Set up Claude or OpenAI as your AI engine, manage API keys, configure auto-reply behavior, and customize AI features.
Helpon supports dual AI engines — Claude by Anthropic and OpenAI — giving you the flexibility to choose the provider that best fits your use case, budget, and performance needs. You can configure one as your primary engine and the other as a fallback.
All AI settings are located in Helpon → Settings → AI in your WordPress admin dashboard. From this panel you can manage API keys, select models, configure auto-reply behavior, set up the AI copilot for agents, enable image analysis, and customize the system prompt that shapes your AI assistant's personality.
You can configure both Claude and OpenAI simultaneously. Helpon uses your primary provider for all AI replies and automatically switches to the fallback provider if the primary is unavailable or returns an error.
Helpon requires an API key from at least one AI provider. Follow the steps below for your preferred provider.
Visit console.anthropic.com and sign up for an account. You will need to add a payment method and purchase API credits before generating a key.
In the Anthropic Console, navigate to API Keys and click Create Key. Give it a descriptive name like "Helpon WordPress" and copy the key immediately — it won't be shown again.
Go to Helpon → Settings → AI, select Claude (Anthropic) as your provider, and paste your API key. Click Validate Key to verify the connection.
Visit platform.openai.com and sign up. Add a payment method under Billing to enable API access.
Go to API Keys in the OpenAI dashboard and click Create new secret key. Name it "Helpon" and copy the key. OpenAI keys start with sk-.
In Helpon → Settings → AI, select OpenAI as your provider and paste the API key. Click Validate Key to confirm the connection.
Helpon takes security seriously when handling your API credentials. Here is how keys are managed within the plugin.
All API keys are encrypted using AES-256-CBC encryption before being stored in the WordPress database. Keys are never stored in plain text, and they are decrypted only at the moment an API call is made. The encryption key is derived from your WordPress AUTH_KEY salt.
To rotate an API key, generate a new key from your provider's console, paste it into Helpon, and click Validate Key. Once validated, the old key is replaced immediately. We recommend rotating keys every 90 days as a security best practice.
Use the Test Connection button in Helpon → Settings → AI to send a test prompt to the configured provider. A successful test returns the model name, response time, and token usage. A failed test shows the specific error code and message from the provider.
You can configure a secondary provider that activates automatically when the primary provider fails. For example, set Claude as your primary and OpenAI as your fallback. If Claude returns an error or times out, Helpon seamlessly routes the request to OpenAI so your visitors never see a failed response.
Never share your API keys publicly or commit them to version control. If you suspect a key has been compromised, revoke it immediately from the provider's console and generate a new one. Helpon masks keys in the admin UI, showing only the first and last 4 characters.
Helpon supports multiple AI models from both providers. Choose a model based on your balance of cost, speed, and response quality.
| Model | Provider | Speed | Quality | Cost per 1K Tokens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude 3.5 Sonnet | Anthropic | Fast | Excellent | $0.003 / $0.015 |
| Claude 3 Haiku | Anthropic | Very Fast | Good | $0.00025 / $0.00125 |
| GPT-4o | OpenAI | Fast | Excellent | $0.005 / $0.015 |
| GPT-4o-mini | OpenAI | Very Fast | Good | $0.00015 / $0.0006 |
| GPT-3.5-turbo | OpenAI | Very Fast | Moderate | $0.0005 / $0.0015 |
For most healthcare use cases, Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o offer the best balance of accuracy and speed. If you handle high chat volumes and need to minimize cost, consider Claude 3 Haiku or GPT-4o-mini for general inquiries and reserve the larger models for complex conversations.
To change your model, navigate to Helpon → Settings → AI → Model and select from the dropdown. The change takes effect immediately for all new conversations. Existing conversations continue using the model they started with.
Every AI-generated reply in Helpon consumes credits from your account balance. Credits allow you to control and monitor your AI usage costs independently of the underlying API billing.
| Pack | Credits | Price | Per Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 500 | $9 | $0.018 |
| Growth | 2,000 | $29 | $0.0145 |
| Business | 10,000 | $99 | $0.0099 |
| Enterprise | 50,000 | $399 | $0.008 |
Your current credit balance is always visible in the Helpon → Dashboard widget and in the AI settings panel. Helpon provides configurable alerts when credits run low.
Enable auto top-up to ensure your AI assistant never goes offline due to exhausted credits. When enabled, Helpon automatically purchases the selected credit pack when your balance falls below the alert threshold.
Auto-reply controls how and when the AI responds to visitor messages without human agent intervention. Fine-tune these settings in Helpon → Settings → AI → Auto-Reply.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| AI Auto-Reply | Master toggle for AI-generated automatic responses | Enabled |
| Response Delay | Adds a realistic typing delay before the AI reply appears (in milliseconds) | 1500 ms |
| Confidence Threshold | AI replies scoring below this value are held for agent review instead of being auto-sent | 70 |
| Fallback Message | Displayed when the AI cannot generate a confident response | Pre-configured |
| Max Turns Before Escalation | Number of consecutive AI replies before the conversation is routed to a live agent | 5 |
| Sentiment-Based Escalation | Automatically detects negative visitor sentiment (frustration, anger) and escalates to a human agent | Enabled |
A threshold of 70 works well for most setups. Lower it to 50 if you want the AI to handle more queries autonomously, or raise it to 85 if you prefer tighter human oversight. Replies below the threshold appear in the agent console as "Pending Review" instead of being sent automatically.
Helpon can analyze images uploaded by visitors during a chat conversation. When enabled, the AI processes the image and provides contextual responses based on the visual content.
Enable image analysis in Helpon → Settings → AI → Image Analysis. The toggle activates image processing for all chat conversations. Images are sent to the configured AI provider's vision API and are not stored on your server after analysis unless you enable the image archive option.
If your practice handles protected health information (PHI), ensure that image analysis complies with your HIPAA policies. Images sent to AI providers are processed by third-party APIs. Review your Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Anthropic or OpenAI before enabling image analysis for medical images. Consider disabling this feature or limiting it to non-PHI use cases if a BAA is not in place.
The AI Copilot assists your human agents by generating suggested replies in real time. Instead of the AI responding directly to visitors, it provides agents with draft responses that they can review, edit, and send with a single click.
When a visitor sends a message in a conversation assigned to a human agent, the Copilot analyzes the message, conversation history, and your knowledge base.
The Copilot panel (docked to the right of the chat console) displays a suggested reply along with a confidence indicator. A green indicator means high confidence, yellow means moderate, and red means low confidence.
The agent can click Apply to insert the suggestion into the reply box, edit it as needed, and send. Alternatively, the agent can dismiss the suggestion and write their own reply.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Copilot | Toggle AI suggestions for agent-handled conversations | Enabled |
| Panel Position | Where the Copilot panel appears: Right sidebar or Inline (below chat) | Right Sidebar |
| Auto-Suggest | Automatically generate suggestions for every incoming message | Enabled |
| Knowledge Base Priority | Copilot prioritizes answers from your knowledge base over general AI knowledge | Enabled |
| Tone Matching | Copilot adapts its suggestion tone to match the agent's writing style | Enabled |
The system prompt defines your AI assistant's personality, knowledge boundaries, and behavioral rules. It is sent as the first message in every AI conversation and shapes every response the AI generates.
Navigate to Helpon → Settings → AI → System Prompt. The editor supports plain text with variable placeholders. The maximum length is 4,000 characters.
| Variable | Description | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
{business_name} |
Your business name from the General Settings | Bright Smile Dental |
{agent_name} |
The name of the assigned agent (or "AI Assistant" if no agent) | Dr. Sarah |
{visitor_name} |
The visitor's name if known, otherwise "there" | John |
You are a friendly and professional virtual assistant for {business_name}.
Your role:
- Answer questions about our services, hours, pricing, and policies
- Help visitors schedule appointments
- Provide general health information (but never diagnose conditions)
- Escalate complex medical questions to a human team member
Tone: Warm, professional, and reassuring. Use simple language.
Rules:
- Never provide specific medical diagnoses or treatment plans
- Always recommend consulting with a healthcare professional for medical concerns
- If you are unsure about something, say so honestly and offer to connect the visitor with {agent_name}
- Keep responses concise (under 150 words unless the visitor asks for detail)
- Greet returning visitors by name: "Welcome back, {visitor_name}!"
Business hours: Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-2pm
Emergency: Direct visitors to call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room
Helpon ships with pre-built system prompt templates tailored to common industries. Select a template from the dropdown in the system prompt editor to use as a starting point:
Be specific about what the AI should and should not do. Include your business hours, escalation rules, and tone guidelines. Test your prompt by having a conversation with the AI from a visitor's perspective and refining based on the responses you receive.
Common AI-related issues and how to resolve them:
max_execution_time is set to at least 30 seconds.For detailed debugging, enable AI logging in Helpon → Settings → AI → Advanced → Enable Logs. This records every API request and response, including token counts, latency, and error details. Logs are retained for 30 days and can be exported as CSV.