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How to Add an AI Chatbot to WordPress (and Fix It If It Doesn't Show)

Add an AI chatbot to WordPress with a plugin, or without one, and fix the usual reasons it doesn't appear: caching, page builders, security plugins and the site address.

By The Biggest NerdPublished 5 min read

In this guide
  1. Install with the plugin
  2. Install without a plugin
  3. Teach it your site
  4. If the chat doesn't show
  5. What it doesn't do
  6. Frequently asked questions

To add an AI chatbot to WordPress, install our plugin, go to Settings, then AI Chatbot, and press Connect. The chat goes on every page, the assistant reads your sitemap, and it starts answering from your own pages. No code to paste and no AI provider's API key. If you'd rather not add a plugin, paste our script into a header-and-footer snippet plugin instead. When the chat doesn't show, it's nearly always a cache that hasn't been cleared or a site address that isn't saved, and both take a minute to fix.

Install with the plugin

You need an administrator account and WordPress 6.3 or later.

  1. Download the plugin zip. Don't unzip it.
  2. Go to Plugins, then Add New, then Upload Plugin. Choose the zip, press Install Now, then Activate.
  3. Go to Settings, then AI Chatbot, and press Connect to The Biggest Nerd.
  4. Make your account or sign in. New accounts pick a plan and add a card to start the 3-day free trial, and nothing is charged during the trial.
  5. Press Connect for your site's address. You're sent back to WordPress with the chat switched on.
  6. Press See it on your site and look for the bubble in the corner.

The plugin has been submitted to the WordPress.org directory but isn't listed yet, which is why it's installed from a zip for now. Our post on a WordPress chatbot plugin with no API key explains what the Connect button does behind the scenes, and why there's no key to paste. Running a shop? The WooCommerce setup guide adds the product feed.

Install without a plugin

Some sites keep their plugin count down, or aren't allowed to add plugins. The script works anywhere a footer script can go.

  1. In our dashboard, type your site's address under Your website and press Save website. Skip this and the chat won't load, because it only answers on saved addresses.
  2. Copy your script tag:
<script src="https://thebiggestnerd.com/widget.js" data-key="your-key" async></script>
  1. Paste it into the footer box of a header-and-footer snippet plugin you already use. WPCode, for example, has Code Snippets, then Header & Footer. Many themes also have a "footer scripts" setting.
  2. Don't paste it into your theme's footer.php. The next theme update overwrites that file, and the chat disappears without warning.

On a block theme (Twenty Twenty-Four, Twenty Twenty-Five and most new themes), there's no footer.php to edit anyway. The plugin or a snippet plugin is the way in.

Teach it your site

The plugin reads your sitemap when you connect. Without the plugin, do it from our dashboard: under Whole site, paste your sitemap's address and press Read the whole site. It's usually one of these:

  • yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml, the one WordPress makes itself
  • yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml, if you use Yoast or Rank Math

Then look down the list of pages it read and remove any it shouldn't quote, such as an old promotion or a draft-like page someone forgot. Our guide to training a chatbot on your sitemap goes through which ones to leave out. If an answer lives only in your head, type it in under Paste text.

If the chat doesn't show

Work down the list. It's in order of how often each one is the cause.

  1. Caching. WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache, WP Super Cache and host caches (SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine and the like) keep serving the page as it was before you connected. Clear the plugin's cache, and the host's cache if it has its own button, then check again in a private window.
  2. The site address isn't saved. The chat stays hidden on any address it doesn't know. www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com count as different addresses, and so does a staging site. Add each one you use under Your website.
  3. The chat is switched off. Under Settings, then AI Chatbot, the plugin shows whether the chat is live. Switch off hides it until you switch it back on.
  4. JavaScript optimisation. "Delay JavaScript execution" in WP Rocket, and similar settings in other plugins, hold scripts back until the visitor scrolls or clicks. The chat still loads, but late. If that bothers you, add thebiggestnerd.com to the plugin's exclusion list.
  5. A cookie-consent plugin. Some block third-party scripts until a visitor accepts. Categorise ours as functional, or check the consent plugin's settings for blocked scripts.
  6. A security plugin's content security policy. If a plugin sets a strict content security policy, it has to allow thebiggestnerd.com for scripts and connections.
  7. Page builders. Elementor, Divi and Beaver Builder pages load the footer like any other page, so the plugin works on them. If you pasted the script into a builder's HTML widget instead, it only appears on that one page. Move it to the plugin or a site-wide footer box.

Still stuck? Email us the site address and we'll look.

What it doesn't do

  • No live chat with a person. When it can't answer, it offers a short form and lead capture emails you the visitor's details.
  • No bookings or orders. It can link to your booking or order-tracking page, but it can't book or look anything up.
  • No guessing. It answers only from what it has read, and says so when the answer isn't there. Those questions go on your unanswered questions list.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add an AI chatbot to WordPress without coding?

Install our plugin from the zip, go to Settings, then AI Chatbot, and press Connect. It puts the chat on every page and has the assistant read your sitemap, so there's no code to paste and no theme file to edit.

Why is my chatbot not showing on WordPress?

Usually a cache. Clear your caching plugin's cache and your host's, then check in a private window. If it still isn't there, check that the exact address you're visiting, with or without www, is saved on the assistant, and that the chat is switched on under Settings, then AI Chatbot.

Does it work with Elementor or Divi?

Yes. The plugin adds the chat to every page, including pages built with Elementor, Divi or Beaver Builder. Don't paste the script into a builder's HTML widget, or it only appears on that page.

Can I put the chatbot on some pages only?

The plugin puts it on every page. For specific pages only, use the script in a snippet plugin that can limit a snippet to certain pages, and leave our plugin uninstalled.

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