My AI assistant cannot connect to SEOBetter (MCP)

Work through these in order. Most connection problems are one of the first three.

The AI assistants box has no Install button

• Your WordPress is older than 6.9. The box says so. Update WordPress; the Abilities API the add-on uses arrived in 6.9.
• Your user cannot install plugins. Ask an administrator to click the button, or install the add-on from your account download.

"could not be installed" or "could not be activated"

• The install checks the add-on's published checksum and refuses if the download does not match. Try again in a minute; if it keeps failing, contact support with the message shown in the box.
• The add-on needs an active SEOBetter licence on this site. Check Settings, License & Account.

The assistant sees no SEOBetter tools

• The WordPress MCP Adapter plugin must be installed and active. SEOBetter shows a notice while it is missing.
• The Application Password belongs to a user without the edit_posts capability (a Subscriber). Use an Editor or Administrator account.
• Your licence has lapsed. The tools disappear until it is active again; everything else in SEOBetter keeps working.

401 or 403 from the endpoint

• The Basic value must be username:application-password encoded in base64, using the WordPress username (not the email) and the Application Password (not your login password).
• Some hosts and security plugins block Application Passwords or the Authorization header. Ask your host to allow it for /wp-json/, or add a rule to pass the header through.

Claude Desktop shows the server but no tools

Claude Desktop runs local commands only, so it needs the Adapter's proxy. Check that npx is available on your computer and that the three environment variables are set: WP_API_URL (the full endpoint URL), WP_API_USERNAME and WP_API_PASSWORD.

The assistant published something I did not want

Publishing follows WordPress roles. If the Application Password belongs to an Editor or Administrator, the assistant can publish. Give it an Author account to limit it to that author's posts, or ask it to always save drafts and show you the preview first. Revoke an Application Password any time under Users, Profile.