WP GPT Chatbot - Setup Instructions

Overview

WP GPT Chatbot is a WordPress plugin that allows you to integrate a custom ChatGPT-powered chatbot into your WordPress websites. The chatbot is self-hosted and can be trained with your own material to provide accurate and relevant responses.

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.2 or higher
• OpenAI API key (https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys)
• jQuery (included in WordPress)

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download the plugin zip file or copy the wp-gpt-chatbot folder to your WordPress installation
2. Go to your WordPress admin panel > Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
3. Select the downloaded zip file and click "Install Now"
4. Activate the plugin after installation

FTP Installation

1. Extract the zip file
2. Upload the wp-gpt-chatbot folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory
3. Go to your WordPress admin panel > Plugins
4. Find "WP GPT Chatbot" and click "Activate"

Configuration

1. After activation, go to WordPress admin panel > GPT Chatbot

2. Enter your OpenAI API key in the API Settings section

3. Choose the OpenAI model:

   • GPT-4.1 Nano: Default model with excellent performance-to-cost ratio (recommended)
   • GPT-3.5 Turbo: Older model with good cost efficiency
   • GPT-4: Higher quality responses but more expensive

4. Add your custom training material in the System Prompt field

5. Customize the appearance settings:

   • Bot Name: The name displayed in the chatbot header
   • Welcome Message: The initial message shown when the chatbot is opened
   • Primary Color: The main color for the chatbot button and header
   • Secondary Color: The text color for the chatbot header
   • Widget Position: Choose between bottom-right or bottom-left

6. Click "Save Changes" to apply your settings

Training Your Chatbot

There are three ways to train your chatbot:

1. System Prompt - Provide general instructions and guidelines
2. Training Material - Add specific Q&A pairs manually or via CSV import
3. Website Content - Automatically use your website content as training material

System Prompt

The System Prompt field is where you can provide instructions and training material for your chatbot. This is what guides the chatbot's responses. Here are some examples of what you might include:

Example 1: Company Information

You are a helpful assistant for XYZ Company. You specialize in providing information about our products and services.

About XYZ Company:
- Founded in 2010
- Specializes in cloud computing solutions
- Headquartered in New York, with offices in London and Tokyo

Our Products:
1. CloudSafe - Data backup and security solution
2. CloudConnect - Integration platform for cloud services
3. CloudAnalytics - Business intelligence and analytics platform

Pricing:
- CloudSafe: $99/month
- CloudConnect: $149/month
- CloudAnalytics: $199/month

If customers ask about discounts, refer them to our sales team at sales@xyzcompany.com.

For technical support questions, always recommend contacting support@xyzcompany.com or calling our 24/7 support line at 1-800-XYZ-HELP.

Example 2: FAQ Bot

You are a helpful FAQ assistant for our website visitors. Please answer questions based on the following FAQs. If you don't know the answer, suggest the visitor contact us at help@example.com.

Q: What are your business hours?
A: Our stores are open Monday-Friday from 9am to 6pm, and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. We are closed on Sundays.

Q: What is your return policy?
A: We offer a 30-day return policy on all unused items with original packaging and receipt.

Q: Do you ship internationally?
A: Yes, we ship to most countries. International shipping typically takes 7-14 business days.

Q: How do I track my order?
A: You can track your order by logging into your account or using the tracking number sent in your shipping confirmation email.

Q: Do you offer gift wrapping?
A: Yes, we offer gift wrapping for $5 per item. You can select this option during checkout.

Website Content Crawler

The Website Content Crawler feature allows the chatbot to automatically use your WordPress website content as training material:

1. Go to WordPress admin panel > GPT Chatbot > Website Content tab
2. Enable the Content Crawler
3. Configure which content types, categories, and tags to include
4. Optionally exclude specific pages
5. Choose whether to automatically refresh content on a schedule
6. Click "Refresh Website Content Now" to start the initial content processing

This feature will:

• Automatically convert your pages and posts into training material
• Format the content with proper context, including source URLs
• Allow the chatbot to answer questions about your website content
• Keep the training material up-to-date with your latest content changes

The Website Content Crawler is particularly useful for:

• Large websites with lots of content
• Frequently updated websites
• Sites with product information, FAQs, or documentation
• Reducing the manual effort of training your chatbot

Media Coverage Management

The Media Coverage feature allows you to upload and manage information about your company's media appearances, press coverage, and news mentions:

Uploading Media Coverage

1. Go to WordPress admin panel > GPT Chatbot
2. Scroll to the "Media Coverage Management" section
3. Click "Choose File" and select a CSV file with your media coverage data
4. Click "Upload and Preview" to review the data before saving
5. Review the preview table and click "Confirm and Save" if everything looks correct

CSV File Format

Your CSV file should include the following columns:

• Outlet: Name of the media outlet (e.g., "TechCrunch", "Forbes", "BBC")
• Topic: The main topic or subject of the coverage (e.g., "AI Innovation", "Product Launch")
• Date: Date of publication (any standard date format)
• URL: Direct link to the article or coverage
• Notes: Additional details, quotes, or context about the coverage

Example CSV format:

Outlet,Topic,Date,URL,Notes
TechCrunch,AI Innovation,2024-01-15,https://techcrunch.com/example,"Featured our new AI chatbot technology"
Forbes,Business Strategy,2024-01-05,https://forbes.com/example,"CEO interview about company growth"
The Verge,Product Launch,2023-12-15,https://theverge.com/example,"Review of our latest product release"

How Media Coverage Enhances Chatbot Responses

When users ask questions related to media coverage, the chatbot will:

• Automatically identify media-related queries (questions containing words like "media", "coverage", "news", "featured", etc.)
• Include relevant media coverage information in its knowledge base
• Provide specific details about outlets, dates, and topics
• Include links to actual coverage when available
• Prioritize recent coverage over older entries

Sample Media Coverage File

A sample CSV file (sample-media-coverage.csv) is included with the plugin to demonstrate the expected format and help you get started.

Managing Media Coverage

• View Current Coverage: The admin page shows your current media coverage entries with outlet, topic, date, and links
• Clear All Data: Use the "Clear All Media Coverage" button to remove all entries
• Update Coverage: Simply upload a new CSV file to replace the existing data

This feature is particularly useful for:

• Startups and companies that want to showcase their media presence
• PR teams managing multiple media appearances
• Organizations that want their chatbot to reference specific coverage
• Building credibility by mentioning legitimate media mentions

Token Usage Optimization

WP GPT Chatbot includes several features to optimize token usage and improve response performance when using the OpenAI API:

Response Caching

The response caching system stores answers to previously asked questions, which:

• Reduces API costs by avoiding redundant API calls
• Improves response time for common questions
• Maintains a consistent user experience

To configure caching:

1. Go to WordPress admin panel > GPT Chatbot
2. Scroll to the "Token Usage & Performance Settings" section
3. Enable/disable caching as needed
4. Set the cache expiration time (default: 1 week)
5. Use the "Clear Response Cache" button after making significant changes to your training data

Selective Context Retrieval

The selective context feature intelligently filters training content to:

• Only send relevant training material to the API based on the user's question
• Dramatically reduce token usage for each request
• Improve response quality by focusing on the most relevant information

This feature can be enabled/disabled in the "Token Usage & Performance Settings" section.

Conversation Memory Limits

Control how much conversation history is sent with each request:

• Set the number of previous messages to include (default: 5)
• Lower values reduce token usage but may impact conversation coherence
• Higher values provide better conversation context but increase token usage

Model Selection

The plugin supports multiple OpenAI models with different performance and cost characteristics:

• GPT-4.1 Nano (default): Best balance of performance and cost
• GPT-3.5 Turbo: Good for basic Q&A with lower cost
• GPT-4: Highest quality responses but more expensive

Choose the appropriate model based on your specific needs and budget constraints.

Advanced Customization

Custom CSS

You can add custom CSS to your theme to further customize the appearance of the chatbot:

/* Example custom CSS to add to your theme */
#wp-gpt-chatbot-container .wp-gpt-chatbot-button {
    /* Custom button styles */
    background-color: #ff6b6b !important;
}

#wp-gpt-chatbot-container .wp-gpt-chatbot-message.bot .wp-gpt-chatbot-message-content {
    /* Custom bot message styles */
    background-color: #f8f9fa !important;
    border: 1px solid #e9ecef !important;
}

#wp-gpt-chatbot-container .wp-gpt-chatbot-message.user .wp-gpt-chatbot-message-content {
    /* Custom user message styles */
    background-color: #4c6ef5 !important;
}

Modifying the Plugin

If you need to make more substantial customizations:

1. Make a copy of the plugin folder (rename it to avoid updates overwriting your changes)
2. Modify the files as needed
3. Test thoroughly before deploying to production

Implementation Options

Floating Widget

The chatbot will automatically appear as a floating widget on all pages of your website once activated and configured. There is no need to add any code to your theme or pages.

Inline Chatbot with Shortcode

You can also embed the chatbot directly within your page content using the provided shortcode:

[wp_gpt_chatbot]

The shortcode accepts the following optional parameters:

• height: The height of the chatbot container (default: '400px')
• welcome_message: Custom welcome message for this specific chatbot instance

Example usage with parameters:

[wp_gpt_chatbot height="500px" welcome_message="Hello! Ask me anything about our services."]

This allows you to place the chatbot in specific locations on your site, such as dedicated FAQ pages or support sections.

If you want to control which pages the chatbot appears on, you can use the following filter:

// Add this to your theme's functions.php file or in a custom plugin

// Example 1: Disable chatbot on specific pages
add_filter('wp_gpt_chatbot_display', function($display) {
    if (is_page('contact') || is_page('about')) {
        return false; // Don't display chatbot on Contact or About pages
    }
    return $display;
});

// Example 2: Only show chatbot on specific pages
add_filter('wp_gpt_chatbot_display', function($display) {
    if (!is_page('faq') && !is_page('support')) {
        return false; // Only display chatbot on FAQ and Support pages
    }
    return $display;
});

Multisite Implementation

For WordPress Multisite installations, you can:

1. Network Activate the plugin to enable it for all sites
2. Configure each site independently with its own API key and settings
3. Use different training material for each site to customize responses based on site content

Troubleshooting

The chatbot isn't appearing on my site

• Make sure you've entered a valid OpenAI API key
• Check if you have any JavaScript errors in the browser console
• Try disabling other plugins to check for conflicts

The chatbot isn't responding properly

• Verify your OpenAI API key is valid and has sufficient credits
• Check that your training material is clear and comprehensive
• Try using a different OpenAI model

The chatbot style doesn't match my site

• Adjust the primary and secondary colors in the plugin settings
• Add custom CSS to your theme as described in the Advanced Customization section

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please contact us at support@example.com.

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPL v2 or later.

Credits

• OpenAI for the ChatGPT API
• Icons from Feather Icons