How to Add an AI Chatbot to WordPress Without a Plugin Headache

A snippet plugin keeps the code outside your theme, so a theme update or switch does not delete it. WPCode, Insert Headers and Footers and similar plugins all work the same way: paste the line, choose the footer location, save.

Choose “Site Wide Footer” so the script loads on every page just before the closing body tag. That position matters because the widget is loaded with async and should not block your page from rendering.

If you prefer no plugin, add the line to footer.php of a child theme, just before wp_footer() or the closing body tag. Always use a child theme; editing a parent theme means an update erases your change.

Block themes (Twenty Twenty-Four and similar) have no footer.php. Use the snippet plugin method instead, or add a Custom HTML block to the footer template part in the Site Editor.

Page builders usually have a Custom Code or HTML widget. Prefer the site-wide option so the chat appears on every page rather than only the page you edited. Placing it inside a single section can cause the button to be clipped by the section’s overflow settings.

Caching is the cause most of the time. Purge the page cache, the object cache and any CDN. Then view the page source in a private window and search for agent-widget.js. If the line is missing, the snippet is not active or is set to the wrong location.

If the line is present but nothing shows, check two things. First, Allowed websites in your agent settings: the exact address, including any staging or preview address, must be listed or left empty while testing. Second, a security plugin or Content Security Policy may block third-party scripts; allow clipaist.com in script-src and connect-src.

Script optimisation plugins that “delay JavaScript until interaction” can postpone the widget. Exclude agent-widget.js from delay and combine settings if the button appears late.

Add your prices, opening hours and contact details as key facts, set the email for lead alerts and check the unanswered questions list each week. For WooCommerce shops, add shipping times, return policy and payment methods as plain sentences in Knowledge, because those are the questions customers ask most.