Chatbot troubleshooting
Symptom-first fixes for Aimogen Pro chatbot problems, from a bot that does not appear to one that invents answers or costs too much.
The chatbot does not appear#
Symptoms. The shortcode renders nothing, or the global bubble is missing.
Likely causes
- No API key. Most chatbot screens refuse to render without one. Check Settings › API Keys and use Test API key.
- The plugin main switch is off. Settings › General Settings.
- A global condition excludes this view. URL, role, device, browser, language, IP or time. See
Global and conditional chatbots. Excluding
administratoris a common cause of "it works for visitors but not for me". - The shortcode is not executing. Check for a typo, and that the theme renders shortcodes in that template.
- Page caching. Clear the cache.
How to diagnose. View source and search for the chatbot container. Present but invisible is a CSS problem; absent entirely is one of the causes above.
The chatbot appears but does not respond#
Symptoms. Messages send, nothing comes back, or an error appears.
Likely causes
- The API call is failing. Check System & Logs › Activity Logs for the provider error, then API and provider errors.
- A usage limit was reached. The visitor sees the limit message. Check System & Logs › AI Usage Limits.
- Rate limited.
Limit User Messageswas exceeded. admin-ajax.phpis blocked. A security plugin or WAF. See Plugin and server conflicts.- The AJAX response is cached. Exclude
admin-ajax.phpfrom page cache.
How to diagnose. Open the browser developer console. A failing request to admin-ajax.php with a 403
points at a firewall; a 200 with an error payload points at the API.
Replies are cut off#
Raise Chatbot Max Token Count. If it is already high, the model output limit or PHP timeout is the
constraint — see Tokens, context and output length.
The bot invents answers#
Likely causes and fixes
- Bot Context does not forbid it. Add an explicit instruction to say "I do not know". See Bot configuration.
- No retrieval configured. The bot only has the model training data. See Knowledge and context.
- Retrieval is configured but not enabled for the chatbot. Tick Chatbot Shortcodes under Settings › Embeddings › Enable Embeddings For. This is the single most common cause.
- Temperature too high. Lower it to 0.3–0.7 for factual bots.
The bot forgets the conversation#
Max Chat Messages To Send As API Context is too low, or Max Chat Context Size (Characters) is
truncating. For memory across sessions, enable
persistent chat.
Extensions never fire#
- The model does not support function calling. Check the capability list in Selecting models.
- Extensions are not enabled for this placement. Preview, global and per-shortcode are separate switches. See Chatbot Extensions.
- A provider Responses API toggle is on. Several beta implementations do not support tool calls. Turn it off under Settings › Advanced AI Settings.
Streaming does not work#
- The model does not support streaming.
- A Responses API toggle is on.
- Server buffering. Some hosts and reverse proxies buffer the response, defeating streaming.
Disable Streamingis set on the placement.
Note that retries do not work in streaming mode — see Errors, retries and timeouts.
Voice does not work#
- The page is not HTTPS. Browsers require a secure context for microphone access.
- Permission denied. Check the browser site settings.
- No voices in the dropdown. The speech provider key is missing or invalid.
- Azure avatar blank. Free tier, wrong region, or an ad blocker. See Voice, speech and talking avatars.
Styling looks wrong#
- Theme CSS conflict. Use
Custom CSSto raise specificity. - The design changed the relevant option. Some styling settings apply to specific designs only.
- A shortcode attribute overrides the global setting. Attributes win.
The chatbot costs more than expected#
Work through, in order:
- Context size. Every message resends the history. Reduce
Max Chat Messages To Send As API Context. - Retrieval chunks. Every retrieved chunk is input tokens on every message. Reduce the top-K.
- Internet access. A search plus page fetches per affected reply. Turn it off unless needed.
- Model. A flagship model on a busy chatbot is expensive. A fast mid-tier model is usually better here anyway.
- Speech. Billed per character. Realtime is billed per minute of audio.
- No limits. Set usage limits.
Someone abused the chatbot#
Immediate steps:
- Set
Max Guest Creditsto zero, making the chatbot login-only. - Add the offending IP to
Restrict User IPs List From Using The AI. - Set a rate limit under AI Chatbot › Limitations.
- Check System & Logs › Usage Logs for the extent.
- Set a spend cap in the provider dashboard.
Then re-open with limits in place. See Moderation, GDPR and limits.
Getting help#
Collect before opening a ticket:
- The error from System & Logs › Activity Logs
- The relevant Usage Logs rows
- The output of System & Logs › System Info
- Your shortcode, with any API keys removed
- Browser console output from a failing message
Then open a support ticket.
Related#
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and include the diagnostics from Aimogen Pro › System & Logs › System Info.