How to Add an AI Chatbot to WordPress with Appalix

What you'll need

• An Appalix account on any plan
• A WordPress site (self-hosted or WordPress.com Business+) with admin access
• A configured bot in Appalix (at least name and system prompt set)

How it works

The Appalix WordPress plugin renders a chat bubble on every page of your site. When a visitor sends a message, the plugin POSTs it to your Appalix API endpoint. Appalix processes the message through your bot — applying your system prompt, RAG knowledge base, and memory — then returns the reply, which the plugin displays instantly in the chat bubble.

All conversations, lead captures, and handoff triggers work exactly as they do on other platforms — you see everything in the Appalix Conversations tab.

Step 1 — Create a WordPress integration in Appalix

1. Log in to your Appalix dashboard and go to Integrations.
2. Click Add integration and select WordPress.
3. Give the integration a name (e.g. My WordPress Site), choose the bot to connect, and enter your site URL.
4. Create a strong, random API key — this is the shared secret between your WordPress site and Appalix. Save it somewhere secure.
5. Click Create integration. You'll be redirected to the integration list.
6. Click the integration name (or the eye icon) to open the Setup guide — copy the API Endpoint URL and API Key shown there.

Step 2 — Install the Appalix Chat plugin

1. Download the plugin zip from your integration setup page (the orange Download appalix-chat.zip button), or directly from appalix.ai/downloads/appalix-chat.zip.
2. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the appalix-chat.zip file and click Install Now.
4. Click Activate Plugin once installation completes.

Already have the old Claude AI Chat plugin? Deactivate and delete it first — the Appalix plugin replaces it entirely.

Step 3 — Configure the plugin

1. In WordPress admin, go to Settings → Appalix Chat.
2. Paste the API Endpoint copied from your Appalix integration setup page:

   https://api.appalix.ai/webhooks/wordpress/{your-integration-id}

3. Paste the API Key shown on the same setup page.
4. Click Save Settings.

Once saved, the settings page shows a green "Widget is active" status and links directly to your Appalix Conversations tab.

Welcome message — configure this inside the bot's settings in your Appalix dashboard, not in the WordPress plugin. It applies across all platforms the bot is connected to.

Step 4 — Test it

1. Visit your WordPress site in a new browser tab. You should see the Appalix chat bubble in the bottom-right corner.
2. Click it and send a test message — the bot should reply within a few seconds.
3. Back in Appalix, open Conversations — your test message should appear there with the platform tagged as WordPress.

Tips & best practices

• Train your bot on your site content — go to Knowledge Base in Appalix, add your site URL as a source, and enable RAG on your bot. The bot will answer questions using your actual page content.
• Enable lead capture — in your integration settings, add a CRM provider (HubSpot, Zoho, Zapier, etc.) to automatically push email/phone leads from chat into your CRM.
• Set up human handoff — configure a Slack or email notification so your team is alerted when a visitor explicitly asks for a human agent.
• Security — your API key is stored as a WordPress option (never exposed in the browser). The plugin identifies your integration by loading the Appalix widget.js with your integration ID. All message processing and authentication happen server-side on Appalix's API.