GEO AUDIT  ·  BRAND-ONLY

Fern.

A look at how Fern is described, positioned, and quoted inside Google's AI Overviews, the AI answer box at the top of search results, and where the brand shows up versus goes missing.

Sitebuildwithfern.com
Where we lookedGoogle AI Overviews, US
Questions tested39 brand, category, and competitor queries
PreparedInvalid Date  ·  by AUQ
AI Visibility Score
82
out of 100. Dominant band. Fern is cited in 26 of 38 AI answers. It shows up on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference.
Verified AI Overview citations
26
Fern's brand is cited in 26 of the 38 AI-answer queries we tested.
AI answer trigger rate
97%
Google's AI answer box fires on 38 of 39 tracked queries.
Citation rate when AI answers
68%
Share of AI-answer queries where the brand is actually quoted.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Fern scores 82 of 100 for AI Overview visibility. The work is closing the citation and identity gaps.

Fern is cited in 26 of 38 AI answers. It shows up on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference.

AI answers fire on 97% of tracked queries, yet Fern is quoted in only 68% of them. When it does appear, it sits as a listed provider, rarely the lead source.

AI Visibility Score
82
Dominant band
BarelyLowCompetitiveDominant
What's in the score
  • How often AI answers appear97 / 100
  • Inclusion in category answers100 / 100
  • Quality of placement when cited50 / 100
  • How AI describes the brand100 / 100
  • Topic coverage breadth67 / 100
  • Your pages being quoted68 / 100
Work with AUQ

We don't hand you a report and walk away. We execute it.

AUQ is an execution team, not a consultancy. We ship the fixes, content, and citations this audit calls for — and we work month-to-month, so we re-earn the engagement every 30 days.

Start with a month → No long-term contracts
CONTENT AND ENTITY COVERAGE

The topics that matter to the brand, and where it shows up in AI answers today.

See the full query-by-query breakdown →

TopicPresence in AI answersBuyer intent
Api DocumentationOwnedpositioning
Sdk GenerationOwnedpositioning
Interactive Api ReferenceOwnedpositioning
FernOwnedcomparison
Developer DocumentationPartialpositioning
Api Developer ExperiencePartialpositioning
Buyer-journey coverage

Problem Aware. overview queries: Fern appears on 4 of 6 themes.

Solution Aware. Owned on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference; absent on none.

Alternatives. 12 themes name the brand without citing it; 0 queries answer without it at all.

AI OVERVIEW PERFORMANCE

Where the brand shows up in Google's AI, and the high-value queries it is missing.

See all queries we tested →

Tracked keywords
39
Brand, category, and comparison queries analyzed.
AI answers fired
38
97% of tracked queries trigger an AI Overview.
Times brand cited
26
68% citation rate when AI answers.
Total brand mentions
38
Across all observed AI responses.
Case Studies

This playbook has already worked. Here's the proof.

Executed by AUQ for B2B SaaS teams with the same gaps this audit found.

1,000+ Fraud.net AI citations earned in 6 months through GEO prompt research and content automation. Read the case study → +173% Microblink Organic traffic growth from technical SEO, content automation, and GEO-focused linkbuilding. Read the case study → +30,000 AKOOL Visits in 6 months via technical optimizations and content strategy we executed end-to-end. Read the case study → +200% DeepInfra Technical blog traffic growth from a blog redesign, author training, and SaaS linkbuilding. Read the case study →
Get results like these for Fern → See all case studies
QUERIES WE TESTED

Every query we ran against Google's AI Overview, and what we found.

39 queries across branded, positioning, and comparison intent. "Cited" means Fern's own domain is a source in the AI answer. "Named, not cited" means the brand is mentioned but is not the source. "Absent" means the AI answered without it.

QueryTypeFern in the AI answerTop sources cited
best api documentationPositioningCitedreddit.com, news.ycombinator.com, mintlify.com
api documentation vendorsPositioningCitedmintlify.com, buildwithfern.com, gitbook.com
api documentation solutionsPositioningCitedswagger.io, zuplo.com, reddit.com
api documentation softwarePositioningNamed, not citedswagger.io, apisyouwonthate.com, redocly.com
api documentation platformPositioningNamed, not citedswagger.io, reddit.com, apisyouwonthate.com
top api documentation providersPositioningCitedreddit.com, mintlify.com, redocly.com
api documentation comparisonPositioningCiteddev.to, speakeasy.com, nordicapis.com
best sdk generationPositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, mintlify.com, reddit.com
sdk generation vendorsPositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, mintlify.com, speakeasy.com
sdk generation solutionsPositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, news.ycombinator.com, liblab.com
sdk generation softwarePositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, liblab.com, medium.com
sdk generation platformPositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, speakeasy.com, postman.com
top sdk generation providersPositioningCitedspeakeasy.com, newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com, buildwithfern.com
sdk generation comparisonPositioningCitedspeakeasy.com, prnewswire.com, buildwithfern.com
best developer documentationPositioningNamed, not citednews.ycombinator.com, reddit.com, gitbook.com
developer documentation vendorsPositioningNamed, not citedgitbook.com, mintlify.com, youtube.com
developer documentation solutionsPositioningNamed, not citedyoutube.com, reddit.com, kodesage.ai
developer documentation softwarePositioningNo AI answer
developer documentation platformPositioningNamed, not citedmintlify.com, atlassian.com, about.readthedocs.com
top developer documentation providersPositioningCitedmintlify.com, gitbook.com, documentation.ai
developer documentation comparisonPositioningCitedgitbook.com, bump.sh, ferndesk.com
best api developer experiencePositioningNamed, not citednordicapis.com, moesif.com, apideck.com
api developer experience vendorsPositioningCitedyoutube.com, nordicapis.com, buildwithfern.com
api developer experience solutionsPositioningNamed, not citedswagger.io, commercetools.com, f5.com
api developer experience softwarePositioningNamed, not citednordicapis.com, youtube.com, f5.com
api developer experience platformPositioningNamed, not citedyoutube.com, moesif.com, getdx.com
top api developer experience providersPositioningCitedzuplo.com, buildwithfern.com, nordicapis.com
api developer experience comparisonPositioningNamed, not citedf5.com, infoq.com, shiftmag.dev
best interactive api referencePositioningCitedbuildwithfern.com, apisyouwonthate.com, gitbook.com
interactive api reference vendorsPositioningCitedspeakeasy.com, redocly.com, buildwithfern.com
interactive api reference solutionsPositioningCitedswagger.io, stoplight.io, redocly.com
interactive api reference softwarePositioningCitedswagger.io, buildwithfern.com, readme.com
interactive api reference platformPositioningCitedibm.com, developerhub.io, bump.sh
top interactive api reference providersPositioningCitedmintlify.com, redocly.com, ferndesk.com
interactive api reference comparisonPositioningCitedmintlify.com, ferndesk.com, gitbook.com
alternatives to FernComparisonNamed, not citedperennialresource.com, facebook.com, westcoastgardens.ca
Fern vs StainlessComparisonCitedstainless.com, buildwithfern.com, news.ycombinator.com
Fern vs ReadMeComparisonCitedbuildwithfern.com, dev.to, nordicapis.com
Fern vs MintlifyComparisonCitedbuildwithfern.com, mintlify.com, trophy.so
THREE FINDINGS THAT MATTER
01

The brand is missing from 32% of AI-answer queries

Fern is cited in 26 of the 38 AI answers we triggered.

02

AI misreads the category

Fern presents as api documentation, sdk generation, developer documentation, api developer experience, interactive api reference. AI Overviews cite it on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference and it is absent on several decision-stage queries.

TOP THREE MOVES
01

Earn citations on decision-stage queries

Impact high · effort medium · 30 to 60 days

02

Convert named-not-cited queries into citations

Impact medium · effort low · 0 to 30 days

03

Earn placement in the third-party listicles AI cites

Impact high · effort medium · 30 to 90 days

IDENTITY IN AI OVERVIEWS

How the brand describes itself, and how Google's AI describes it.

What the brand says about itself

Api Documentation

Fern: Docs, SDKs, and CLIs for your API Products Resources Docs Beautiful, customizable documentation websites. SDKs Client libraries designed by language experts. CLI Interact with your API from the terminal. Documentation Learn how to usebuildwithfern.com, 2026

Differentiators it leads with: Docs, SDKs, CLI, API Reference.

What Google's AI says

Recognized in AI answers for Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference

Cited as a provider on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference queries.
Appears alongside youtube.com, mintlify.com, reddit.com.
The core gap
Fern presents as api documentation, sdk generation, developer documentation, api developer experience, interactive api reference. AI Overviews cite it on Api Documentation, Sdk Generation, Interactive Api Reference and it is absent on several decision-stage queries.
Words AI uses for the brand
Api DocumentationSdk GenerationInteractive Api Reference
The brand's own pillars that AI omits
Cited source on vendor and comparison queries
WHERE GOOGLE'S AI GETS ITS ANSWERS

The sources Google's AI cites in this category, and what it tells you about earning citations.

Domain AI citesPagesContext
youtube.com8Cited on 8 of the queries we tested.
mintlify.com7Cited on 7 of the queries we tested.
reddit.com6Cited on 6 of the queries we tested.
swagger.io5Cited on 5 of the queries we tested.
medium.com5Cited on 5 of the queries we tested.
zuplo.com5Cited on 5 of the queries we tested.
moesif.com5Cited on 5 of the queries we tested.
redocly.com4Cited on 4 of the queries we tested.
readme.com4Cited on 4 of the queries we tested.
gitbook.com4Cited on 4 of the queries we tested.
Reading
Independent listicles, communities, and rival explainers win the citations Fern is missing. Earning AI citation on the invisible themes means placement on those third-party pages, not only owning its own glossary.
AI-REVEALED PEERS

The competitive set drawn by Google's AI itself. Observed, not chosen.

See which queries each peer won →

Brands and domains Google's AI cites in place of Fern on the queries where it is absent. Observed, not chosen.

PeerHow AI frames it
youtube.comCited on 8 of the tested queries.
mintlify.comCited on 7 of the tested queries.
reddit.comCited on 6 of the tested queries.
swagger.ioCited on 5 of the tested queries.
medium.comCited on 5 of the tested queries.
zuplo.comCited on 5 of the tested queries.
moesif.comCited on 5 of the tested queries.
redocly.comCited on 4 of the tested queries.
Key observation
youtube.com is the most-cited source across the queries Fern is missing.
90-DAY ROADMAP

Three sprints from first wins to compounding category presence.

Month 1  ·  Days 1 to 30
  • Publish solution and comparison pages for the invisible themes.
  • Build linkable comparison assets so AI Overviews can cite the brand's own domain.
Month 2  ·  Days 31 to 60
  • Earn placement in third-party best-of listicles and review sites the AI cites.
  • Seed community and review presence where AI Overviews pull trust signals.
Month 3  ·  Days 61 to 90
  • Expand owned comparison content across decision-stage queries.
  • Re-audit to confirm invisible themes move to cited and track citation share.