The keyword queue is your newsroom assignment list – every topic you want an article about. This chapter covers everything on the Keywords screen: adding topics by hand, letting AI generate a batch for you, and choosing how the plugin picks what to write next.
Overview
A “keyword” here simply means a topic or headline angle you’d like an article written about – for example, “central bank interest rate decision explained” or “best budget laptops for students in 2026.” You build a list of these under AI News Publisher → Keywords, and the plugin works through that list over time, turning each one into a full article.
How It Works
Every keyword has a status: Pending (waiting to be written), Used (already published), Failed (an error occurred), or Skipped. Each time the plugin generates a post – whether automatically or via Generate Now – it selects one or more pending keywords, either in strict priority order (Queue mode) or by letting the AI review a pool of pending keywords and choose the most relevant ones for today (Smart mode). Once used successfully, a keyword is marked Used and linked to the resulting post.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Open the Keywords screen
Go to AI News Publisher → Keywords. At the top, you’ll see a Website Categories panel listing your existing WordPress post categories.
2. Let AI generate a batch of topics
At the very top of the page, set the number next to Generate AI Keywords (5–50, defaults to 25) and click the button. The AI looks at your site’s name, your existing categories, your chosen content type, and your chosen language (all from Settings), and writes a fresh batch of relevant topic ideas straight into your queue.
3. Add suggested keywords from one category
Alternatively, find a single category card (like “Technology” or “Markets”) in the Website Categories panel and click Add suggested keywords to get topic ideas focused on just that category.
4. Add a single keyword by hand
In the Add Keyword box, type your topic into the Keyword field, optionally choose a Category and a Priority number (higher numbers are used first), add any Notes for your own reference, and click Add Keyword.
5. Import a whole list at once
In the Bulk Import box, choose a category, then paste one keyword per line into the text box. You can optionally set a priority per line using the format keyword,priority. Click Import Keywords when ready.
6. Review your full list
Scroll down to the Keywords table to see every keyword with its category, priority, status, how many times it’s been used, and a link to its published post (if any). Use the filter bar above the table to narrow by category, status, or search text.
7. Reset or delete keywords
Click Reset next to any used or failed keyword to send it back to Pending so it can be written about again. Click Delete to remove it permanently. Tick the checkboxes on multiple rows and use the Bulk actions dropdown to reset or delete several at once.
8. Choose Queue mode or Smart mode
Go to AI News Publisher → Settings and find Keyword selection. Choose Queue mode to always use the highest-priority pending keyword next, or Smart mode to let the AI review a pool of pending keywords and pick the best ones for today, considering season, category balance, and recent posts.
9. Turn on auto-refill and pick Focus categories
Still in Settings, enable Auto-create keywords for queue and set Minimum pending keywords. Under Focus categories, tick the specific categories that should receive auto-created keywords (or leave every box unchecked to use all categories). When your pending count drops below your minimum, the plugin automatically suggests and adds fresh keywords from those categories – so your queue never runs dry.
Fields Table
| Field Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
Generate AI Keywords |
Number field plus button that asks the AI to invent a fresh batch of on-topic keywords for your site. |
25 (range: 5–50) |
Fill Queue Now |
A quick action that tops up your queue using your existing category-based suggestions. |
One click |
Keyword |
The topic or headline angle the article will be written about. |
central bank interest rate decision explained |
Category |
The WordPress post category the finished article should relate to. |
Markets |
Priority |
A number used to decide order in Queue mode – higher numbers go first. |
10 |
Status |
Where the keyword is in its lifecycle. |
Pending / Used / Failed / Skipped |
Keyword selection |
Whether topics are chosen strictly by priority (Queue) or picked by AI from a pool (Smart). |
Smart mode |
Focus categories |
Which categories receive automatically generated keywords when the queue runs low. |
World News, Markets |
Field Explanations
Generate AI Keywords is different from the per-category “Add suggested keywords” button – it looks at your whole site (name, all categories, your chosen content type, and your chosen language) and proposes a broader, more varied batch in one go, which is a great way to fill an empty queue for the first time.
Priority only matters in Queue mode – in Smart mode, the AI weighs many factors beyond priority, so don’t rely on priority numbers alone if Smart mode is turned on.
A keyword marked Failed is not lost – it simply means the last attempt ran into an error (often a temporary AI provider issue). Check the reason in the Generation Log, then click Reset to try it again.
Focus categories uses checkboxes rather than a single dropdown, so you can spread auto-created keywords across several categories at once – leaving every box unchecked simply means “use all categories,” which is the default.
Tips
- Create your WordPress Post Categories first (under Posts → Categories) – both AI keyword generation and category suggestions depend on them existing.
- Use Generate AI Keywords the very first time you set up the plugin – it’s the fastest way to go from an empty queue to dozens of ready topics.
- Use specific, real-world phrases as keywords (what a reader would actually search for) rather than single generic words.
- Turn on auto-refill early so you never have to remember to top up the queue manually.
Common Mistakes
- Leaving the queue empty. With zero pending keywords, both the daily schedule and Generate Now have nothing to write about.
- Clicking Generate AI Keywords before connecting an AI provider. The button stays disabled with a warning until an API key is added in Settings (See Connecting Your AI News Engine).
- Adding vague, one-word keywords. A keyword like “markets” gives the AI far less direction than “why the stock market reacted to today’s rate decision.”
- Forgetting to Reset a failed keyword. Failed keywords stay failed forever until you reset them – they won’t automatically retry.