Wikipedia-style sources.
Make your documents:
- Encyclopaedic but accessible
- Citation-rich (link to authoritative sources)
- Structured with clear sections
- Easy to quote and attribute
Speed matters
Fresh content gets priority.
Document new features immediately.
Update integration guides regularly.
Publish changelog posts.
The uncomfortable reality
You can’t hack your way into AI recommendations. You have to be worth citing.
Your documents must be:
- Actually helpful (not marketing fluff)
- Technically accurate
- Regularly maintained
- Genuinely better than alternatives
Signs your documentation is AI-ready
✅ Developers reference them unprompted on forums
✅ Support tickets decrease as docs improve
✅ Integration time drops significantly
✅ Community creates tutorials based on your documents
✅ Competitors study your documentation structure
The opportunity is now
Most companies treat documentation as an afterthought.
When people ask AI “What tool should I use for X?”will your documentation make you the answer?
Or will your competitor’s clear, well-structured, AI-optimised docs win the sale?
The internet’s front door moved. Your docs hold the key.
And don’t forget Cherryleaf can help.
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