Why does my bot key need an Editor or Author user?
From SEOBetter Agent 0.4.1, a new bot key must act as a WordPress user with the Editor or Author role. Administrators are not listed, and nothing is picked for you.
Why
A bot key works around the clock with nobody watching. If it ever leaked, or the bot was steered by something it read, it could do anything its user can do. An administrator can install plugins, change settings and manage users. An Editor or Author can only work on posts. Keeping bots away from administrator powers limits the damage to content, and WordPress keeps a revision of every post the bot changes.
Set it up
- Open Users, then Add New.
- Give the user a name such as "Grok bot" and an email address you control.
- Pick the role: Editor if the bot should work on every post, Author if it should only touch its own posts.
- Open SEOBetter, then AI bot access, and create a key that acts as this user.
What changes for the bot
- It can research, write, save, publish (in Publish mode), fix and optimise posts, and manage internal links.
- It never saves raw HTML. Scripts and other unsafe markup are stripped from everything it writes.
- The tools that work on the whole site are opened per key with Site-wide tools checkboxes (SEOBetter Agent 0.4.2 and newer). The bot's user never becomes an administrator: a ticked box lets the key use that group of tools, one call at a time, and nothing else.
Site-wide tools for a bot key
When you create a key, or later in the key list, tick what the bot needs:
- Site insights (on for a new key): the site context, the to-do list, site traffic, stale posts, cannibalisation and the site audit. Read only.
- Keyword research (on for a new key): research and cluster keywords, within the key's Keyword research calls per day.
- Brand voice and settings (off): read and change brand voices and the writing settings. A Drafts only key can read them but not change them.
- Bulk batches (off): start a bulk batch. Each item counts as one article per day, and a batch publishes on its own only in Publish mode and only if the bot's user can publish.
- Products (off): list, score and optimise WooCommerce products and rewrite their name, slug and descriptions. Never price, stock or status.
The three ready-made routines on the AI bot access page need Site insights and Keyword research, which a new key has. A key created before Agent 0.4.2 has its boxes chosen for it (SEOBetter Agent 0.4.3 and newer): all five if the bot's user is an administrator, otherwise only Site insights and Keyword research. Save the key's row once to set its boxes yourself. Untick what a bot does not need.
I already have a key that acts as an administrator
It keeps working, but it can no longer save raw HTML, and the key list shows a red warning next to it. We recommend you create a new key for an Editor or Author, move your bot to it, then click Revoke on the old key.