What the Setup Wizard really sets up

Six stages, one real configuration

The wizard does not create a simplified copy of SmartSite.

It writes into the same settings, Assistant store, Knowledge Base selection, and Tool list used by the main administration screens. You can leave optional work for later—but anything you install or synchronize here is real.

The wizard is a shortcut, not a second settings system

Open AI Website Chat → Setup Wizard after installation or return later if onboarding was interrupted. Progress is recorded, but the main screens remain the source of ongoing management. Changing an Assistant in the wizard creates a normal local profile. Selecting pages changes the normal Knowledge Base selection. Installing a preset creates a normal enabled Tool.

This is useful because there is nothing to “migrate out of the wizard.” It also means experimenting is not consequence-free. Use synthetic values and avoid action presets until you are ready to review their actual destination and behavior.

Walk through all six stages

1. Welcome: decide what is required

Welcome names two required foundations—OpenAI API key and Assistant—and recommends website content and Agent Tools. Select Get Started to mark onboarding as started. No model call occurs here.

2. API Key: save the regular project credential

Paste the regular OpenAI API key used for runtime and knowledge operations. The wizard stores a nonempty value and advances; it does not run a live connection test. A typo, revoked key, missing billing, or wrong project can therefore survive this stage.

Verify later by loading the model list in Assistants and running a controlled response. Do not use the organization Admin API key here; that separate credential is optional and belongs to usage/cost analytics.

3. Assistant: create the active profile

Enter Assistant Name, Display Name, Model, Welcome Message, and Instructions. The wizard offers a short curated model list and defaults to gpt-4.1-mini. The full Assistants create screen gets its options from the OpenAI Models API and has a different code default. In either route, choose a model verified with the plugin’s Responses API flow.

Creating the profile stores it locally in WordPress and makes it active. The asst_-style ID is a SmartSite local identifier; it is not an OpenAI Assistants API object.

4. Knowledge Base: select, save, then synchronize

Search published pages and posts, tick a small authoritative set, and choose Save Selection & Sync. The browser first saves selected IDs, then starts the vector synchronization workflow. This is a two-stage operation: selected does not mean synchronized.

The step is optional. Skip for now is safer than selecting every page. Detailed metadata and uploaded files belong in the full Knowledge Base Manager later.

5. Agent Tools: install only with immediate review

The three presets are Contact Information, Business Hours, and Contact Form/Contact Request. They are templates. Contact details start incomplete, business hours are sample values, and the email action uses the WordPress administrator email as its starting destination.

Most importantly, preset installation creates the Tool enabled. If you install one, go immediately to Tools, turn it off, replace sample/default values, test it against a sandbox, and only then re-enable. Skip this stage during first onboarding unless you can perform that review now.

6. Finish: record completion

The summary shows required and optional items as configured or skipped. Finish Setup marks wizard completion and returns to the main AI Website Chat dashboard. It does not run a complete health test.

What each stage proves

Saved state versus verified outcome
Stage	What completion proves	What still needs evidence
Welcome	The onboarding process was started.	Nothing about credentials or runtime.
API Key	A nonempty regular key was stored.	Validity, project access, billing, model access, and network connectivity.
Assistant	A local profile was created and selected active.	Response compatibility, instruction quality, public identity, and fresh-chat behavior.
Knowledge Base	Selected IDs were saved and synchronization was requested.	Every item result, Current state, file indexing, and answer quality.
Tools	Chosen preset definition exists.	Correct values, disabled/reviewed state, safe assignment, receiver validation, and end-to-end result.
Finish	Wizard completion is recorded.	Visibility, security, privacy, frontend functionality, logs, and production approval.

Stop conditions worth respecting

If page selection saves but sync fails, open Knowledge Base and review per-item errors. If model loading fails, troubleshoot the regular key rather than recreating Assistants. If a preset was installed accidentally, disable it immediately; deleting is not required to contain it.

A problem in the wizard and its real owner screen
Wizard symptom	Continue in	Reason
Saved key, models fail	OpenAI API and OpenAI troubleshooting	The wizard does not validate key/project/billing connectivity.
Created the wrong profile	Assistants	Activation and editing belong to the normal profile manager.
Selection saved, sync failed	Knowledge Base	The manager exposes Current/Pending states and item-level errors.
Preset installed with sample values	Tools	Disable, edit, assign, and test the real Tool definition there.
Finish complete, widget hidden	Settings → Access and frontend diagnostics	Wizard completion does not choose final visitor visibility.

Rerunning the wizard safely

The wizard can be reopened. Existing configuration is real and may appear as already configured. Re-entry should not be treated as a reset. Before creating another Assistant, check whether a suitable active profile already exists. Before changing selected pages, understand what deselection will remove during synchronization. Before installing a preset, check whether its Function Name already exists.

Rerun the wizard for orientation or incomplete onboarding—not as a general repair button. The dedicated screens expose more status and provide better troubleshooting evidence.

The after-wizard verification route

Open OpenAI API and confirm the regular key is masked and the model list can load in Assistants.
Open Assistants and confirm exactly the intended profile shows Active.
Open Knowledge Base and wait for selected pages to become Current; inspect item errors.
Open Tools and disable/review every installed preset.
Open Settings → Access and restrict the widget to a test role or user.
Start a fresh frontend conversation and ask one known and one unknown question.
Read Analytics → Chat History for model, response, retrieval, Tool, and error evidence.
Complete Security and privacy review before public visibility.

What Finish Setup does not prove

It does not prove that email arrives, webhook authentication works, an uploaded file has indexed, every selected page synced, a model is compatible, a visitor is authorized, the mobile widget is accessible, Advanced routing is published, or the Assistant follows ambiguous instructions. Those are separate tests owned by the corresponding screen.

The best onboarding outcome is not six green stage labels. It is a small, understandable configuration that another administrator can explain and test.

The knowledge stage in context

Screenshot capture pending /images/screenshots/start/setup-wizard.webp

Setup Wizard

Capture: Open the Knowledge Base wizard step with three selected pages and the Save Selection & Sync button visible before synchronization.
Show: Six-step progress, search field, page checkboxes, selected count, sync button
Viewport: Desktop, 1440 × 900
Annotate: Use numbered callouts only for controls referenced in the procedure.
Redact: OpenAI keys, tokens, secrets, personal information, private URLs, IP addresses, and conversation text