How to Add an AI Chatbot to WordPress in 5 Minutes

Adding an AI chatbot to WordPress should not mean editing footer.php, installing a generic script manager, or giving a developer your Pivra password. Pivra's WordPress connection flow is designed to get a chatbot onto an Australian business website in a few minutes while keeping account access separate from website access.

This guide covers the complete plugin workflow, how to confirm the chatbot is live, and what to check if the widget does not appear.

Before you start

You need:

• A WordPress administrator login for the website you are updating
• A Pivra account with a chatbot already created
• At least one completed knowledge source
• A chatbot set to Published under Chatbot → General

Publishing matters. Draft chatbots are available through Pivra's secure Test screen, but they cannot answer visitors on a public website.

Step 1: install the Pivra plugin

In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New and install the Pivra AI Chatbot plugin package supplied by Pivra. Activate it, then open Settings → Pivra AI Chatbot.

The settings screen asks for a one-time setup code. It does not ask for your Pivra email, password, Stripe details, or a secret account API key.

Step 2: generate a one-time setup code

Open Pivra in another tab:

1. Select the correct chatbot.
2. Open Chatbot → Install.
3. Select the WordPress tab.
4. Choose Generate setup code.
5. Copy the code while it is visible.

The code expires after 30 minutes and works once. Pivra stores a hash of the code rather than the original value.

Step 3: connect WordPress

Return to WordPress → Settings → Pivra AI Chatbot, paste the setup code, and choose Connect Pivra.

After a successful connection, the plugin stores only the public widget configuration and a site-specific health credential. That credential is restricted to the connected website domain. It cannot be used to log into your Pivra account or manage another chatbot.

Step 4: confirm the widget is live

Open the public website in a private browser window and check two things:

1. The chat button appears in the expected corner.
2. The chatbot answers a business-specific question correctly.

Then return to Pivra → Install. The installation banner should show the detected domain, widget load count, and recent activity. WordPress installations also report their plugin version and scheduled health status.

What Pivra monitors

The WordPress connection sends a lightweight scheduled health check. It helps identify whether an installation is:

• Healthy — recently connected
• Warning — the site has not checked in for several hours
• Stale — no heartbeat for more than 48 hours
• Disabled — switched off from Pivra or disconnected in WordPress

It does not send WordPress posts, administrator passwords, customer lists, or unrelated website data.

Troubleshooting

The plugin says the setup code is invalid

Generate a new code. The previous code may have expired, already been used, or been revoked. Make sure you are connecting the intended chatbot.

The plugin connects but the button does not appear

Check that the chatbot is Published, not Draft. Clear any WordPress page cache, CDN cache, and optimisation-plugin cache. Then open the site in a private window.

The widget appears but cannot answer

Open Pivra → Knowledge and confirm at least one source has completed training. Use Chatbot → Test to check the same question with the secure preview.

The widget appears twice

The site probably still contains an older manual embed snippet or another script-injection plugin. Remove the older snippet and keep one installation method.

The connection shows the wrong domain

Disconnect the plugin and create a new setup code from Pivra. A site credential is domain-bound and should not be copied between staging and production websites.

Is the plugin safer than editing a theme?

For most customers, yes. Theme-file edits can disappear during an update and are easy to duplicate accidentally. The plugin uses WordPress capability checks and request nonces for settings changes, keeps the installation in one predictable place, and can report its health back to Pivra.

Developers can still use the manual HTML snippet shown under Install, but the plugin is the cleaner path for a standard WordPress business website.

Want us to install it?

If you would rather stay focused on customers and jobs, create your Pivra account and ask about assisted installation. We can help connect the chatbot, verify the live domain, and test the first enquiry with you.