AI Troubleshooting

Each heading below is a symptom you see. When generation fails, the window shows a short explanation; select Technical Details under it for the provider’s own message.

The Generate with AI button is not in the toolbar

Cause: your Promptless WP access level is not Developer. Administrators get Developer by default; other users get Client, which has no AI features.

Fix: an administrator opens your WordPress profile and sets Promptless WP Access Level to Developer (Full Access).

The window says “No AI provider configured”

Cause: there is no OpenAI key on the site.

Fix: select Configure AI →, or open Promptless WP → AI Settings. Enter the key in OpenAI API Key, select Test Connection, then Save Changes.

“OpenAI Account Needs Credits”

Cause: the OpenAI account behind the key has no payment method or no credits left. A new key does not work until the account is funded.

Fix: select Add Credits to OpenAI and add credits in the OpenAI dashboard, then Try Again.

“Invalid API Key”

Cause: the key is wrong, was revoked in OpenAI, or belongs to a deleted project.

Fix: on Promptless WP → AI Settings, select Disconnect, paste a current key, and select Test Connection.

“API Key Recovery Required” after moving the site

Cause: keys are stored encrypted with the site’s WordPress security keys (AUTH_KEY in wp-config.php). Moving to a new server or regenerating those keys makes the stored key unreadable.

Fix: enter the OpenAI key again, and the Replicate key if you use one.

The API key will not save

Cause: the site has no usable AUTH_KEY in wp-config.php, so the key cannot be stored securely. The message names AUTH_KEY.

Fix: ask your host or developer to add WordPress security keys to wp-config.php, then enter the key again.

The document will not upload

The message says which of these it is:

• “File size exceeds 5MB limit”: save a smaller copy, or paste the text instead.
• “Invalid file type”: only .docx and .md files are accepted. For a PDF or anything else, copy the text into the Paste Markdown tab.
• “Older .doc files cannot be read”: open the file in Word and save it as .docx, then upload it again.
• “Failed to parse Word document”: the .docx is damaged, or the server is missing PHP’s zip extension. Open it in Word and save it again as .docx. If a fresh .docx also fails, ask your host to enable PHP’s zip extension.
• “The Markdown file appears to be empty.”: the file has no text.

Part of the content is missing from the sections

Causes:

• Only about the first 10,000 characters are sent to the AI.
• Text in Word headers, footers and images is not read.
• Markdown code blocks and front matter are removed, and links lose their addresses.

Fix: split long content into parts and generate each one; move text into the body of the document; add links in the editor after import. See Document Upload.

Sections are the wrong type or split in the wrong places

Cause: the AI decides where sections start from headings. A Word document reaches it as plain paragraphs without heading levels, so it has to guess.

Fix: use Markdown headings: ## for each section and ### for each card or item. Upload an .md file or paste into Paste Markdown. Delete any unwanted imported sections, or undo the import with Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) before saving.

“Request Timed Out” or “Content Too Long”

Cause: the content is long or complex. A timed-out request has already been retried once.

Fix: generate from a shorter part of the content, then run the next part.

“Rate Limit Reached”, “Server Error” or “Service Temporarily Unavailable”

Cause: OpenAI is limiting requests from your account, or its service is having problems.

Fix: wait a few minutes and select Try Again.

Generating again gives exactly the same sections

Cause: results are kept for 24 hours for identical content, so you are not charged twice.

Fix: open Promptless WP → Cache Management and select Clear AI Cache, then generate again.

Image generation fails

The message in the image window says which of these it is:

• “AI image generation is not configured. Please add your Replicate API key in settings.”: enter a key in Replicate API Key on Promptless WP → AI Settings and select Save API Key. Check it with Test Connection.
• “Please wait a moment before generating again.” or “Rate limited”: wait a few seconds and try again.
• “Image generation timed out after 5 minutes.”: try again, or choose a faster Quality setting.
• “Generated image failed to load. It may have expired. Please regenerate.”: the preview is only held by Replicate for a short time. Select Regenerate, then Use This Image promptly.
• “Failed to save image to Media Library”: the image was made but could not be copied into your site. Select Regenerate, then Use This Image again. If it keeps failing, ask your host to check that the uploads folder is writable.

If generation is refused for a user who is not an administrator, their access level is not Developer; see the first heading on this page.

Related pages

• AI Features Overview — What the built-in AI features do, the API keys they need, who can use them, and how they differ from the connector.
• Document Upload — Which files the AI generator accepts, how to upload or paste content, and how to structure it so it maps to the right sections.
• How AI Generation Works — Turn uploaded or pasted content into sections, choose which to import and how they are styled, and check the result.
• AI Image Generation — Create an image from a description inside the editor, choose its style, shape and quality, and save it to the Media Library.
• Plugin Settings — Every Promptless WP screen in wp-admin, what each option changes, and where the settings that are not in wp-admin live.