Accessing AI Controls

AI controls are available in paragraph blocks only. When you’re editing a post or page:

  1. Select a paragraph block – Click on any paragraph block in your editor
  2. Look for the Edit with AI button – In the block toolbar (above the block), you’ll see a button with a sparkles icon (✨)
  3. Click the Edit with AI button – This opens a popover menu with all available AI actions

The Edit with AI button appears in the block toolbar alongside other block controls like alignment, bold, and italic. If you don’t see it, make sure you’ve:

  • Selected a paragraph block (not a heading, image, or other block type)
  • Configured at least one AI provider API key in the plugin settings
  • Refreshed the page if you just added API keys

Available Text Actions

The AI Plugin offers six text transformation actions, each designed for specific use cases:

Rewrite

Best for: Improving clarity, fixing grammar, or refining existing text

Rewrites your selected paragraph while maintaining its core meaning and length. The AI will:

  • Improve sentence structure and flow
  • Fix grammatical errors
  • Enhance word choice
  • Maintain the original tone and style

Example: Transform “The product is good and people like it” into “The product has received positive feedback from users.”

Expand

Best for: Adding detail, explanations, or context to short paragraphs

Takes your existing text and makes it longer by adding relevant details, examples, or explanations. Useful when you need to:

  • Elaborate on a brief point
  • Add supporting information
  • Provide more context for readers
  • Meet minimum word count requirements

Example: Expand “AI is transforming business” into a detailed paragraph explaining how AI impacts various business functions.

Condense

Best for: Making long paragraphs more concise without losing key information

Shortens your text while preserving the most important points. Ideal for:

  • Creating summaries
  • Reducing word count
  • Making content more scannable
  • Extracting key takeaways

Example: Condense a lengthy explanation into a brief, punchy paragraph that captures the essence.

Summarise

Best for: Creating brief overviews or extracting main points

Similar to Condense but focused on distilling content to its essential elements. Produces shorter, more focused summaries that highlight:

  • Main ideas
  • Key points
  • Critical information
  • Core takeaways

Example: Summarise a detailed product description into a concise overview suitable for a product card.

Change Tone

The Change Tone option opens a submenu with two choices:

Professional

  • Converts casual or informal text to a formal, business-appropriate tone
  • Uses professional language and terminology
  • Maintains clarity while elevating formality
  • Perfect for business communications, reports, or professional content

Personal

  • Transforms formal or corporate text into a friendly, conversational tone
  • Makes content more approachable and relatable
  • Uses everyday language while keeping the message intact
  • Great for blog posts, social media, or audience engagement

Example: Convert “We are pleased to inform you that…” to “We’re excited to tell you that…” (Personal) or vice versa (Professional).

Using Context Awareness

Context awareness allows the AI to understand your entire page when transforming text, not just the selected paragraph. This results in more coherent, contextually appropriate suggestions.

Enabling Context

  1. Click the Edit with AI button in a paragraph block
  2. Check “Include page context” – This checkbox appears at the top of the action menu
  3. Select your action – Choose Rewrite, Expand, Condense, etc.

When context is enabled, the AI receives:

  • Post metadata: Title, excerpt, categories, and tags
  • Page content: Up to 100 blocks from your post (paragraphs, headings, lists, quotes, etc.)

This helps the AI:

  • Maintain consistency with your post’s topic and style
  • Reference information from other parts of the page
  • Generate suggestions that fit the overall narrative
  • Avoid contradictions with existing content

When to Use Context

Use context when:

  • You want AI suggestions that align with your post’s theme
  • The paragraph relates to other content on the page
  • You need consistency across multiple paragraphs
  • The transformation should reference other sections

Skip context when:

  • You’re working on a standalone paragraph
  • You want a quick, isolated transformation
  • Context might make the suggestion too generic
  • You’re testing different approaches to the same content

Context Limitations

  • Maximum blocks: Up to 100 blocks are included in context
  • Character limit: Context is truncated at 8,000 characters if it exceeds this limit
  • Warning: If context approaches the limit (over 7,900 characters), you’ll see a warning message
  • Performance: Larger context may take slightly longer to process

The context toggle setting is saved per user in your browser, so your preference persists across sessions.

The AI Processing Flow

When you select an AI action, here’s what happens:

1. Processing State

A modal window appears showing:

  • The action being performed (e.g., “Refining text”, “Expanding text”)
  • A loading spinner
  • “Processing…” message

The modal cannot be closed during processing. This typically takes 2-10 seconds depending on:

  • The length of your text
  • Whether context is enabled
  • Your selected AI provider
  • Current API response times

2. Success State

Once processing completes, the modal shows:

  • AI Suggestion: The transformed text in a scrollable preview area
  • Discard button: Reject the suggestion and return to your original text
  • Apply button: Accept the suggestion and replace your paragraph

Review the suggestion carefully:

  • Read through the entire transformed text
  • Check that it matches your intent
  • Verify accuracy and tone
  • Ensure it fits with surrounding content

3. Error State

If something goes wrong, you’ll see:

  • An error message explaining what happened
  • A Close button to dismiss the modal

Common errors include:

  • API key issues (check your settings)
  • Network connectivity problems
  • Rate limiting (too many requests)
  • Invalid content or context

Applying and Discarding Suggestions

Applying a Suggestion

  1. Review the suggestion in the modal preview
  2. Click “Apply” – This replaces your paragraph with the AI-generated text
  3. The modal closes automatically
  4. Your paragraph is updated – You can continue editing or make further changes

After applying, you can:

  • Edit the AI-generated text manually
  • Apply another transformation
  • Undo the change using WordPress’s undo feature (Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z)

Discarding a Suggestion

  1. Click “Discard” – This closes the modal without making changes
  2. Your original text remains unchanged
  3. You can try again with a different action or settings

Discarding doesn’t affect your original content. You can:

  • Try the same action again
  • Try a different action
  • Adjust context settings
  • Make manual edits instead

Best Practices

Getting Better Results

  1. Start with clear, complete sentences – AI works best with well-formed input
  2. Use context for related content – Enable context when paragraphs connect to other sections
  3. Try multiple actions – If one doesn’t work, experiment with others
  4. Combine AI with manual editing – Use AI as a starting point, then refine manually
  5. Review before applying – Always check suggestions for accuracy and appropriateness

Common Workflows

Refining a draft:

  1. Write your first draft
  2. Select paragraphs that need improvement
  3. Use “Rewrite” with context enabled
  4. Review and apply suggestions
  5. Make final manual adjustments

Expanding brief content:

  1. Write key points or bullet points
  2. Select each point
  3. Use “Expand” to add detail
  4. Review for relevance and accuracy
  5. Apply and refine

Creating summaries:

  1. Write your full content
  2. Select key paragraphs
  3. Use “Summarise” to create concise versions
  4. Use these summaries for excerpts, meta descriptions, or social media

Tone adjustment:

  1. Write your content in your natural voice
  2. Select paragraphs that need tone changes
  3. Use “Change Tone” → Professional or Personal
  4. Review to ensure the tone matches your brand
  5. Apply and make final tweaks

Troubleshooting

Edit with AI button Not Appearing

  • Check block type: AI controls only appear in paragraph blocks
  • Verify API keys: Ensure at least one provider is configured in settings
  • Refresh the page: Reload if you just added API keys
  • Check permissions: Ensure you have Editor or Author role

Poor Quality Suggestions

  • Try different actions: Some actions work better for specific content
  • Enable/disable context: Context can help or hinder depending on the situation
  • Check your brand voice: Ensure brand voice settings align with your goals
  • Review stop words: Make sure stop words aren’t blocking important terms

Processing Takes Too Long

  • Check your internet connection: Slow connections delay API responses
  • Reduce context: Disable context for faster processing
  • Try a different provider: Some providers may be faster than others
  • Check API status: Provider APIs may be experiencing issues

Errors During Processing

  • Verify API keys: Check that keys are valid and have sufficient credits
  • Check network: Ensure your site can reach AI provider APIs
  • Review error message: The modal will show specific error details
  • Try again: Some errors are temporary and resolve on retry

Next Steps

Now that you’re comfortable with AI in the Block Editor:

The Block Editor is just the beginning. The Cortex plugin integrates throughout WordPress to help you create better content faster, wherever you work.