Bot Placement Strategies

Bot Placement Strategies

The Supervised AI Bots plugin offers flexible ways to integrate AI assistants into your WordPress workflow. Depending on your user experience goals, you can choose between inline embedding within content or global accessibility via sidebar widgets.

Using Shortcodes for Content Embedding

The primary method for placing a bot is via the [supervised_ai_bot] shortcode. This is ideal for specific pages where you want the bot to act as a focused assistant, such as a "Support" or "Product Documentation" page.

Standard Usage

Insert the shortcode directly into the WordPress Gutenberg editor (using a Shortcode block) or the Classic Editor:

[supervised_ai_bot id="1"]

• The id Attribute: This corresponds to the row number of the bot URL you entered in the plugin settings page. For example, if you entered three URLs, use id="2" to display the second bot.

Optimal Placement Locations

1. Individual Posts and Pages

Embed the bot directly within the flow of an article or service page. This is best used when the bot is trained on the specific context of that page.

• Best Practice: Place the bot at the end of a long-form article to answer follow-up questions or at the top of a "Contact Us" page to deflect common support tickets.

2. Widget Areas (Sidebar & Footer)

You can make a bot accessible across multiple pages by adding it to a widget-ready area.

1. Navigate to Appearance > Widgets.
2. Add a Shortcode or Custom HTML block to your Sidebar or Footer.
3. Paste the shortcode: [supervised_ai_bot id="1"].

• Note: Because the bot iframe requires a height of approximately 670px (as defined in the plugin styles), ensure your sidebar is wide enough to accommodate a 400px container for the best visual experience.

The Floating Popup Interface

The plugin includes a built-in floating popup mechanism (controlled via custom-popup-script.js). When active, a blue circular button appears at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

• Interaction: Clicking the floating button toggles the visibility of the bot interface.
• Dimensions: The popup is optimized for a width of 400px and a height of 670px, ensuring it doesn't obstruct the main content of your site while remaining large enough for comfortable chatting.
• Global Access: This is the recommended strategy if you want your AI assistant to be available to visitors regardless of which page they are currently browsing.

Best Practices for User Experience

• Avoid Overlap: Ensure the floating bot button does not overlap with other critical UI elements, such as "Back to Top" buttons or mobile navigation bars.
• Contextual ID Mapping: If you have multiple bots (e.g., one for Sales, one for Technical Support), use the specific id that matches the content of the page.
• Mobile Considerations: The bot container is fixed at 400px. On smaller mobile devices, ensure your theme handles overflow correctly so the bot remains usable.