Before the plugin can write a single word, it needs to know which AI service to use and how to reach it. This chapter shows you how to pick a provider, add your API key, and confirm the connection is working – all on the Settings screen.
Overview
Think of the AI provider as the “journalist” the plugin hires to produce your articles. You are not limited to one company – you can choose OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, whichever you already have an account and billing set up with. The plugin talks to these services directly, so you do not need to install any extra “AI bridge” or connector plugins.
All of this is configured in one place: AI News Publisher → Settings, under the AI Model section.
How It Works
Once you save a valid API key, the plugin sends a small request to your chosen AI provider every time it needs to write something – a plan, an opening paragraph, a section, an FAQ, and so on. The provider sends back written text, which the plugin assembles into a finished article. If the key is missing, invalid, or the wrong one for the model you selected, the plugin will show you a clear “Not ready” message instead of trying and failing silently.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Choose your AI provider
Go to AI News Publisher → Settings, scroll to the AI Model panel, and use the AI Provider dropdown to pick OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. If you are not sure, OpenAI is the default and works well for most sites.
2. Get an API key from that provider
Log in to your account on the provider’s own website (for example, platform.openai.com) and create an API key there. This is a long password-like code that lets the plugin use your account. Copy it – you will only be able to see it once.
3. Paste the API key into the plugin
Back in Settings, paste the code into the API Key field. This field is hidden like a password field for security. If you ever come back to this screen, it will show “•••••••• (saved – leave blank to keep)” – meaning you only need to fill it in again if you want to change it.
4. Enter the model name
In the Model field, type the exact model name you want to use, such as gpt-4o for OpenAI, claude-sonnet-4 for Anthropic, or gemini-2.0-flash for Google. If you leave this blank, the plugin defaults to gpt-4o.
5. Save your settings
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Settings.
6. Check the Connection status
After saving, look at the Connection field near the API Key box. A green Ready badge means the plugin can talk to your AI provider. A red Not ready badge means the key is missing or incorrect – double-check you copied it correctly with no extra spaces.
7. Adjust Temperature (optional)
The Temperature field controls how “creative” versus “predictable” the writing is, on a scale from 0 to 2. The default of 0.7 works well for most news and blog content. Lower numbers (like 0.3) produce more straightforward, factual writing – a good fit for hard news; higher numbers (like 1.1) produce more varied, colorful writing – better suited to lifestyle or opinion-style blogs.
Fields Table
| Field Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
AI Provider |
The AI company whose service will write your articles and (optionally) images. |
OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google |
API Key |
Your private access code from the provider’s website. Required before any content can be generated. |
sk-•••••••••••• |
Connection |
A live status badge showing whether your API key and model are working right now. |
Ready / Not ready |
Model |
The exact AI model name to use for writing. Different models vary in quality, speed, and price. |
gpt-4o |
Temperature |
A number from 0 to 2 controlling how creative or predictable the writing style is. |
0.7 (balanced) |
Max tokens |
The upper limit on how much text the AI can generate per request. Higher values are needed for longer articles. |
4000 |
Field Explanations
The API Key is the single most important field on this screen – without a valid one, the Connection badge will always show “Not ready” and no articles can be written, no matter how the rest of the plugin is configured.
Model names must be typed exactly as the provider names them; a typo (like gpt4o instead of gpt-4o) will cause generation to fail even though your API key is correct.
Max tokens works together with the content length you choose in Content Type & Writing Style – the plugin automatically raises this value if it’s set too low for the article length you want, so you rarely need to change it by hand.
Tips
- Copy your API key carefully – a single missing character will cause the connection to fail.
- If you plan to use AI-generated images too, remember that Anthropic does not support image generation – pair it with OpenAI or Google for images (see AI News Photos & Inline Images).
- Start with the default Temperature of 0.7 and lower it for hard news, or raise it slightly for lifestyle and opinion content.
- Keep your API key private – anyone with it can generate content (and charges) on your account.
Common Mistakes
- Leaving the API Key field blank on first setup. The placeholder text about a “saved” key only appears after you’ve saved one – on a fresh install, this field must be filled in.
- Mismatching provider and model. Selecting “OpenAI” as the provider but typing a Google model name (or vice versa) will cause requests to fail.
- Ignoring the “Not ready” badge. If you skip past it, every scheduled and manual generation attempt will fail until the key is fixed.
- Setting Temperature too high for hard news. Values above 1.0 can make factual news articles read oddly or drift off-topic.