Add your AI provider key

RankKit SEO's AI features run on your own AI account. You add a key from the provider you already use, and every request goes straight from your WordPress site to that provider. There is no RankKit SEO account, no credits and no markup: you pay the provider directly at their prices, or nothing at all with a local model.

AI is optional. Every SEO feature works without it. Add a key when you want title and description suggestions, alt text, content briefs and the other features in What RankKit SEO's AI can do.

Set up your provider

1. Go to RankKit SEO → Settings → AI provider.
2. Click the provider you want. Each button shows the provider's default model.
3. Paste your API key.
4. Pick a Model, or keep the default.
5. Check the Daily request limit (200 by default).
6. Click Save and test connection. When the test passes you see Connected. AI is ready. and a Key saved badge.

Only one provider is active at a time. Switching provider resets the model to that provider's default.

Note If the AI assistant module is switched off on the Dashboard, RankKit SEO makes no AI requests at all, whatever you set here. See Turn modules on and off.

Settings

Setting	Default	What it does
Provider	OpenAI	Which service RankKit SEO sends AI requests to.
API key	Empty	Your key from the provider. "Stored in your WordPress database and only sent to the provider above." After saving, the field shows only the last four characters.
Model	The provider's default (see below)	The model used for every AI feature. A list for Anthropic, OpenAI and Gemini; a free text field for OpenRouter and OpenAI-compatible servers.
Daily request limit	200	"A safety cap on spend. 0 means no limit."
Writing tone	clear, specific and helpful	The tone used in AI-written text, for example "friendly and plain-spoken" or "formal, for legal clients".
Pause all AI	Off	"Stops every AI request from RankKit SEO, including from agents, until you turn it back on."
Write missing metadata when a post is published	Off	Pro. Writes a missing SEO title or meta description with AI a few seconds after a post goes live.

More on the limit and the pause switch: AI usage limits, costs and privacy.

Anthropic Claude

Default model	Model choices	Reads images
claude-opus-5-5	claude-opus-5-5, claude-sonnet-5-5, claude-haiku-5-5	Yes

To get a key, sign in to the Anthropic Console and create one on the API keys page. Copy it when it is shown and paste it into API key.

OpenAI

Default model	Model choices	Reads images
gpt-4.1-mini	gpt-4.1-mini, gpt-4.1, gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4o	Yes

OpenAI is the provider selected on a new install. Create a key on the OpenAI Platform API keys page and paste it into API key.

Google Gemini

Default model	Model choices	Reads images
gemini-2.5-flash	gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-2.5-pro	Yes

Create a key in Google AI Studio on the API key page and paste it into API key.

OpenRouter

Default model	Model choices	Reads images
anthropic/claude-haiku-5-5	Any OpenRouter model ID, typed into Model	Yes

OpenRouter gives you many models behind one key. Create a key on the OpenRouter keys page, paste it into API key, and type the model ID you want (for example anthropic/claude-haiku-5-5). OpenRouter also receives your site URL as the referrer.

OpenAI-compatible (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, Azure)

Default model	Model choices	Reads images
llama3.1	Any model name your server accepts, typed into Model	No

Use this for a local model or any server that speaks the OpenAI API.

1. Enter the server's Base URL, for example http://localhost:11434/v1 for Ollama.
2. Add an API key (optional) if your server needs one.
3. Type the model name into Model.

The base URL is required; without it AI stays off. Your WordPress server must be able to reach that URL, so localhost only works when the model runs on the same machine as WordPress. Image alt text from this provider is written from the file name and page title, not from the image itself.

WordPress AI (Settings → Connectors)

On WordPress 7.0 and later, WordPress AI (Settings → Connectors) appears first in the list. WordPress keeps one AI connection for the whole site under Settings → Connectors, and RankKit SEO uses it, so there is no key or model to enter in RankKit SEO. Set up the connection in WordPress first, then select this option and click Save and test connection.

FAQ

Which provider should I choose?

Use the one you already have an account with. All of them work with every RankKit SEO AI feature. For alt text that describes what an image actually shows, pick Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini or OpenRouter: they send the image to the model. A local model through Ollama or LM Studio costs nothing to run.

Do I need a RankKit SEO Pro license to use AI?

No. Adding a key and the AI features in the editor, the AI writer and alt text are free. Pro adds bulk features such as Bulk AI titles and descriptions and automatic metadata on publish.

Can an AI agent read or change my API key?

No. The key is never returned to agents, and agents cannot change any AI setting. Those can only be changed by a person in wp-admin. See AI usage limits, costs and privacy.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
The test fails with an error from the provider	Wrong key, no billing on the provider account, or a model your account cannot use	Check the key and billing in your provider dashboard, or pick another model.
"Daily AI request limit reached. Raise it in settings or try tomorrow."	The Daily request limit is used up	Raise the limit, or wait for the next day.
"AI is paused in RankKit SEO settings."	Pause all AI is on	Turn it off and save.
OpenAI-compatible server cannot be reached	The base URL points at a machine WordPress cannot reach	Use an address reachable from your web server, not from your own computer.