Overview

The Cortex plugin adds AI capabilities to WooCommerce product fields:

  • Product Description: The main product description field (WYSIWYG editor)
  • Short Description: The product short description/excerpt field (WYSIWYG editor)

All six text transformation actions are available in WooCommerce, just like in the Block Editor and ACF fields. The integration works on:

  • Product edit screens
  • Both classic and block-based product editors

Prerequisites

Before using AI features in WooCommerce:

  1. WooCommerce must be active – The plugin automatically detects if WooCommerce is installed and activated
  2. API keys configured – At least one AI provider (OpenAI, Gemini, or Stability AI) must be configured in the plugin settings
  3. Product edit screen – AI features only appear when editing products, not other post types

Accessing AI Controls

AI controls appear automatically in WooCommerce product description fields when you’re editing a product. The location of the Edit with AI button depends on your WooCommerce setup:

Product Description Field

  1. Look for the “Edit with AI” button – A button with text and icon appears in the media buttons area (above the editor toolbar) or before the editor
  2. Click the button – This opens the AI action menu
  3. Select an action – Choose from Rewrite, Expand, Condense, Summarise, or Change Tone

The button placement depends on your WooCommerce configuration. It may appear:

  • In the media buttons row (alongside “Add Media” and other media buttons)
  • Above the editor toolbar in a dedicated wrapper

Short Description Field

  1. Find the “Edit with AI” button – Located in the same position as the main description field
  2. Click the button – Opens the AI action menu
  3. Choose your action – All six actions are available

Both fields use the same WYSIWYG editor (TinyMCE), so the Edit with AI button appears in the same location for consistency.

Available Text Actions

All six text transformation actions are available in WooCommerce product fields, identical to the Block Editor and ACF:

Rewrite

Best for: Improving clarity, fixing grammar, or refining existing product descriptions

Rewrites your product description while maintaining its core meaning. Works especially well for:

  • Product descriptions that need polishing
  • Converting technical specifications into customer-friendly language
  • Improving readability and flow
  • Fixing grammar and spelling issues

Expand

Best for: Adding detail to brief product descriptions

Takes short product descriptions and expands them with relevant details. Useful for:

  • Brief product descriptions that need more detail
  • Adding product features and benefits
  • Creating comprehensive descriptions from bullet points
  • Expanding short descriptions into full descriptions

Condense

Best for: Making long product descriptions more concise

Shortens product descriptions while preserving key information. Ideal for:

  • Long descriptions that need to fit character limits
  • Creating shorter versions for product cards or listings
  • Condensing verbose descriptions
  • Extracting key points from detailed descriptions

Summarise

Best for: Creating brief overviews from detailed product descriptions

Distills product descriptions to essential elements. Perfect for:

  • Creating short descriptions from full descriptions
  • Generating product summaries for listings
  • Extracting key selling points
  • Creating meta descriptions or social media content

Change Tone

The Change Tone option opens a submenu with two choices:

Professional

  • Converts casual product descriptions to formal, business-appropriate tone
  • Perfect for B2B products, technical items, or professional services
  • Maintains professionalism while keeping descriptions clear

Personal

  • Transforms formal product descriptions into friendly, conversational tone
  • Great for consumer products, lifestyle items, or engaging copy
  • Makes descriptions more approachable and relatable

Using Context Awareness

Context awareness in WooCommerce works similarly to the Block Editor and ACF but with WooCommerce-specific information. When enabled, the AI receives product metadata to make more informed transformations.

Enabling Context

  1. Click the Edit with AI button in any product description field
  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:

  • Product title: The name of the product
  • SKU: The product’s stock keeping unit (if set)
  • Product categories: All categories assigned to the product
  • Product tags: All tags assigned to the product

This comprehensive context helps the AI:

  • Maintain consistency with product metadata
  • Reference product categories and tags appropriately
  • Generate suggestions that align with your product information
  • Create descriptions that match the product’s classification
  • Avoid contradictions between description and metadata

Context Details

What’s included:

  • Product title (from the title field)
  • SKU (if configured)
  • Product categories (all assigned categories)
  • Product tags (all assigned tags)

What’s excluded:

  • The current field being edited (to avoid circular references)
  • Other product fields (price, inventory, etc.)
  • Product images or media

Limitations:

  • Context extraction has a 5-second timeout
  • If extraction fails, the action proceeds without context
  • Context is extracted from the current page state

When to Use Context

Use context when:

  • Your product description should reference categories or tags
  • You want consistency between description and metadata
  • The description should align with the product’s classification
  • You need the AI to understand the full product context

Skip context when:

  • You’re writing a standalone description
  • You want a quick, isolated transformation
  • Context might make suggestions too generic
  • You’re editing descriptions that don’t need metadata context

The context toggle setting is saved per user in your browser (same setting as Block Editor and ACF), so your preference persists across sessions.

WooCommerce-Specific Considerations

Product Description vs. Short Description

WooCommerce has two description fields:

Product Description (Main Description):

  • Full product description
  • Appears on the product page
  • Can be lengthy and detailed
  • Best for comprehensive product information

Short Description:

  • Brief product summary
  • Appears in product listings, cart, and checkout
  • Should be concise (typically 1-2 paragraphs)
  • Best for quick product overviews

AI Tips:

  • Use “Expand” on short descriptions to create full descriptions
  • Use “Condense” or “Summarise” on full descriptions to create short descriptions
  • Keep short descriptions focused on key selling points
  • Use context to ensure both descriptions align with product metadata

SEO Considerations

Product descriptions are important for SEO. When using AI:

  • Review AI suggestions for keyword placement
  • Maintain natural language – AI helps with readability but verify keyword usage
  • Check length – Ensure descriptions meet your SEO requirements
  • Verify accuracy – Always fact-check AI-generated product information
  • Update regularly – Use AI to refresh descriptions for better SEO performance

Product Variants

If you’re using WooCommerce product variants:

  • AI works on the main product description
  • Variant-specific descriptions may need manual editing
  • Use context to ensure descriptions work for all variants
  • Consider variant-specific details when reviewing AI suggestions

Multilingual Stores

For multilingual WooCommerce stores:

  • AI generates content in the language of your input
  • Translate product descriptions before using AI
  • Use AI to improve descriptions in each language
  • Context extraction works with translated categories and tags

The AI Processing Flow

The processing flow in WooCommerce is identical to ACF fields:

1. Processing State

A modal window appears showing:

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

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

  • The length of your product description
  • 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 field content

Review the suggestion carefully:

  • Read through the entire transformed text
  • Check that it matches your product accurately
  • Verify product details and specifications
  • Ensure it fits with your product’s categories and tags
  • Confirm it maintains your brand voice

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 field content with the AI-generated text
  3. The modal closes automatically
  4. Your field is updated – You can continue editing or make further changes

After applying:

  • The field value is updated immediately
  • WooCommerce’s change detection is triggered
  • You can edit the AI-generated text manually
  • You can apply another transformation
  • You can undo the change using browser undo (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 accurate product information – AI works best with correct, complete input
  2. Use context for consistency – Enable context to align descriptions with product metadata
  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
  6. Verify product details – Ensure AI suggestions match your actual product specifications

Common Workflows

Creating product descriptions from scratch:

  1. Enter key product features or bullet points
  2. Use “Expand” to create a full description
  3. Review and apply suggestions
  4. Use “Rewrite” to refine and polish
  5. Make final manual adjustments

Improving existing descriptions:

  1. Select your existing product description
  2. Use “Rewrite” with context enabled
  3. Review for accuracy and brand voice
  4. Apply and refine further if needed

Creating short descriptions from full descriptions:

  1. Start with your full product description
  2. Use “Condense” or “Summarise” to create a short version
  3. Review to ensure key selling points are included
  4. Apply to the short description field
  5. Adjust length as needed

Maintaining consistency across products:

  1. Enable context for all transformations
  2. Use consistent product categories and tags
  3. Apply similar AI actions to similar products
  4. Review all descriptions together for brand consistency

Tone adjustment for different markets:

  1. Write your content in your natural voice
  2. Select descriptions that need tone changes
  3. Use “Change Tone” → Professional for B2B products
  4. Use “Change Tone” → Personal for consumer products
  5. Review to ensure the tone matches your target market

Troubleshooting

Edit with AI button Not Appearing

  • Check WooCommerce is active: Ensure WooCommerce plugin is installed and activated
  • Verify you’re on product edit screen: AI features only appear when editing products
  • Check API keys: Ensure at least one provider is configured in settings
  • Refresh the page: Reload if you just added API keys
  • Check browser console: Look for JavaScript errors that might prevent the button from loading

Poor Quality Suggestions

  • Try different actions: Some actions work better for specific product types
  • 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 product terms
  • Provide more input: AI works better with detailed starting content

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

Context Not Working

  • Check product metadata: Ensure product has title, categories, or tags set
  • Verify WooCommerce data: Context extraction requires WooCommerce editor data
  • Check timeout: Context extraction has a 5-second limit
  • Review console: Browser console may show context extraction warnings

Description Not Saving

  • Check WooCommerce save process: Ensure you’re saving the product correctly
  • Verify field permissions: Check that you have permission to edit products
  • Review browser console: Look for JavaScript errors during save
  • Try manual save: Save the product manually after applying AI suggestions

Next Steps

Now that you’re comfortable with AI in WooCommerce:

WooCommerce product descriptions are crucial for conversions, and AI integration makes it easier to create compelling, accurate, and consistent product content that helps customers make informed purchasing decisions.