FAQ – Ask Adam it

What is Ask Adam?

Ask Adam is a privacy-first AI assistant for WordPress. It adds a fast, branded chat widget to your site and (optionally) a longer-form assistant via shortcode. You bring your own API key (OpenAI, Anthropic/Claude, or xAI/Grok), and Adam answers using your site’s content plus your chosen model.

Short version: no SaaS lock-in, no proxy—you control the provider, the cost, and the tone.

What’s the difference between Ask Adam Lite, Ask Anna, Ask Adam Pro, and Ask Alan (coming soon)?

Ask Adam Lite: the original “know-your-website” AI. Core widget experience with limited options—perfect to try it out.
Ask Anna: widget-only product with theme/avatars, memory, and full KB—feature-rich on a budget. Launch promo $12/mo (soon $16.77).
Ask Adam Pro: full plugin (widget + shortcode) with multi-provider presets, full KB tools, optional Brave web search, and vision. $24.77/mo (soon $34.77).
Ask Alan (Enterprise, coming soon): everything in Anna + Adam Pro plus independent AI audit trail, multi-agent verification, and compliance features (GDPR/PII scrubbing, log retention). Planned launch $77.77/mo.

Which AI providers and models are supported?

OpenAI: GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini
Anthropic (Claude): Claude 3.5 Sonnet/Haiku, Claude 4 Sonnet
xAI (Grok): Grok 3/4 and mini
Custom: bring your own endpoint/model

Pick them under Ask Adam → Assistant (Provider + Preset). For snappy widget replies, GPT-4o mini is an excellent balance.

Important: Vector search and embeddings require an OpenAI key. These features are hard-coded to use OpenAI even if you select another provider for chat/completions.

How do I give Adam my site knowledge?

Go to Ask Adam → Knowledge Base:

Add Priority URLs (your most important pages)
(Optional) Add a Sitemap URL and set Max Pages/Depth
Click Crawl & Index, then Embed Chunks

Note: The Embed Chunks step uses OpenAI embeddings. An OpenAI key must be connected or embedding/vector search will not work.

Where do the API keys live? Are they secure?

Keys are stored encrypted (AES-256 using your site salts). You can also define keys in wp-config.php so nothing is stored in the DB. Revoke buttons are available in the admin.

Is my content or user data sent through your servers?

No. Requests go from your WordPress server to the AI provider you configure (and to Brave if you enable web search). We don’t proxy your traffic.

How much does it cost to run?

Licenses: Ask Anna $12/mo (soon $16.77), Ask Adam Pro $24.77/mo (soon $34.77), Ask Alan $77.77/mo (planned).

Model usage: pay-as-you-go with your provider. Control spend via model choice, temperature, and token limits (see Profiles).

What’s special about Ask Alan (Enterprise)?

Independent AI audit trail: verifiable logs of responses
Multi-agent verification: Alan double-checks agent output
Compliance toolkit: GDPR/PII scrubbing and log retention controls

Ask Alan is coming soon. Join the list to be notified at launch.

Does it work with Elementor/Divi/Gutenberg?

Yes. The floating widget is theme-agnostic. The shortcode embed works in any page builder’s content area.

⚡ Quick Start (TL;DR)

Assistant: pick provider → model (try GPT-4o mini) → paste API key → Save
Widget: Enable → choose position → Save
KB: Add 5–10 priority URLs → Crawl → Embed
(Optional) Web: toggle Brave search for fresh results

Adam is live—and yes, he’ll nudge visitors at the right moments.

Ready to get started?

Choose the plan that fits today—upgrade any time as your needs grow.

Buy Ask Adam Pro → See full comparison

Ask Adam Pro — Setup Guide v1.0

1) If you used Ask Adam Lite, remove it first

WP Admin → Plugins → Installed Plugins.
Find Ask Adam Lite, click Deactivate, then Delete.
This prevents duplicate slugs and guarantees a clean Pro install.

2) Install Ask Adam Pro

Download the ZIP you received (e.g. ask-adam.zip).
Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
Upload, then click Install Now → Activate.

3) Activate your license

On the Freemius screen, paste your license key.
Click Activate License. You can manage it anytime in the Customer Portal.

4) Add your API keys (choose one method)

Option A — Recommended: enter keys in the plugin settings.
Go to Ask Adam → Settings → API and paste your provider keys.

Required: OpenAI key is mandatory for embeddings/vector search (KB). These features are hard-coded to OpenAI even if you use Claude or Grok for chat.

Option B — Define keys in wp-config.php (advanced)

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Editing wp-config.php is not required. If you make a mistake, your site can break. This method is for PROFESSIONAL use only.

Add these above the line /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */:

Ask Adam Pro (and Lite)

// Ask Adam API Keys
define( 'ADAM_OPENAI_API_KEY', 'your-openai-key-here' );
define( 'ADAM_GROK_API_KEY',   'your-grok-key-here' );   // xAI Grok
define( 'ADAM_CLAUDE_API_KEY', 'your-claude-key-here' ); // Anthropic

Ask Anna (if you also use it)

// Ask Anna API Keys
define( 'ANNA_XAI_API_KEY',       'your-xai-key-here' );
define( 'ANNA_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY', 'your-anthropic-key-here' );
define( 'ANNA_OPENAI_API_KEY',    'your-openai-key-here' );

Save the file and reload your dashboard. The plugin will auto-detect these constants.

5) Finalize widget & knowledge base

Go to Ask Adam → Widget to position/brand the chat bubble.
(Optional) Build your KB via Ask Adam → Knowledge Base and run the initial crawl.
Open a public page and test. You’re live 🎉

Note: The Embed step uses OpenAI embeddings. Without a valid OpenAI key, KB vector search will not work.

KB sanity check (quick)

After Crawl, click Embed and wait for a success message.
Confirm that your KB shows an Index / Vectors count > 0.
Ask the widget something that exists on a crawled page (should answer with citations or on-site details).

Troubleshooting

“Freemius SDK not found” → Ensure the ZIP includes vendor/freemius/ (or freemius/).
License screen missing → Deactivate/activate the plugin; check ad blockers; verify plan is released.
Chat bubble not visible → Confirm widget is enabled & not hidden by page targeting.
KB search returns nothing → Make sure you clicked Embed after Crawl and that an OpenAI key is set (Settings → API or wp-config.php).
“401/403 from OpenAI” → Key is invalid/revoked or organization not authorized. Regenerate the key and re-save settings.
“Embedding failed / dimensions mismatch” → Delete the current index and re-embed with OpenAI only. Mixing old vectors from another model/provider can break search.
“Nothing embeds / spinner forever” → Check server error logs for timeouts; increase max_execution_time and ensure WP Cron is enabled.
“Shortcode works, widget doesn’t” → Theme or cache conflict. Try disabling page caching for the widget route and purge CDN.
CORS or 403 on AJAX → A security plugin or WAF is blocking REST requests. Whitelist the plugin’s REST endpoints.
Keys not detected from wp-config.php → Ensure constants are defined above the “Happy publishing” line and there are no trailing spaces or BOM.
Still seeing Lite behavior → Confirm Ask Adam Lite is fully deleted (not just deactivated) to avoid class/slug conflicts.

Minimum environment checklist

WordPress 5.8+ / PHP 7.4+ (recommended PHP 8.1+)
HTTPS enabled (required by most AI providers)
WP Cron enabled or a real server cron hitting wp-cron.php

Frequently Asked Questions