AI Featured Image

Yes, you need an API key for at least one of the supported providers. All free-plan providers have free tiers or pay-as-you-go pricing:

• OpenAI: Sign up at OpenAI's Platform
• Stability AI: Sign up at platform.stability.ai/account/keys
• Grok / xAI: Sign up at console.x.ai
• Google Gemini (Pro only): Get an API key at Google AI Studio

The plugin itself is free, but you pay for API usage directly with your chosen provider (pay per image):

• OpenAI: Pricing varies by model. GPT Image 1 Mini is the most cost-effective; see OpenAI pricing
• Stability AI: Stable Image Core costs credits (roughly ~$0.003/image). Stable Image Ultra and SD 3.5 models vary; see Stability AI pricing
• Grok / xAI: Grok Imagine Image costs $0.02/image. Grok Imagine Image Pro (Pro plan) costs $0.07/image
• Google Gemini (Pro only): Gemini 2.5 Flash uses 1290 tokens per image; Gemini 3.1 Flash and Gemini 3 Pro vary by resolution (1K/2K/4K)

Yes! All users can switch between OpenAI, Stability AI, and Grok/xAI. Pro users can also switch to Google Gemini. Simply go to AI Featured Image in the admin menu, select your preferred provider, and enter the appropriate API key. The settings page automatically shows only the relevant options for your selected provider.

The limit depends on your API plan and quota with your chosen provider. The plugin generates one image per request.

OpenAI (Free & Pro):

• ChatGPT Image Latest: Always points to the newest ChatGPT image model, so you automatically get improvements
• GPT Image 1.5: Strong quality and accurate text, cheaper and faster than GPT Image 1
• GPT Image 1 (Standard): Premium option for highest quality and finer style control
• GPT Image 1 Mini: Fastest and most cost-effective option Stability AI (Free: Core only; Pro: all models):
• Stable Image Core (free): Best value, fast and high quality
• Stable Image Ultra (Pro): Best overall quality
• SD 3.5 Large (Pro): High detail, large model
• SD 3.5 Large Turbo (Pro): Fast version of SD 3.5 Large
• SD 3.5 Medium (Pro): Balanced quality and speed
• SD 3.5 Flash (Pro): Fastest SD 3.5 model
• SD 3 Large (Pro): Previous generation, large model
• SD 3 Large Turbo (Pro): Fast SD 3 Large
• SD 3 Medium (Pro): Previous generation, medium model
• SDXL 1.0 (Pro, legacy): Legacy model Grok / xAI (Free: Standard; Pro: both):
• Grok Imagine Image (free): Fast and affordable at $0.02/image
• Grok Imagine Image Pro (Pro): Higher quality at $0.07/image Google Gemini (Pro only):
• Gemini 2.5 Flash Image: Fixed resolutions per aspect ratio, 1290 tokens per image, supports all 10 aspect ratios
• Gemini 3.1 Flash Image Preview: Higher resolution support (1K/2K/4K), supports all 10 aspect ratios
• Gemini 3 Pro Image Preview: Best quality, multiple resolution options (1K/2K/4K), supports all 10 aspect ratios

The plugin supports 13 built-in artistic styles (works with all providers):

• None: No specific style applied
• Realistic: Photographic, lifelike images
• Artistic: Painterly, artistic interpretations
• Cartoon: Animated, cartoon-style images
• Sketch: Detailed sketch drawings
• Watercolor: Beautiful watercolor paintings
• 3D Render: High-quality 3D rendered images
• Pixel Art: Retro pixel art style
• Cyberpunk: Vibrant cyberpunk aesthetic
• Fantasy: Magical fantasy art style
• Anime: Detailed anime/manga style
• Minimalist: Clean, minimalist designs
• Technicolor: Vivid, colorful technicolor style When using Stability AI, the post editor also shows a Stability Presets group with 16 native API-level style presets: Photographic, Cinematic, Anime, Digital Art, Comic Book, Fantasy Art, 3D Model, Analog Film, Enhance, Isometric, Line Art, Low Poly, Neon Punk, Origami, Pixel Art, and Tile Texture. These are applied at the API level in addition to any built-in style selected.

Yes! Pro users can define custom image styles with a name and a prompt description (e.g. "in a dreamy impressionist style"). Custom styles appear under a "Custom" group in all style dropdowns — in the post editor, the settings page, and the inline image block — and work exactly like built-in styles. To add a custom style:

1. Go to AI Featured Image → Settings → Featured Images tab
2. Scroll to the "Custom Styles" section
3. Click "Add Style", enter a name and a prompt description, then save
4. Your custom style will immediately appear in all style dropdowns

Pro users with Google Gemini get access to 10 aspect ratios with model-specific resolutions: All Models (1:1, 3:4, 4:3, 9:16, 16:9):

• Always supported by both Gemini models Additional Ratios (2:3, 3:2, 4:5, 5:4, 21:9):
• Full support varies by model
• Gemini 2.5 Flash: All 10 ratios with fixed resolutions
• Gemini 3.1 Flash: All 10 ratios with 1K/2K/4K resolution options
• Gemini 3 Pro: All 10 ratios with 1K/2K/4K resolution options

Free users get 3 basic ratios: 1:1, 16:9, and 9:16. Pro users unlock all 9 ratios: 1:1, 16:9, 21:9, 2:3, 3:2, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, and 9:21.

Free users get 3 basic ratios: 1:1, 16:9, and 9:16. Pro users unlock all 9 ratios: 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 3:2, 2:3, 2:1, and 1:2.

Yes! Pro users with a Stability AI API key can upscale their existing featured image directly from the post editor. After generating (or setting) a featured image, a "Stability AI Tools" panel appears below the generate button with three upscale modes:

• Conservative: Faithful 4x upscale — stays close to the original image
• Creative: AI-enhanced 4K — adds creative detail for a dramatic quality boost
• Fast: Quick 4x upscale — fastest option with solid results

Yes! Pro users with a Stability AI API key can remove the background from their existing featured image directly from the post editor. The "Stability AI Tools" panel appears below the generate button once a featured image is set. Click "Remove Background" and Stability AI will isolate the subject and save a new transparent PNG as your featured image. This is useful for product photography, portraits, or any image where you want a clean isolated subject.

A negative prompt tells Stability AI what not to include in your generated images — for example: "blurry, watermark, text, low quality, distorted". This can significantly improve output quality by steering the model away from common artifacts. You can set a default negative prompt for featured images in AI Featured Image → Settings → Featured Images (Stability AI section). Pro users can also set a default negative prompt for inline images in the Inline Images tab. Negative prompts are a Stability AI exclusive feature and have no effect when using OpenAI, Gemini, or Grok.

OpenAI (Free & Pro):

• WebP (Recommended): Best compression and quality balance
• PNG: Lossless format, good for graphics with sharp edges
• JPEG: Widely compatible, good for photographs Stability AI:
• PNG (default, free): Lossless format
• JPEG (Pro): Smaller file sizes
• WebP (Pro): Best compression and quality balance Grok / xAI:
• PNG (fixed): Grok generates images in PNG format only Google Gemini (Pro only):
• PNG (Fixed): Gemini generates images in PNG format only

OpenAI (Free & Pro):

• Set default quality (1-100) in the plugin settings under Featured Images → Output Settings
• Higher quality produces larger file sizes but better image detail
• Default quality is set to 90 for optimal balance Stability AI:
• Quality is inherent to the model chosen (Core, Ultra, SD 3.5 variants). No separate quality slider Grok / xAI:
• Free users get 1K resolution. Pro users can choose 1K or 2K for sharper results Google Gemini (Pro only):
• Gemini 2.5 Flash: Fixed resolution per aspect ratio (quality control not applicable)
• Gemini 3.1 Flash: Choose between 1K, 2K, or 4K resolution options
• Gemini 3 Pro: Choose between 1K, 2K, or 4K resolution options Inline Images (all providers):
• Automatic Quality Optimization adjusts quality and resolution based on the display size of the image in your content. Smaller images use lighter settings for faster loading; larger images use higher quality to stay sharp. No manual quality slider needed for inline images

Yes! Pro users can generate inline images directly inside the Gutenberg editor using the AI Image Generator block. Simply add the "AI Image Generator" block from the Media category in the block inserter, enter your prompt, and generate images anywhere in your content. The block supports all the same styles, aspect ratios, and settings as featured images. Configure default settings for inline images in the Inline Images tab on the plugin settings page.

When you generate any AI image (featured, inline, or bulk), the plugin automatically sets the alt text field on the attachment in the WordPress media library. This means your images are immediately accessible to screen readers and better indexed by search engines — no manual work needed. You can configure auto alt text from AI Images → Settings → General → Alt Text:

• On/Off toggle: Enable or disable the feature entirely (enabled by default)
• Post Title (default): Uses the post title for featured and bulk images, and the prompt for inline images
• Image Prompt: Uses the generation prompt as alt text
• Custom Format: Build your own template using placeholders — {title} (post title), {prompt} (generation prompt), {style} (style name, e.g. "Realistic"), and {site_name} (your site name). Example: {title} - {style} style - {site_name}
• Overwrite on Regeneration: When disabled (default), manually edited alt text is preserved when you regenerate a featured image. Enable this option if you want fresh auto-generated alt text each time.

Instead of writing a custom prompt manually, click "Generate Prompt from Content" in the post editor to have AI automatically craft an image generation prompt from your post title and body. The generated prompt is saved to the post and pre-filled in the Custom Prompt field — you can review it, edit it, or use it as-is before clicking "Generate Featured Image". This option is also available in the Bulk Generate tab. Enable "Generate prompt from content" before starting a bulk run and the plugin will generate a unique prompt for each post before creating its featured image. All generated prompts are saved to each post for later review. Text model used per provider:

• OpenAI (Free & Pro): gpt-4o-mini
• Grok / xAI (Free & Pro): grok-3-mini
• Google Gemini (Pro): Gemini 2.5 Flash
• Stability AI: Not supported — Stability AI does not offer a text generation API. The button will show a notice when Stability AI is your active provider

Yes! Pro users can enable AI image generation for any public custom post type:

1. Go to AI Featured Image in the admin menu
2. Scroll to the "Enabled Post Types" setting
3. Check the boxes for the post types where you want to enable the image generator
4. Save settings