Gorilla AI Chatbot
Everything you need to install, configure, and get the most out of the Gorilla AI Chatbot on your WooCommerce store.
On This Page
Requirements
Before installing, make sure your site meets these requirements:
- WordPress 6.0 or later
- WooCommerce (any recent version)
- PHP 7.4 or later
- An Anthropic API key (see below)
The plugin works with any WordPress theme or page builder — Elementor, Divi, Bricks, Kadence, Astra, Flatsome, and everything else. The chat widget uses shadow DOM isolation so your theme's CSS won't interfere with it and it won't interfere with your theme.
Installation
- Upload and activate the plugin In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Choose the zip file you downloaded from your purchase and click Install Now. Once installed, click Activate.
- Enter your Anthropic API key Go to AI Chatbot → General in your admin menu. Paste your Anthropic API key into the field. If you don't have one yet, see the section below on getting a key.
- Set your team email On the same page, enter the email address where shopper escalation messages should be delivered. This is where "Email the Team" messages go.
- Write your brand voice Go to the Voice tab. Write a few sentences describing how you want the chatbot to sound. Add your store info so the AI has context about what you sell and what makes you different.
- Test it The plugin starts in Testing mode — only logged-in admins can see the chatbot. Visit your storefront while logged in, click the chat bubble, and try asking about a product.
- Go live Once you're happy with how it behaves, go to AI Chatbot → General and switch from Testing to Live. The chatbot becomes visible to all shoppers.
Getting an Anthropic API Key
The plugin calls Anthropic's Claude API directly from your site. You pay Anthropic for the usage at their published rates — there's no markup or middleman fee from us.
- Create an account Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up.
- Add payment Add a payment method and load at least $5 of credit. This is the minimum for API access and will cover thousands of chatbot conversations.
- Create an API key Go to API Keys in the Anthropic console and create a new key. Give it a name you'll recognize, like "My Store Chatbot."
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Paste it into the plugin
Copy the key (it starts with
sk-ant-) and paste it into AI Chatbot → General → Anthropic API Key in your WordPress admin. Save the settings.
General Settings
Found at AI Chatbot → General in your admin menu. These control the core behavior of the plugin.
Enable Chatbot
Default: On
Master switch for the chat widget. When unchecked, the bubble is hidden from all visitors regardless of other settings.
Mode — Testing / Live
Default: Testing
Testing: Only logged-in administrators can see the chat bubble. Use this while you're configuring the voice, policies, and appearance. Live: All visitors can see the chatbot (subject to the "Who Can Chat" setting below). Switch to Live once you're confident in the setup.
Anthropic API Key
Default: Empty
Your API key from Anthropic's console. Starts with sk-ant-. Stored in your WordPress database and only sent to Anthropic's API — never to us or any third party.
Team Email
Default: Your site admin email
Where escalation emails go when a shopper taps "Email the Team" in the chat. This should be a monitored inbox — a support address, not a personal email you check once a week.
Default Shipping Lead Time
Default: 2-5 business days
The fallback shipping timeline the chatbot uses when a product has no per-product override set. Individual products can override this on the product edit screen under the "AI Chatbot: Shipping Lead Time" metabox.
Conversation Retention
Default: 90 days
How many days to keep chat transcripts before they're automatically deleted by a nightly cleanup. Shorter retention keeps your database smaller and is better for shopper privacy. Longer retention gives you more history to learn from.
Show on Cart & Checkout
Default: Off
When off, the chat bubble is hidden on cart, checkout, order-received, and account pages. This is intentional — interrupting shoppers mid-purchase hurts conversion. Only turn this on if you have a specific reason.
Who Can Chat
Default: Everyone
Everyone: All visitors, including guests who aren't logged in, can use the chatbot. Logged-in users only: Only customers who are signed in to their account will see the chat bubble. Guest visitors won't see anything. This is the strongest protection against bot abuse and reduces API costs.
Daily Spending Cap
Default: $10/day
The chatbot will stop responding when estimated API costs for the day reach this amount. Shoppers who try to chat after the cap is hit will see a friendly message and the email escalation form so they can still reach your team. Costs are estimated using Claude Haiku rates. Set to 0 to disable the cap. The settings page shows your current spend for today.
ai_chatbot / chat / chatbot but you can customize them.
Voice Settings
Found at AI Chatbot → Voice. This is where you shape the chatbot's personality.
Welcome Messages
Default: 1 generic message
Up to 10 different welcome messages that are shown randomly when a shopper opens the chat. Write them in your brand voice. Rotating messages keep things feeling alive for returning visitors. Leave extra slots blank — the plugin only uses ones that have text.
Brand Voice
Default: "Friendly, helpful, and professional."
A few sentences describing how the chatbot should sound. Be specific. "Rugged, anti-corporate, uses casual language, never uses buzzwords like 'leverage' or 'synergy'" is far more useful than "friendly." The AI follows this in every conversation.
Store Info
Default: Empty
Background context about your store — what you sell, what makes you different, your history, anything the chatbot should know. Keep it under 200 words. This gets included in every conversation's system prompt, so the AI has context about your business even when a shopper asks a general question.
Appearance Settings
Found at AI Chatbot → Appearance. Customize how the chat widget looks on your storefront.
Bubble Icon
Default: Built-in chat icon
Upload a custom image for the floating chat button. Square (1:1), at least 256×256px, PNG with transparent background recommended. Your logo, a mascot, or any icon that fits your brand. Falls back to a default chat bubble icon if not set.
Window Title
Default: Your site name
The text displayed at the top of the chat panel when it's open. Use something branded — "Ask the Team," "Chat with Us," or your store name. Keep it short.
Accent Color
Default: #c8922a
The primary brand color used for the chat bubble button, send button, and link underlines. Use your store's main brand color for a cohesive look.
Email Form Background / Text Color
Default: Dark background, light text
Colors for the "Email the Team" escalation form that appears inside the chat panel. Pick colors that contrast well with each other and stand out from the main chat area so shoppers know they've switched to the email form.
Bubble Position
Default: Bottom-right
Where the floating chat bubble appears — bottom-right or bottom-left corner of the screen.
Escalation Button Label
Default: "Email the Team"
The text on the button at the bottom of the chat panel that opens the email form. Customize it to match your brand — "Talk to a Human," "Contact Support," or whatever feels right.
Order Settings
Found at AI Chatbot → Orders. Controls how shoppers can look up their order status through the chatbot.
Email Match (recommended)
Shoppers provide their order number and the billing email on the order. Both must match for the lookup to succeed. This is the most flexible option — works for guest checkouts and logged-in customers alike. Secure because the shopper needs two pieces of information that only the buyer would have.
Logged-in Shoppers Only
Only authenticated WordPress/WooCommerce customers can look up their own orders. The chatbot matches the logged-in user to orders on their account. More restrictive, but works well if your store requires customer accounts.
Disabled
Order lookups are turned off entirely. The chatbot will tell shoppers to contact your team directly for order questions. Use this if you don't want order data accessible through the chatbot at all.
Policies
Found at AI Chatbot → Policies. Six text fields where you write your store's key policies. The chatbot references these when shoppers ask about returns, shipping, warranties, and other common questions.
Available Policy Fields
Returns, Refunds, Shipping, Privacy, Contact Info, and FAQ/Other. Keep each one brief and factual. For example, "30-day returns on all unworn items. Buyer pays return shipping. Refunds processed within 5 business days of receiving the return." The chatbot will reference this exact wording when a shopper asks about returns.
License
Found at AI Chatbot → License. Manage your plugin license and subscription status.
Subscription Status
Shows your current license state: Free Trial — the 14-day trial is active, no license key needed yet. Active — your paid license is valid and the chatbot is fully operational. Past Due — your payment method failed but the chatbot continues to work while the payment provider retries. Canceled / Invalid — the license is no longer valid and the chatbot is disabled on your storefront. Not Activated — no license has been entered yet.
License Key
Paste the license key you received in your purchase confirmation email. Click Activate. The plugin validates the key with our licensing server and activates the chatbot on this site. Each license has an activation limit — solo licenses cover 1 site. If you need to move the plugin to a different site, deactivate the old one first to free up the slot.
Conversations & Flagged Responses
Conversations Browser
Found at AI Chatbot → Conversations. Every chat between a shopper and the chatbot is logged here. Click into any conversation to see the full transcript — every message, every product the chatbot suggested, every tool it called behind the scenes. Use this to understand what your shoppers are actually asking about and where the chatbot is doing well or falling short.
Flagged Responses
Found at AI Chatbot → Flagged. Shoppers can flag any chatbot response by tapping a flag icon and selecting a reason: "Wrong info," "Didn't answer my question," or "Other." Flagged messages appear here with a preview, the reason, and a link to the full conversation for context. The main menu shows a red count badge when there are unread flags.
Per-Product Shipping Lead Time
On any product edit screen in WooCommerce, you'll find an "AI Chatbot: Shipping Lead Time" metabox. Enter a custom timeline like "7-10 business days" for products that ship differently from your default. Leave it blank to use the global default from the General tab. Useful for custom, made-to-order, or drop-shipped items.
Going Live
Before switching from Testing to Live, run through this checklist:
- API key is set and has credit Check the Anthropic console to make sure your key is active and your account has credit loaded.
- Brand voice is written The chatbot will sound generic without a custom voice. Spend five minutes writing how you want it to sound.
- Store info is filled in Give the chatbot context about what you sell and what makes your store unique.
- Policies are entered At minimum, fill in your returns and shipping policies. These are the most common questions shoppers ask.
- Team email is set Make sure escalation messages go to an inbox someone actually monitors.
- Test a few conversations While in Testing mode, try asking about products, order status, shipping, and policies. Make sure the answers feel right.
- Set your daily spending cap The default is $10/day, which is fine for most stores. Adjust based on your expected traffic.
- Switch to Live Go to AI Chatbot → General, change Mode from Testing to Live, and save. The chatbot is now visible to shoppers.
Troubleshooting
The chat bubble doesn't appear on my storefront
Check these in order: (1) You're in Testing mode and not logged in as an admin — either log in or switch to Live. (2) You've set "Who Can Chat" to "Logged-in users only" and you're visiting as a guest. (3) You're on a cart, checkout, or account page where the chatbot is hidden by default. (4) Your license has expired or isn't activated — check the License tab.
The chatbot says "I couldn't connect" or shows an error
Check: (1) Your Anthropic API key is valid and has credit in the console. (2) Your site can make outbound HTTPS requests — some managed hosts block them by default. (3) No security plugin is blocking requests to api.anthropic.com.
"Session expired. Please refresh the page."
This typically happens when a CDN or caching layer is serving a stale session. Make sure your caching plugin or host excludes REST API endpoints from caching. The plugin sends no-cache headers, but some aggressive CDNs override them. Refreshing the page should always fix it for the shopper.
Product cards aren't showing — just text names
This is usually a prompt-drift issue where the AI forgot to use product markers. Try rephrasing your question more specifically. If it happens consistently, check that your WooCommerce products are published and visible in the catalog (not draft or hidden).
Order lookups are failing
Check your Orders tab setting. If set to "Email match," the shopper needs to provide the exact billing email on the order. If set to "Logged-in only," the shopper must be authenticated. If set to "Disabled," order lookups are intentionally turned off.
The chatbot flagged responses seem wrong
Open the flagged conversation and read it in context. Ask yourself: what context would the AI have needed to answer correctly? Usually it's a missing detail in Store Info, Brand Voice, or a Policy field. Update the relevant setting and the AI will use the new context immediately — no retraining needed.
"We've reached our daily chat limit"
Your Daily Spending Cap has been hit for the day. Shoppers can still reach your team through the email escalation form. If this happens regularly, consider increasing the cap in General settings. You can also check your actual Anthropic spend in their console to see if the estimate was close.
My license won't activate
Check: (1) The key is copied exactly from your purchase confirmation email, with no extra spaces. (2) Your site can reach the licensing server. (3) You haven't already used all activation slots for your license — solo licenses are 1 site. Deactivate the old site first if you're moving the plugin.
