diff --git a/docs/reference/cluster/update-settings.asciidoc b/docs/reference/cluster/update-settings.asciidoc
index 33246b57aa4..d21d84ba8f2 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cluster/update-settings.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/cluster/update-settings.asciidoc
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ GET /_cluster/settings
 --------------------------------------------------
 // CONSOLE
 
+By default, this API call only returns settings that have been explicitly defined, but can also <<cluster-get-settings,include the default settings>>.
+
 Updates to settings can be persistent, meaning they apply across restarts, or transient, where they don't 
 survive a full cluster restart. Here is an example of a persistent update: