Install and connect, step by step

This page takes you from nothing to your first request, in about ten minutes. You need:

• a WordPress site you manage, and an administrator account on it;
• ChatGPT or Claude;
• an email address you can open, for your free AI Puffer account.

You do not need to share your WordPress password or add an API key to connect ChatGPT or Claude.

1. Install AI Puffer

1. In wp-admin, go to Plugins › Add New.
2. Search for AI Puffer, then select Install Now and Activate.
3. The setup opens by itself: Welcome to AI Puffer. Select Get started.

Shortcut: on Get started, enter your site’s address and we open the installer for you.

Already using AI Puffer, or skipped the setup? Go to AI Puffer › Settings › Connections and select Manage my website, then follow the steps for existing sites below.

2. Choose what you want

Under What would you like to do?, choose Manage your website with AI, then select Continue.

You can select more than one goal. If website management is among them, setup connects your account and assistant first, then offers a quick try of an AI tool you selected. The progress bar follows your choices.

Choosing only a chatbot, content writing or forms skips the assistant connection. Setup asks whether to use AI Puffer Cloud or your own API key, then lets you try a tool.

3. Create your free account

Website management runs on a free AI Puffer Cloud account. The setup opens Connect your website, and its first step is Create your free account:

1. Enter your email.
2. Select Continue. By continuing, you agree to the terms and privacy policy; What we collect explains what’s shared.
3. Open the email we send you and confirm. When you come back to the setup tab, it checks by itself; if it doesn’t move on, select I’ve confirmed it.

No email? Select Resend email, or Use a different email. If your email is already verified, you skip this step.

4. Connect your assistant

With your account ready, AI Puffer checks that your website can be reached. Select Connect ChatGPT or Connect Claude. ChatGPT setup provides the connection address to copy; Claude opens AI Puffer’s directory listing. The steps stay visible in WordPress.

ChatGPT

1. In ChatGPT, open Plugins, select + (Add), then Add custom MCP server.
2. Enter AI Puffer as the name. Choose Server URL, paste the address you copied, and leave Authentication set to OAuth.
3. Read ChatGPT’s notice, select I understand and want to continue, then Create as a plugin.
4. AI Puffer opens in your browser and asks for access. Choose Allow.

Already added AI Puffer to ChatGPT? Open it under Plugins › Manage and choose Connect, Reconnect or Connect another account. If you can’t add a custom MCP server, your ChatGPT plan or workspace may not allow it.

Claude

1. Select Open AI Puffer in Claude to open AI Puffer’s directory listing, then Connect to Claude.
2. Check the website, user and safety level on AI Puffer’s consent screen, then choose Allow.

Already connected in Claude? Choose Disconnect from the listing’s actions menu, then Connect to Claude. Connect manually stays collapsed in the WordPress setup panel if you need a custom connector instead.

Do this in the same browser, within 10 minutes. Come back to WordPress: the waiting screen detects the connection and shows ChatGPT is connected or Claude is connected. If it has not updated, select Check now. You can reopen your assistant or switch to the other one from the same panel.

Starting from Claude instead? Install AI Puffer 2.5.20 or later, then connect from Claude’s directory. Enter your website address, sign in on your WordPress site and finish account verification if prompted. Review the access and choose Allow to return to Claude.

5. Try your first request

AI Puffer gives you a first request to copy. It only reads your site:

Use AI Puffer to read my site at https://example.com. Tell me its name and address. Do not change anything.

Open a new chat, select AI Puffer (in ChatGPT, type @ and choose it), paste the request and send it. When your assistant answers, the setup marks your connection as working. You can also continue once the assistant is connected, without sending this test first.

Then try a first change:

Write a post introducing my business.

Your assistant starts at Trusted: supported changes run on their own and are all logged. To approve changes first, switch it to Standard. See Safety levels. The cookbook has tested requests for posts, WooCommerce, SEO, images and more.

6. Finish setup

If website management was your only goal, continue to the finish screen and select Open ChatGPT or Open Claude. You can also open Website activity to see what your assistant has done.

If you selected other tools too, continue to the AI connection choice. Use your AI Puffer credits or choose I have my own API key, then try the tool. Website management uses the AI in your assistant; this separate choice powers the chatbot, writer or forms inside WordPress.

The finish screen shows what is connected, tested, saved or live. When your selected steps are complete and an assistant is connected, the main button opens that assistant, even if you also set up another tool. The other tools keep their own links.

You can choose Do this later during website setup. Unfinished steps stay on the finish checklist and in Finish setting up on the Dashboard, where you can resume them.

If you defer the AI connection, the finish screen shows which tools still need it. Select Connect AI on the checklist when you are ready. Your assistant connection and the AI connection for tools inside WordPress are separate.

Already using AI Puffer

If AI Puffer was set up before, connect from the Manage my website panel instead. Open it from AI Puffer › Settings › Connections › Manage my website, or from the Dashboard’s website card. Before setup, choose Connect ChatGPT or Connect Claude; after setup, choose Manage:

1. If the panel says Verify your email to connect an assistant, select Verify email and confirm it as in step 3, then select Check again.
2. Under Add an assistant, the line under the list shows the safety level and the user your assistant will work as, such as Trusted safety level · works as admin. Select Change to choose another level or user. Your assistant can never do more than that user.
3. Select Set up next to ChatGPT or Claude, and follow that assistant’s instructions in step 4 above.
4. Return to WordPress. With AI Puffer 2.5.21 or later, the open panel detects the connection automatically. Select Check next to your assistant if it has not updated.

Using Cursor or Claude Code? Select Set it up manually, then follow Connect Cursor or Claude Code. Other apps that connect to a remote MCP server with OAuth use the same name and address, but we haven’t tested them.

If it doesn’t connect

You see	Do this
Verify your email to connect an assistant	Confirm your email (step 3), then select Check again.
You confirmed, but it still says to check your inbox	Wait a few seconds, then try again.
Still waiting for your assistant to connect	Finish step 4 in the same browser and return to WordPress. If it has not updated, select Check now in setup or Check in the panel.
The connection link expired	Reopen your assistant from setup, or select Set up again in Settings for a new link.
Your assistant doesn’t use your site	In a new chat, select AI Puffer first (in ChatGPT, type @). Opening the assistant alone doesn’t connect your site.
The website check fails, on a site behind a firewall or bot protection	Allow requests from AI Puffer’s relay through it, or ask your host to.

More detail per assistant: Connect ChatGPT · Connect Claude.