AI Writing Assistant

The AI Writing Assistant was built in 2024 for AI-assisted content writing inside the Breakdance interface. It uses OpenAI models to generate and rewrite text in existing Sections, Containers, and individual elements.

Today, the recommended approach is to ask your AI agent to write or update your content. Start with Connect Your AI Agent and the Build Your First Site guides. The instructions below cover the AI Writing Assistant plugin and its editor controls.

Installation and Settings

You need PHP 8.1 or later, the Breakdance AI Writing Assistant plugin, its license key, and an active OpenAI API key with paid API access. OpenAI API billing is separate from a ChatGPT subscription. The assistant will not work correctly until both keys are saved on your site.

Install the Plugin

1. Download the AI Writing Assistant ZIP file from the Breakdance portal.
2. Open Licenses in the portal and copy your AI Writing Assistant License Key.
3. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP file, install it, and activate the plugin.
4. Go to Breakdance > Settings > AI Writing Assistant. In versions that label the tab AI Assistant, open that tab.
5. Paste the plugin license into License Key and click Save Changes.

Add an OpenAI API Key

1. Sign in to or create an account on the OpenAI API platform, and set up paid API billing.
2. Open API Keys and click Create new secret key.
3. Copy the newly created secret key.
4. Return to the AI Writing Assistant settings in WordPress, paste it into OpenAI API Key, and click Save Changes.

You can now use the assistant inside Breakdance. For OpenAI's key-creation guidance, see its API quickstart.

Choose Access and Model Settings

The same WordPress settings screen contains:

• Available For — Controls access based on Breakdance permission levels: Full Interface, Edit Content Interface Only, or No Access.
• Model — Selects GPT-4o or GPT-4o mini. GPT-4o mini is the lightweight, lower-cost option that replaced GPT-3.5 Turbo in the plugin. These are the plugin's model choices; GPT-4o is no longer OpenAI's newest model. Billing varies by model; see OpenAI pricing.
• Rate Limit, when present — Sets a daily token usage limit. Current Usage shows consumption; further requests are rejected when the limit is exceeded. Reset Usage clears the plugin's usage counter, but does not reset OpenAI billing or quotas.

Click Save Changes after changing settings.

Set Business Details and Custom Macros

1. Click the AI icon in Breakdance to open the AI Assistant panel.
2. Click its Settings icon.
3. Fill in the business details used to guide generated content:
   • Business Name — Defaults to your WordPress site name.
   • Qualifiers (optional) — Sets the general tone or style, such as “friendly and concise.”
   • Describe Your Business — Gives the assistant context about your business.
4. Under Macros, click Add Macro and enter a Name and Prompt. Macros are reusable instructions available when modifying individual text fields, helping you apply consistent edits across pages.

Rewrite a Section or Element

1. Select a Section, Container, or individual element in Breakdance.
2. Click the AI icon to open the AI Assistant panel for that element.

For a Section or Container, rewriting affects supported text fields in the elements inside it. For an individual element, it affects only that element's text. Locked text is preserved.

Writing Settings for Elements

• Describe This Section — Explains what the selected content should communicate.
• Qualifiers (optional) — Sets the tone for this content, overriding the general qualifiers.
• Temperature — Controls variation in generated wording. Lower values produce more predictable output; higher values allow more variation.

Click Rewrite With AI to generate text for the selection based on the existing layout.

Modify Individual Text

The numbers below match the callouts in the screenshot.

1. Click the AI icon beside the text field you want to change, such as a heading or description.
2. Choose a default macro, or a custom macro you created:
   • Shorten it — Makes the text shorter.
   • Continue writing — Expands the current text.
   • More interesting — Rewrites the text to be more engaging.
   • More formal — Uses a more formal tone.
   • Correct grammar — Fixes grammatical errors.
   • One-Click Write — Generates new text.
3. Set Variations using the arrows or by typing a number. Run your macro or custom prompt to generate alternatives, review each result, then insert it, rephrase it, or delete it.
4. For a different instruction, enter your own request in the custom prompt area.
5. Click the Unlock icon to lock the text field. The Lock icon indicates that the text will be preserved when the assistant rewrites its element or containing Section. Click it again to unlock the field.

Change Models or AI Providers

Developers can use the AI Endpoints API to override the model or connect a different provider, such as OpenRouter. The provider must support the plugin's authentication and request/response formats; changing the endpoint alone may not be sufficient.

Troubleshooting