Go Back to Parent Doc

Generate Content

The Generate Content screen lets you manually trigger AI content creation instead of waiting for scheduled (cron) runs.

Use it to:

  • Quickly test new campaigns
  • Generate content on demand
  • Retry generation for specific posts

Table of Contents

What Is the Generate Content Screen?

The Generate Content screen is a dedicated admin page for running content-generation actions on demand.

Instead of relying solely on WordPress cron jobs to:

  • Generate titles
  • Generate content via Gemini or ChatGPT
  • Generate thumbnails via Pexels
  • Publish posts

…the Generate Content screen allows you to initiate similar actions manually.

This is especially useful when:

  • You’ve just created or updated a campaign and want to see immediate output
  • You want to generate content without waiting for hourly (or other) cron intervals
  • You’re debugging or optimizing a campaign and need tight feedback loops

Note: Manual generation uses the same internal logic as the automated (cron) process, so the content produced should be consistent.

How to Access Generate Content

To open the Generate Content screen:

  1. Log in to your WordPress admin
  2. In the left-hand menu, go to AI Content Writer → Generate Content

This submenu is registered by the Admin::generate_content_menu() method in includes/Admin/Admin.php and points to a dedicated view in the includes/Admin/views/ directory.

If you do not see this menu item:

  • Make sure AI Content Writer is installed and activated
  • Confirm your user role has administrator privileges (or at least manage_options capability)

When to Use Manual Generation vs. Automation

AI Content Writer supports two ways of running campaigns:

  1. Automatic (Cron-Based) Generation
    • Uses WordPress cron (see includes/Cron.php)
    • Runs on a schedule (e.g., hourly)
    • Ideal for long-term, hands-off automation
  2. Manual Generation via Generate Content Screen
    • You click buttons or submit forms
    • Runs immediately (subject to API response times)
    • Ideal for testing, debugging, or one-off content generation

Use Automation When:

  • Your campaigns are stable and configured correctly
  • You want continuous content generation without manual intervention
  • You’ve verified API keys, quotas, and performance

Use Generate Content When:

  • You’re configuring or tuning a new campaign
  • You’ve just changed API keys or settings and want to confirm everything works
  • You want instant content without waiting for the next cron run
  • You need to regenerate content or thumbnails for specific items

Both approaches can coexist: you can use manual generation for setup and experimentation, then rely on cron for ongoing content creation.

Screen Layout & Options

The exact layout may vary slightly between versions, but the Generate Content screen typically includes:

  • Campaign selection or filters
  • Action buttons to:
    • Generate titles/content for selected campaigns or posts
    • Generate thumbnails
    • Possibly publish or re-run specific steps
  • Optional status/status messages or mini logs for recent manual operations

Common elements you might see:

  • A dropdown or list of campaigns (Articles, RSS, Gemini, ChatGPT)
  • A list of temporary posts awaiting content or thumbnails
  • Buttons/links such as:
    • Generate Content
    • Generate Thumbnail
    • Run for Selected

Because the screen is wired to internal actions defined in your includes/Campaigns/ and includes/Services/ classes, it calls the same helper functions used by cron.

Typical Workflows

1. Test a New Campaign

Goal: See how a new campaign behaves without waiting for cron.

Steps:

  1. Create a Campaign
    • Go to AI Content Writer → Campaigns → Add New
    • Configure campaign type (Articles, RSS, Gemini, ChatGPT)
    • Set keywords or RSS feed
    • Set Posts per Run to 1 initially
    • Save the campaign
  2. Open Generate Content
    • Go to AI Content Writer → Generate Content
  3. Select the Campaign
    • Use a dropdown or filter (if available) to focus on your new campaign
  4. Trigger Generation
    • Click the appropriate Generate button (e.g., Generate Content or Run Campaign)
  5. Check Output
    • Go to Posts → All Posts (or relevant post type)
    • Confirm a new post was created with content and—if configured—a thumbnail
    • Review quality and adjust campaign settings if needed
  6. Review Logs
    • Visit AI Content Writer → Logs
    • Confirm success messages and/or inspect any errors

2. Generate Content for Existing Temporary Posts

In many workflows, campaigns first create temporary posts (e.g., aicw_post type) with titles and metadata, and content is filled in later.

Goal: Manually generate content for specific temporary posts.

Steps:

  1. Identify Temporary Posts
    • From your campaign, note which posts are pending content
    • These might be visible in a list table on the Generate Content screen or under a custom post type list in the admin
  2. Open Generate Content
    • Navigate to AI Content Writer → Generate Content
  3. Select Posts
    • Check the boxes next to the posts you want to process (if the UI supports bulk actions)
  4. Click Generate Content
    • Use a button like Generate Content or Run for Selected
  5. Verify
    • Open each post and ensure content was added
    • Adjust settings and regenerate (if supported) if the output is not satisfactory

3. Manually Generate Thumbnails

If you have posts with content but no featured image, and you want to assign thumbnails now instead of waiting for the thumbnail cron event:

Steps:

  1. Ensure Pexels API key is configured in Settings → API Settings
  2. Open AI Content Writer → Generate Content
  3. Locate posts that are missing thumbnails (depending on UI)
  4. Use a button like Generate Thumbnail for selected posts
  5. Confirm that:
    • Thumbnail images are added in the post editor
    • Logs show success messages for thumbnail actions

How It Interacts With Campaigns

The Generate Content screen is not a replacement for campaigns; it’s a control panel on top of them.

Key points:

  • Manual generation respects campaign settings, including:
    • Post type
    • Post status
    • Author, categories, and tags
    • Content Filtering and Insert Content
    • Campaign type (Articles, RSS, Gemini, ChatGPT)
  • It uses the same helper functions and services defined in includes/Campaigns/ and includes/Services/:
    • Articles and RSSFeed classes for source discovery
    • Gemini service for Google Gemini API
    • OpenAI service for ChatGPT
  • If a campaign is misconfigured (wrong RSS URL, no keywords, missing API key), manual generation will fail just like cron does—but you’ll see results immediately instead of waiting.

Think of campaigns as recipes, and Generate Content as a “Run Recipe Now” button.

Logs & Troubleshooting

After using the Generate Content screen, always check Logs for detailed feedback.

  1. Go to AI Content Writer → Logs
  2. Look for entries created around the time you clicked Generate
  3. You may see:
    • Success: Content generated successfully for post #ID
    • Success: Thumbnail generated successfully for post #ID
    • Errors: Gemini API error: ..., OpenAI API error: ..., or Failed to fetch RSS feed

Use these messages together with the Troubleshooting guide to fix issues such as:

  • Invalid API keys or exhausted quotas
  • Incorrect RSS URLs or blocked hosts
  • Overly aggressive content filtering
  • Performance or timeout problems

Best Practices

  • Use Generate Content for testing and debugging:
    • New campaigns
    • New API keys
    • Changes in settings
  • Keep Posts per Run low while experimenting (1–2) to:
    • Reduce API costs
    • Make error diagnosis easier
  • Once stable, rely primarily on automation (cron) for:
    • Regular daily content
    • Large-volume generation
  • Always check Logs when something unexpected happens during manual generation
  • Combine this screen with the Dashboard:
    • Use the dashboard to monitor high-level stats
    • Use Generate Content for hands-on control

Last Updated: November 28, 2025 | Plugin Version: 2.1.0

You May Also Read:

Shopping Cart
  • Your cart is empty.
Scroll to Top