Welcome. This guide contains everything you need to successfully install, configure, and get the most out of your Gemini AI Assistant plugin.
Below, you’ll find a series of short video tutorials, each accompanied by clear, step-by-step text instructions. Whether you prefer to watch or read, we’ve made it easy to get your AI assistant up and running in minutes. Let’s begin.
System Requirements
Before installing the Gemini AI Assistant, please ensure your website’s hosting environment meets the following minimum requirements. Meeting these requirements is essential for the plugin to function correctly and securely.
- WordPress Version: 6.0 or higher.
- PHP Version: 7.4 or higher.
- A Self-Hosted WordPress Site: This plugin is not compatible with WordPress.com sites, or WordPress hosting without access to installation files. This plugin requires access to WordPress installation
- Access to wp-config.php: You must have the ability to edit your WordPress configuration file via FTP, SSH, or a web hosting file manager. This is a one-time requirement to securely store the plugin vendor API keys (provided upon product purchase), a best practice for professional plugins.
- Google Gemini API Key: You will need your own Gemini API key from the Google AI Studio. This is free to generate Gemini API Key and comes with generous free-tier suitable for most websites.
How-to Setup and Install the Plugin
Follow these steps carefully to install, configure, and activate your plugin. The entire process should take less than 5 minutes.
Step 1: Securely Add Vendor Keys:
After your purchase, you received a Vendor Public Key and a Vendor Secret Key (found inside insert-in-wp-config-php.zip). For maximum security, these must be added to your wp-config.php file.
- Connect to your server using FTP or a File Manager.
- Locate the wp-config.php file in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
- Add the following two lines to the file, pasting in your unique keys. A good place is right above the line that says /* That’s all, stop editing! */.
define( 'GAIA_VENDOR_PUBLIC_KEY', 'paste_your_public_key_here' );
define( 'GAIA_VENDOR_SECRET_KEY', 'paste_your_secret_key_here' );Step 2: Install and Activate the Plugin:
- In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Upload the gemini-ai-assistant.zip file and click Install Now → Activate Plugin.
Step 3: Configure Plugin Settings:
- A new “Gemini AI” menu will now appear in your admin sidebar. Go to Gemini AI → Settings.
- Paste your personal Google Gemini API Key into the designated field.
- Ensure the “Enable Assistant” checkbox is ticked and save your settings.
Step 4: Activate Your License:
- Navigate to Gemini AI → License.
- Enter the License Key you received in your purchase confirmation email.
- Click Activate License.
Congratulations! Your AI Assistant is now active on your website.
Training Your AI: How-to Use Site-Only Search Grounding
I’ve already included Google Search Grounding for your new plugin. This means, Ai is already setup to use this powerful feature for crafting truly site specific responses.
Advanced Customization & Training
Possibilities this plugin offers your business website is truly limitless. To use its full power, customize it to meet your unique business objectives.
You can significantly enhance the assistant’s performance by using a hybrid model. This means, you can provide instant, pre-defined answers for common questions, and training the AI’s core persona for everything else.
A. Instant Answers with Keywords
For your most common questions (like “contact” or “pricing” or direction to your local business (or anything else that will help your website achieve higher conversions), you may consider providing instant answers that use Zero API Credits. This can be achieved by editing the plugin JavaScript file.
- Open the file: /wp-content/plugins/gemini-ai-assistant/js/script.js.
- Create a const predefinedAnswers object.
- You can add your own keywords and answers. The keyword will be used for matching, and the answers can include HTML links as well.
const predefinedAnswers = {
'contact': 'You can get in touch with us via our Contact Page',
'phone': 'When you want to speak directly with one of our qualified technicians in Melbourne, call 0412 123 1234',
'opening hours': 'We're available Monday to Saturday between 9am till 5pm',
'location': 'We're located in Melbourne, for directions simply find us on /LINK TO Google Maps/ or Google Business Profile',
'shipping': 'For all inquiries related to Shipping visit our /LINK TO Shipping Policy Page/',
// Add your own keyword and answer here
'your-keyword': 'Your pre-written answer (you can include HTML links).'
};
Then, update the chatForm.on submit event to tell your AI to use your own answers first.
// --- NEW: Pre-defined answer check ---
let answeredLocally = false;
for (const keyword in predefinedAnswers) {
if (userMessageLower.includes(keyword)) {
appendMessage('user', userMessage, false);
userInput.val('');
showTypingIndicator();
setTimeout(() => { // Simulate a slight delay for realism
removeTypingIndicator();
appendMessage('assistant', predefinedAnswers[keyword], true);
}, 600);
answeredLocally = true;
break; // Stop checking once a match is found
}
}
// Only make an API call if no local answer was found
if (answeredLocally) {
return; // Stop the function here
}
// --- END: Pre-defined answer check ---
B. Training the AI’s Persona and Context
You can control the AI’s personality and provide it with key business information by editing the $system_instruction variable in the main plugin file.
- Open the file: /wp-content/plugins/gemini-ai-assistant/gemini-ai-assistant.php.
- Find the gaia_handle_send_message() function.
- Locate the $system_instruction variable and modify it to fit your needs. You can change the AI’s name, its tone, and provide it with specific context about your business.
$system_instruction = "You are a friendly and helpful assistant for my eCommerce store.
Always answer in a cheerful tone.
Prioritize helping users find products and answer questions based on the site search.
If you cannot find an answer, direct them to our support page at /support/.";
How-to Change the Gemini Model
Your plugin is setup to use ‘gemini-2.5-flash-lite’ due to generous free-tier rate limits. But you can easily change AI model. Simply change the value of $model_to_use variable inside /wp-content/plugins/gemini-ai-assistant/gemini-ai-assistant.php file. For example:
$model_to_use = 'gemini-2.5-flash-lite';
Change to:
$model_to_use = 'gemini-2.5-pro';
Or, change to:
$model_to_use = 'gemini-2.5-flash';
Further Help & Information
Thank you for using the Gemini AI Assistant plugin. We are confident that it will be a valuable tool for engaging your website visitors and providing instant support.
Want RankYa to Setup the Plugin?
We understand that some of our valued customers may want to hire a professional to handle the setup and customization, accordingly, we’re offering these below services you may consider hiring us for:
- Basic Setup & Installation – Cost $98: Get the plugin setup and installed to work seamlessly on your site.
- Basic Training Customization of Gemini → Cost $248: (ideal for small business websites to unlock the full potential of the AI). I’ll train the model for your specific needs, making it a truly powerful asset for your business.
- Advanced and Thorough Training & Customization of Gemini → inquire for custom quote.
