AskAny – AI Chatbot with RAG, Live Agent and Order Tracking
AskAny is a WordPress AI chatbot built on RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). Before it answers anything, it retrieves the most relevant sections of your actual site content using semantic search, then generates a grounded, cited answer from that content — not from general AI knowledge.
Most WordPress chatbot plugins send the visitor’s question straight to an AI API and display whatever comes back. AskAny works differently. It indexes your posts, pages, products, PDFs, and external sources first, then retrieves the right content for each question before the AI generates a response. Every answer includes a source citation.
It also includes real-time live agent handoff, native WooCommerce order tracking by email or order ID, and SSE-based streaming that uses 90% less server load than polling-based chatbots — all without a monthly SaaS subscription.
AskAny Website | Documentation | Pro Support
How RAG Works in AskAny
- Index – AskAny crawls your posts, pages, products, PDFs, Q&A pairs, and external URLs into a semantic search index automatically.
- Retrieve – When a visitor asks a question, AskAny finds the most relevant content chunks using hybrid semantic and keyword search.
- Respond – The AI generates a cited answer using only your indexed content. It cannot answer from general knowledge, so responses stay specific to your business.
Semantic Search and Content Indexing
The RAG and semantic search system is what makes AskAny different from keyword-triggered chatbots. It understands meaning and context, so it can find the right answer even when a visitor’s question doesn’t exactly match the wording in your content.
Content types indexed: posts, pages, custom post types, WooCommerce products and categories, custom fields, comments, menus, PDF documents, external URLs, Q&A pairs, and FAQs.
Indexing is designed to keep API costs low. Content hash caching reuses embeddings whenever content has not changed, cutting API usage by up to 90%. Batch embedding processes multiple texts in a single API call. Smart update detection only re-embeds content that has actually been modified.
Hybrid search runs both semantic understanding and keyword matching together. This covers the cases where exact phrase matching is needed alongside conceptual retrieval.
Live Agent Handoff
Agents manage conversations from the WordPress admin chat panel. When a visitor needs a human, the agent takes over in one click. Full conversation history carries over instantly with no visible interruption for the visitor.
The live agent system includes role-based access, online/offline status tracking, an unread message badge, and Slack integration so agents get notified and can reply without opening the WordPress admin. A Mobile App Push Bridge lets agents respond from Android.
WooCommerce Order Tracking in Chat
Customers can check their order status directly inside the chat widget. They can look up by email address, order ID, or transaction ID — no need to visit a separate order tracking page.
The WooCommerce integration also handles product information queries, real-time stock checks, smart product recommendations based on the conversation, and direct add-to-cart from chat. Product data is indexed automatically for RAG retrieval.
Six AI Providers, No Lock-In
Switch between providers at any time without losing your indexed content or chat history.
- OpenAI – GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-4.1, O4-mini
- DeepSeek – Cost-effective with strong reasoning
- Google Gemini – Gemini 2.0 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
- Anthropic Claude – Advanced reasoning, safety-focused
- X.AI Grok – Real-time knowledge
- OpenRouter – 100+ models through a single API
Fallback Mode
When your AI provider API is unavailable, AskAny keeps the chatbot running using indexed content and pattern matching. Visitors never see an error or a broken widget.
Knowledge Base and Content Sources
- PDF Import – Upload PDFs and the plugin extracts and indexes every page automatically. Works for product manuals, documentation, policies, and specs.
- External Sources – Index any external URL, REST API endpoint, JSON feed, or XML source as an additional knowledge base.
- Q&A Management – Add custom question-answer pairs with Markdown support. Bulk import and export included.
- Automatic Site Indexing – WordPress content is indexed automatically on publish and on update.
Analytics and Performance
Track API request counts, success rates, token usage, and estimated costs per provider. Response time and popular question data helps you spot content gaps. Database tools include table size overview, one-click clean, optimize, and export, with date-range filtering.
Customization Options
The widget can be placed as a floating button (bottom-left or bottom-right) or embedded anywhere using the [askany_chat] shortcode.
Configurable options include: custom avatar, logo, header text, welcome message, suggested messages with predefined Q&A responses, typing animation speed (Regular, Fast, Faster, Instant), and response tone (Human, Professional, Friendly, Robotic). A homepage FAQ section and custom links support Markdown. Full RTL and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance is included.
Multi-Language Support
The chatbot detects the visitor’s language and responds accordingly. Supported languages include English, Bengali, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and more.
Privacy and Security
All chat data is stored in your own WordPress database. The only external connection is the AI provider API you choose to use. Built-in GDPR controls cover data export, anonymization, and retention. Session security and XSS protection are included.
AI provider endpoints: – https://api.openai.com/v1/ (OpenAI) – https://api.deepseek.com/v1/ (DeepSeek) – https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/ (Google Gemini) – https://api.anthropic.com/ (Anthropic Claude) – https://api.x.ai/ (X.AI Grok) – https://openrouter.ai/api/ (OpenRouter)
Full terms of service and privacy policy links for each provider are in the plugin’s Privacy section.
External Services
= WPAzleen Settings API = Loads display settings for the Pro upgrade modal in the plugin admin area. No personal data or form submission data is sent or collected. Privacy: https://wpazleen.com/privacy-policy
Source Code
The source files for all compiled/minified JavaScript and CSS in this plugin are publicly available at:
https://github.com/wpazleen/askany
Build instructions:
- Clone the repository.
- Run
npm installin the root to install dependencies. - Run
npm run buildto compile the JavaScript and CSS assets. - The compiled files are output to
dist/.
Compatible With
E-commerce: WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads Forms: Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Formidable Forms Page builders: Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, Gutenberg Caching: WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed Cache Messaging: Slack, Android push notifications via Mobile App Bridge
