Install guide · Updated May 2026
Add an AI chatbot to your WordPress site in 5 minutes.
Upload one plugin, paste one API key, toggle one switch. The Animam plugin ships a public chat widget and an admin assistant in the same install. From €19/month.
TL;DR
Install the Animam WordPress plugin (one .zip), paste your tenant slug and API key from animam.ai, toggle the visitor widget on. The chat bubble appears on every published page within 30 seconds. The plugin auto-syncs your posts and pages to the agent’s corpus, so the bot already knows your site without any configuration.
Total time: 5 minutes for the public widget, 7-8 minutes if you also enable the admin assistant. No coding, no Claude Desktop, no terminal. Works on any WordPress 6.0+ site running PHP 7.4 or higher.
The 5-step install
Step 1 — Sign up at animam.ai
Create a free Free plan account at animam.ai/wordpress/signup. Pick the WordPress bundle plan (€39/month), or the visitor-only (€19/month) or admin-only (€29/month) plan. No credit card needed for the trial. Note your tenant slug and API key from the dashboard.
Step 2 — Download the plugin
From your Animam dashboard, click Download WordPress plugin. You receive a single .zip (~350 KB) containing the plugin folder. The plugin uses Plugin Update Checker, so you will get native WordPress update notifications when a new version ships.
Step 3 — Upload and activate in WordPress
In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the .zip you just downloaded, click Install Now, then Activate. You will see a new Animam menu in the sidebar.
Step 4 — Paste your tenant slug and API key
Open Settings → Animam. Paste the tenant slug and the API key from your dashboard. Click Test connection. You should see a green check. The plugin encrypts the API key with AES-256-CBC (key derived from wp_salt('auth')) before storing it.
Step 5 — Toggle the features you want
Three switches: Visitor widget (chat bubble for site visitors), Admin assistant (AI inside wp-admin that can publish posts and run SEO), and Auto-sync content (push your published posts to the agent’s corpus). Save. Done.
Pick your plan
| Plan | Monthly | Visitor widget | Admin assistant | Conversations / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor (wp_frontend) | €19 | yes | no | 1,000 visitor messages |
| Admin (wp_admin) | €29 | no | yes — 16 tools | 500 admin tool calls |
| Bundle (wp_bundle) — most popular | €39 | yes | yes — 16 tools | 1,500 (1k visitor + 500 admin) |
What you get after install
- A chat bubble in the bottom-right of every page (~30 KB vanilla JS, served from cdn.animam.ai, no third-party iframe). Loaded async after first paint — measured no impact on Core Web Vitals.
- An Animam Assistant menu in wp-admin that exposes 16 admin tools (create/update/publish posts, set SEO meta on RankMath/Yoast, bulk-set image alt text, run SEO audits, manage WooCommerce/MailPoet/WPForms via dedicated bridges, plus a generic REST escape hatch).
- Auto-sync of every published post and page to the Animam corpus on
save_post/delete_posthooks. The bot answers from your real content, refreshed in real time. - Bridge to your existing forms — the agent submits your WPForms (or WooCommerce / MailPoet) on the visitor’s behalf, entries land where they always did.
- An audit log custom post type that records every admin tool call (timestamp, user_login, tool name, arguments) — survives plugin uninstall.
- Native WordPress update notifications via Plugin Update Checker (no manual reinstall when a new plugin version ships).
Install — frequently asked questions
How long does the install really take?
About 5 minutes for someone who has uploaded a WordPress plugin before. Add 2-3 minutes if you also enable the admin assistant and pick capability scopes (read / edit / publish). The longest step is creating an Animam account and copying the API key — the plugin install itself is three clicks.
Do I need a developer to install Animam on WordPress?
No. The install is the standard WordPress flow (Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin → Activate, then paste an API key in Settings). No code, no terminal, no Claude Desktop, no MCP client to configure on your machine.
Will the widget slow down my site?
No measurable impact. The widget is ~30 KB of vanilla JavaScript, served async from cdn.animam.ai and injected in wp_footer after first paint. We measure no impact on Largest Contentful Paint or First Input Delay on Core Web Vitals.
Does Animam know my WordPress content automatically?
Yes. On install, the plugin pushes your published posts and pages to the Animam corpus via the POST /corpus/bulk endpoint (25 entries per batch). Every save_post and delete_post hook keeps it in sync. The agent uses EXPLORE_CORPUS at chat time so the prompt stays small even on large sites.
Where are my visitors' messages stored?
Conversation messages transit api.animam.ai for LLM processing. When the visitor is ready to book or quote, the agent submits your existing WPForms form through the native pipeline — the entry lands in WPForms entries on your WordPress database, and your existing "new submission" email + Zapier automations fire untouched.
Can I uninstall cleanly?
Yes. Deactivate and delete from the Plugins screen. Existing form entries (WPForms, WooCommerce orders, MailPoet subscribers) and the Animam audit log stay in WordPress (no leftover Animam tables). The widget stops loading on the next page render. Your tenant config persists at animam.ai for re-activation.
Does it work with Yoast or RankMath?
Yes. The admin assistant’s wp_set_seo_meta tool auto-detects which is active and writes to the correct meta key. RankMath site-level features (Organization JSON-LD, sitemap exclusions, redirects) are reachable via the wp_rest_call escape hatch.
Is the plugin GDPR-compliant for EU sites?
Yes. The plugin encrypts the API key (AES-256-CBC, key derived from wp_salt). Visitor PII captured via the form tool stays inside your WordPress. The conversation transit to api.animam.ai is covered by the standard Animam DPA. You set retention via the dataRetentionDays tenant setting.