To install Chirps on WordPress, activate the Chirps plugin, open Chirps in your admin sidebar, and connect your account. Choose an existing ready assistant or create one from your business details inside WordPress. When a newly created assistant finishes training successfully, the plugin installs and shows it automatically on eligible public pages.
This guide follows the Chirps account connection and setup forms. You do not need to find an assistant ID, paste a private developer key, or edit your theme to use that flow. WordPress handles installation and display rules; Chirps handles the assistant’s business knowledge, customer conversations, and advanced configuration.
The instructions describe the current Chirps ZIP package. Obtain the package supplied by Chirps; do not assume a WordPress.org listing is available. If you are still choosing what your assistant should do, read the WordPress AI chatbot guide before configuring its customer journey.
- What do you need before installing Chirps?
- Step 1: Upload and activate the WordPress plugin
- Step 2: Connect your Chirps account once
- Step 3: Create an assistant from your business information
- Step 4: Let training finish and check the public widget
- Step 5: Choose where customers see Chirps
- Step 6: Make the assistant work the way your business needs
- How to pause, replace, or disconnect an assistant
- Troubleshooting a WordPress chatbot that is not showing
- Understand usage limits and upgrades inside WordPress
- Your final installation checklist
What do you need before installing Chirps?
You need a WordPress administrator account that can install plugins, the Chirps plugin ZIP, and a Chirps account. For a new assistant, prepare your business name, a publicly accessible business website, and a suitable contact email. Decide who will review customer inquiries so the assistant has somewhere useful to send people after answering their questions.
The plugin package declares WordPress 6.0 or later and PHP 7.4 or later as minimum requirements. Treat minimum versions as installation requirements rather than a promise that every theme, host, or plugin combination has been tested. If a developer manages your site, ask them to check the hosting environment and install on staging first, particularly for a busy store.
A public website is important for training. Chirps cannot crawl a URL such as localhost or a private development server from its hosted service. You can use a local WordPress installation to try the connection and widget while supplying an accessible public business website as the knowledge source. Private source material should be added deliberately through Chirps knowledge management.
- Confirm that the website’s current services, policies, and contact information are correct.
- Have permission to connect the intended Chirps workspace and assistant.
- Check the current plan’s assistant and usage allowances before starting setup.
- Note any existing chatbot script so you can avoid a duplicate widget.
- Know where your host and caching plugin expose cache-purge controls.
Step 1: Upload and activate the WordPress plugin
In WordPress, open Plugins, choose Add New, and select Upload Plugin. Choose the Chirps ZIP, install it, and then activate it. Upload the ZIP as supplied rather than a parent archive containing unrelated project files. WordPress should recognize a plugin package with the Chirps plugin files inside it.
This uses the standard WordPress plugin upload procedure. If your host disables plugin installation, ask the site administrator or hosting provider to install the approved package. Do not work around a restricted account by putting private connection details into a theme file or an untrusted script-injection plugin.
- Sign in to WordPress with an account permitted to install plugins.
- Open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Select the Chirps plugin ZIP and choose Install Now.
- Activate the plugin after installation completes.
- Open Chirps from the WordPress admin sidebar.
If WordPress reports that the destination folder already exists, check whether Chirps is already installed. Use the normal plugin update or replacement workflow for your environment. Back up your site before replacing a package. A failed upload is a WordPress installation issue; it is not a reason to create a second assistant or repeatedly start a new account connection.
Step 2: Connect your Chirps account once
On the Chirps screen, choose Connect Chirps account. You are taken to the Chirps connection page to sign in or create an account. Check that you are using the workspace that should own this website’s assistant. For an agency, this is the point to confirm the client’s ownership and permissions rather than accidentally connecting an unrelated client’s assistant.
The connection page identifies the WordPress site being connected. Continue with setup in WordPress if you need a new assistant, or select an existing suitable assistant. Existing selections should be ready to use and appropriate for the site’s domain. If an assistant still needs setup, finish that setup in Chirps before choosing it for a public installation.
After authorization, the browser returns to WordPress. The plugin exchanges the short-lived connection information for a private installation credential on your server. The credential is restricted to the connected installation and is not placed in the visitor-facing widget. Routine users should follow this connection flow instead of creating a broad developer API key and copying it into the website.
Step 3: Create an assistant from your business information
If you chose to create an assistant, WordPress shows a short setup form. Enter the business name customers recognize, the public business website, and a support or contact email. The website should be the source that describes the business, not the WordPress login address, a checkout URL, or a private administration page.
Next, choose the assistant’s language and conversation style and add useful instructions. Write instructions as business rules: which services you offer, what a visitor should do for a quotation, which questions need a person, and what the assistant must not promise. A concise, specific rule is more useful than asking the assistant to be impressive or persuasive in every response.
| Setup field | Useful example | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | The name visitors see on your site | An internal test project name |
| Public website | Your accessible business homepage | Localhost, wp-admin, or a login-only portal |
| Contact email | The team mailbox used for relevant inquiries | An unattended personal address |
| Conversation style | Friendly and concise for customer questions | A tone that obscures service limits |
| Instructions | Explain our service area; collect an inquiry for custom quotes | Invent a price if no price is available |
Choose Create & install my assistant when the details are correct. This creates the assistant and starts website preparation. Plan limits still apply: the WordPress plugin uses the same account allowances as Chirps. If creation is blocked by a limit, review the notice and the billing link. Repeatedly submitting the same form will not create more capacity.
Step 4: Let training finish and check the public widget
The setup screen shows progress while Chirps reads and prepares the website information. Give the process time to finish. Closing the WordPress admin tab does not itself cancel the Chirps training task; the setup state is retained so you can return to it. If the process reports a problem, review the source website and the linked Chirps settings rather than assuming an unfinished assistant is ready.
After successful training, a ready and active assistant is installed automatically. There is no additional Show Chirps checkbox to select and save in the connected setup flow. Use View on my website to open the real public site. Check an eligible page in a normal browser session, not only in an administrator preview or a page-builder editing canvas.
WordPress also schedules readiness checks for setup completed after you leave the screen. Their execution depends on WordPress running scheduled tasks. WordPress documents WP-Cron as being triggered by page loads, so an inactive staging site can behave differently from a frequently visited public website. Your host can help verify scheduled-task execution.
If training fails or the assistant is inactive, the plugin should not publish it. Do not interpret a missing widget as proof that installation is broken until you have checked readiness. The expected sequence is connected, preparing, ready, and then visible on a page that permits display. That sequence makes troubleshooting much easier than changing several settings at once.
Step 5: Choose where customers see Chirps
Once the assistant is available, review its page rules in WordPress. Decide whether it belongs across your public website or on selected types of content. Start with service, pricing, contact, or product pages where a visitor’s question can reasonably lead to an inquiry or booking. Exclude pages where a chat launcher would distract from another important action.
The plugin supports placement rules and excluded site paths. Review exclusions after changing your permalink structure or moving a section of the site. An exclusion intended for an old checkout path will not communicate your intent if the store now uses a different path. Keep a short record of your chosen rules so another administrator understands why a page does or does not show chat.
For WooCommerce, cart, checkout, and account pages are excluded by default. The storefront can use Chirps to explain business and public product information, but the standard connection does not grant access to a signed-in customer’s orders. Read the WooCommerce support guide before designing an order-related conversation.
Save page-rule changes and inspect one included and one excluded page. If you use full-page caching, confirm that visitors receive the new version. A logged-in administrator may bypass caches that anonymous visitors still use, so checking the same page in a separate browser session is important. Your CDN may need a separate purge beyond the WordPress caching plugin.
Step 6: Make the assistant work the way your business needs
Use the plugin’s links to open the connected assistant’s knowledge, appearance, and conversations in Chirps. Add appropriate documents and instructions, adjust its welcome message and suggestions, and match its logo and colors to your site. These changes configure the official Chirps widget rather than a separate WordPress-only version of the chat design.
For a service business, offer a contact form after answering a relevant question. Configure fields that help your team respond: the project, location, and a contact method may be enough. For scheduling, define valid appointment types and availability first. The customer should see real choices, understand what they are booking, and receive confirmation only after successful submission.
Your team reads conversations in the Chirps workspace. Human takeover lets a person continue a website conversation while automated responses are paused. Choose who will monitor this inbox and what response expectations the assistant should communicate. A staff member cannot reply promptly to a lead they do not know has arrived; configure relevant notifications and team access deliberately.
If voice is appropriate and available on your plan, configure it separately and check the spoken experience. Website voice and an assigned telephone number are different entry points. Adding the WordPress widget does not automatically purchase a business phone number or replace your current phone routing. Start with the customer experience you actually intend to support.
How to pause, replace, or disconnect an assistant
Use Pause on my website to hide the connected widget without deleting the assistant or its conversations. Show on my website resumes display when the assistant is eligible to run. These connected controls take effect without a separate settings-save step. Keep this distinction clear when a colleague wants to stop new conversations temporarily but retain customer records.
Use Change assistant to open the authenticated Chirps picker and choose another ready assistant suitable for the site. The plugin replaces the connected installation rather than adding a second widget. That is useful when a business has created a revised assistant and wants to use it on the same website. The previous assistant’s records are not deleted just because it is no longer installed.
Disconnect when the website should no longer be authorized to use the connection. If you intend to remove the plugin, disconnect first so the installation credential can be revoked. Deactivation, hiding a widget, and deleting an assistant are different operations. Avoid deleting customer information simply to make a launcher disappear from a WordPress page.
Troubleshooting a WordPress chatbot that is not showing
| Symptom | First check | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| No widget anywhere | Assistant readiness, active state, and display pause | Complete setup or resume display |
| Missing on one page | Placement rules and excluded paths | Check the page type and exact path |
| Visible only when signed in | Anonymous page cache | Purge the relevant WordPress and CDN caches |
| Connection link is invalid | Whether connection was started freshly | Restart from the plugin screen |
| Local training fails | Whether the source URL is public | Use an accessible business website |
| Two launchers appear | An older embed or another chat installation | Keep only the intended installation |
If the assistant is ready but the widget still does not load, ask your developer to check whether a consent manager, script-delay rule, browser extension, content-security policy, or network filter blocks the Chirps embed. Keep appropriate privacy controls in place; configure the required service deliberately rather than disabling every protection on the website to make a demo work.
If the widget loads but cannot answer, check the assistant’s source knowledge, configuration, and usage allowance. A visibility issue and an AI-service issue need different fixes. If progress appears stuck, open the assistant in Chirps and inspect setup. Avoid creating multiple replacement assistants before identifying whether the problem is the source website, a quota, or the training process.
Understand usage limits and upgrades inside WordPress
The connected plugin shows relevant account usage so you do not have to guess why a creation or reply is blocked. This includes AI credits and assistant-related allowances. Review the notice for the specific limit rather than assuming every restriction means you have used too many ordinary chat messages. Search and other actions can consume credits differently.
The Upgrade in Chirps link opens billing in Chirps, where account plans are managed. Review the current plans before deciding whether an upgrade is necessary. If usage is temporarily unavailable, refresh it instead of treating an unavailable value as zero. Plan changes should be checked against the connected account after returning to WordPress.
An assistant can remain installed while its AI allowance is exhausted. That differs from pausing display. Keep an alternative contact route available on your website so a service interruption does not remove every way a visitor can reach the business. For a critical sales site, assign someone to watch usage and service status before an advertising campaign increases traffic.
Your final installation checklist
- The correct WordPress site and Chirps workspace are connected.
- The assistant is ready, active, and visible on a permitted public page.
- A service question receives a supported answer from current business information.
- A configured inquiry can be submitted and found by the responsible team.
- Any offered appointment can be selected and confirmed accurately.
- The launcher, conversation, keyboard, and close controls work on a phone.
- Excluded pages remain clear, including WooCommerce checkout and account areas.
- The team knows how to update knowledge, pause display, and review usage.
For an agency handover, give the client a short record of the connected workspace, assistant, placement rules, and support owner. Demonstrate the public widget and the actual inbox. Do not hand over a screenshot of a successful installation while leaving the client unsure where new messages go or how to stop the widget during a site redesign.
Once these checks pass, the installation becomes a small part of ongoing website management. Keep the business information current, review customer conversations, and adjust the next steps to the questions visitors really ask. You should not need to reinstall the widget every time you improve an answer or change the welcome message.