Frequently Asked Questions

PixelBot is an AI-powered chat widget for websites. It reads your sitemap, indexes your content and answers your visitors' questions - accurately, instantly and 24/7. It comes as a WordPress MU plugin or a standalone PHP file for any PHP website. We build it, brand it, install it and hand it over ready to go.

PixelBot was built by Eric Grant at PixelBay Agency - a UK-based web design and development studio. It was originally built to power the chat on PixelKit.uk and PixelZip.uk, and is now available for any website. You can try it live on both of those sites right now.

PixelBot is powered by Google Gemini via the Google AI API. You'll need a free Google AI Studio API key - we walk you through getting one as part of setup. It takes about 2 minutes. The free tier is generous enough for most small to medium websites.

No. PixelBot only answers from content it has indexed from your sitemap. The system prompt is carefully written to keep it firmly on-topic - if it doesn't know something, it says so rather than guessing. It won't discuss your competitors, invent services you don't offer or go rogue.

That's entirely up to you. PixelBot is fully branded - custom name, icon, colours and personality. Your visitors see whatever name and avatar you choose. Some clients prefer to be transparent about it being AI. Both approaches work fine.

Yes - PixelBot uses your sitemap to discover and index your content. But don't worry if you don't have one. The WordPress plugin can generate one automatically. For standalone installs we build one for you as part of setup. Included at no extra charge.

Typically 1–3 business days from receiving your access details. Simple standalone installs can often be done the same day. More complex setups - WooCommerce stores, large sitemaps, multiple add-ons - may take a little longer. We always confirm a realistic timeline before starting.

For the WordPress plugin: WP admin access and FTP or hosting panel access. For standalone: FTP or hosting panel access. Both need a Google AI API key - we'll help you get one if needed. All credentials are handled securely and deleted after installation.

Installation is handled by us as standard - it's not currently offered as a self-install option. Part of what you're paying for is a properly configured, tested, secured and branded PixelBot. If you're a developer wanting something bespoke, get in touch.

Yes - if your site runs PHP, PixelBot Standalone will work. Tested on plain PHP, Laravel, CodeIgniter, OpenCart and custom CMS builds. You need PHP 7.4+ and the ability to store a config file above your public_html - standard on virtually all shared hosting.

PixelBot is designed with privacy in mind. Your API key is stored above the web root - never exposed to the browser. All AI requests are processed server-side. We don't store chat conversations on our servers. We recommend reviewing Google's AI data policies for your jurisdiction and updating your own privacy policy accordingly.

We take this seriously. Your API key is stored in a PHP config file above public_html - physically unreachable by any browser. The /includes/ directory is protected by .htaccess rules. All AI calls are server-side so the key never appears in network requests. No third-party JS is added to your site. It's as locked down as a PHP implementation can be.

No. It's a single PHP include and a small widget that only activates when opened. Content is cached locally for 24 hours - no live crawl on every page load. Zero impact on Core Web Vitals.

Any standard PHP hosting - shared, VPS or dedicated. PHP 7.4+ and the ability to store a file above public_html. Standard on virtually all managed hosts including 20i, SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine and most cPanel providers.

PixelBot crawls your sitemap and stores the content of every listed page in a local cache file on your server. The cache auto-refreshes every 24 hours. For WordPress users there's also a manual refresh button in the admin panel for immediate updates.

Pricing is based on your specific setup - site complexity, version chosen and any add-ons. We don't publish fixed prices because every installation is different. Send an enquiry and we'll come back with a clear, itemised quote with no surprises.

No subscription. No monthly fee. You pay once and the licence is yours for life on that one site. The only ongoing cost is your Google AI API key - free for most sites. Optional maintenance packages are available separately if you want them.

Every installation includes: building and configuring PixelBot, sitemap setup (detect, generate or build), full brand customisation, system prompt written for your business, security configuration, end-to-end testing and a handover walkthrough.

Each licence covers one website. Additional sites are separate installations and licences. Enquire about multiple sites and we'll put together a package quote.

If something isn't working correctly as a result of our installation, we'll fix it. Beyond that, PixelBot is designed to run itself. For ongoing prompt updates, sitemap refreshes or config changes, we offer optional maintenance packages - just ask.

Technology moves on. PixelBot is built on solid foundations - standard PHP and Google's Gemini API - but we can't guarantee compatibility indefinitely. Your licence is lifetime, but free indefinite support isn't included. If something breaks years later due to a platform change outside our control, we'd be happy to look at updating it as new work. Think of it like any bespoke software: brilliant today and for the foreseeable future, but nothing lasts forever without maintenance.

Google's Gemini API is a core commercial product - it's not going anywhere soon. If Google made breaking changes, we'd look at updating PixelBot to accommodate them. We can't offer this free indefinitely, but we wouldn't leave you without options.

PixelBot is written in standard, well-supported PHP and doesn't use deprecated functions. It should continue working through normal WordPress and PHP updates without issue. If a major upgrade ever causes a problem, get in touch.

Yes - the cache refreshes every 24 hours automatically. Keep your sitemap up to date and PixelBot picks up new content within a day. WordPress users also have a manual refresh button for immediate updates.

Yes - the WordPress plugin has a dedicated WooCommerce mode. PixelBot indexes your product pages and handles product questions, shipping queries, returns and shop-specific topics. For large catalogues we configure it sensibly so it doesn't try to index thousands of thin product pages.

PixelBot needs publicly accessible pages to index, so it can't be fully configured on a site behind a coming soon page or password protection. That said, we can plan and prepare everything in advance so it's ready to go the moment you launch.

Google Gemini handles multilingual content well. If your sitemap contains pages in multiple languages, PixelBot will index them and generally respond in the language the visitor asks in. For complex multilingual setups, get in touch to discuss the best approach.