AI excerpts and meta descriptions

Updated

The AI Excerpts screen writes the Excerpt and SEO meta description for your posts and pages. Each description is saved to the post as soon as it's generated, with no separate Save button. You can edit the text on the card afterward.

Nothing is generated automatically when you publish or update a post.

Open the screen

  1. Install and activate Dirigible AI Alt Text.
  2. In the WordPress admin, go to AI → Excerpts.

Add your API key

The AI tools use the OpenRouter key saved for the whole site. If none is saved yet, go to AI → Settings and fill in OpenRouter API Key. Under API configuration, this screen shows Using site OpenRouter key, or says where to add one.

Leave Model on the recommended default unless you have a reason to change it. OpenRouter bills the account for each request.

Generation options

  • Generate: Both (default), Excerpt only, or SEO description only.
  • Excerpt word count target: 55 words by default. SEO descriptions always aim for about 155 characters, the length search results usually show.
  • Keyword focus (optional): type a keyword and press Enter, then choose Subtle, Prominent, or Exact match.
  • Content source: Post content (default) uses what's in the editor. Choose Live page URL when most of the page's text doesn't come from the editor, and it will read the published page instead.
  • Overwrite existing: check this to replace text that's already there. Leave it unchecked to skip posts that already have it.
  • Ignore post status: include private, draft, pending, and scheduled posts.

A post or page with almost no text (fewer than about 25 words) isn't summarised, since the AI would have to make the copy up. The card says so instead.

The list shows Missing any by default. The numbers at the top show total posts, how many match your filters, how many are missing text, and how far along you are.

Generate for one post

  1. Set API configuration and Generation options.
  2. Find the post.
  3. Click Generate. The text is saved to the post right away.
  4. To change it, edit the Excerpt or SEO box on the card. Your edit saves when you click away.

Remove clears both the excerpt and SEO description for that post.

If the AI answers with an error message instead of an excerpt (for example "I'm sorry, but I can't…"), nothing is saved and the post keeps its current text. Click Generate again, or try another model.

Cards labeled Generated came from this tool. Manual means someone wrote or edited the text by hand.

Generate All

Generate All writes and saves text for every post on the current list, using your options. Click Refresh List to update the count.

There's no approval step. To read text before it goes live, generate one post at a time. Or generate them all, then check your most important pages.

From the post editor

If a site API key is saved, the post editor also has Generate an excerpt... (or Regenerate excerpt) and Generate SEO description (or Regenerate SEO description) buttons. They fill in the current post; save the post as usual to keep the text.

Danger zone

  • Reset Generated Excerpts clears AI-written text for the current post type and keeps anything written by hand.
  • Remove All Excerpts deletes every excerpt and SEO description for the current filter. This can't be undone.

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