AI Featured image vs Smart Auto Featured Image – WordPress Plugin

AI Featured Image Generator creates AI-powered featured images right from the WordPress editor. Click “Generate Featured Image” on any post and the plugin builds a unique image from your post title, chosen style, and optional custom prompt, using OpenAI, Stability AI, or Grok/xAI on the free plan, or Google Gemini on Pro. Every image gets alt text automatically and an SEO-friendly filename based on your post title. Generate one at a time in the editor, in bulk, straight from the Posts list, or inline in your content with the AI Image Generator block. Everything is managed from one settings hub. Video Walkthrough Free Features 3 free AI providers: OpenAI, Stability AI, and Grok/xAI (Google Gemini available on Pro) OpenAI models: GPT Image 2 (newest, default): excels at text rendering in multiple languages, visual reasoning, multi-object scenes, transparent backgrounds, mask-based editing, and up to 4K output. Also GPT Image 1.5, GPT Image 1, and GPT Image 1 Mini (budget-friendly) Stability AI: Stable Image Core with 16 native style presets (Photographic, Cinematic, Anime, Digital Art, Comic Book, Fantasy Art, and more) Grok/xAI: Grok Imagine Image: fast and affordable at $0.02 per image 13 style presets: Common (None, Realistic, Artistic, Cartoon, Minimalist) and Creative (Sketch, Watercolor, 3D Render, Pixel Art, Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Anime, Technicolor) Custom prompts: plus one-click Generate Prompt from Content, which crafts an AI-optimized prompt from your post title and body (OpenAI and Grok free; Gemini on Pro) 7 image sizes with GPT Image 2: square, portrait, landscape, widescreen 16:9, vertical 9:16, ultra-wide 3:1, and tall banner 1:3 (older OpenAI models support the first three) 3 aspect ratios for Stability AI and Grok: 1:1, 16:9, and 9:16 Output control (OpenAI): WebP/PNG/JPEG format, compression slider (1–100), and Low/Medium/High generation quality Text control: allow or block text, captions, and words in generated images Auto alt text: from the post title, the prompt, or a custom template with {title}, {prompt}, {style}, and {site_name} placeholders. with an option to preserve manual edits on regeneration Bulk Generate: up to 5 posts per batch, 50 images lifetime on the free plan Generate from Post List: an “AI Featured Image” column on the Posts/Pages list with a one-click Generate/Regenerate link, so there is no need to open the editor, and it doesn’t count against the free bulk limit Inline images: the AI Image Generator block adds AI images anywhere in your Gutenberg content, with its own settings tab Multisite compatible Pro Features 🚀 Google Gemini: Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash), Nano Banana 2 Preview (Gemini 3.1 Flash), and Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro): up to 4K resolution and 10 aspect ratios Image upscaling (Stability AI): Conservative (faithful 4x), Creative (AI-enhanced 4K), or Fast (quick 4x), right from the post editor Background removal (Stability AI): one click isolates the subject and saves a transparent PNG as your featured image Advanced Stability AI models: Stable Image Ultra, SD 3.5 Large / Large Turbo / Medium / Flash, SD 3 Large / Large Turbo / Medium, and SDXL 1.0 Negative prompts (Stability AI): exclude unwanted elements, e.g. “blurry, watermark, text, low quality” Grok Imagine Image Pro: higher quality at $0.07 per image, plus 2K resolution More aspect ratios: 9 for Stability AI, 9 for Grok, 10 for Gemini More output formats: PNG/JPEG/WebP for Stability AI, and automatic WebP conversion for Gemini and Grok images Unlimited Bulk Generate: hundreds of posts at once with filters for post type, status, date range, and thumbnail status, plus real-time progress Custom post types: enable generation for any public post type Custom styles: create named styles with your own prompt descriptions, available in every style dropdown Brand Kit: save your brand colors, a style description, tone, and avoid-rules, plus an optional reference image (used by Google Gemini) and a logo watermark, applied automatically to every image you generate, with a per-image “Use Brand Kit” toggle to skip it Want to unlock Google Gemini AI, image upscaling, background removal, unlimited bulk generation and more? Upgrade to Pro here. Requirements WordPress 5.8 or higher PHP 7.4 or higher An API key for at least one provider: OpenAI (free plan) Stability AI (free plan) Grok/xAI (free plan) Google Gemini (Pro only) External Services This plugin connects to your chosen AI provider’s API to generate images. For every provider: Your post title and content (or your custom prompt, and for Stability AI any negative prompt) are sent to the provider’s API when you generate an image Your API key for that provider authenticates each request Requests are only sent when you trigger generation: from the post editor, the Posts list, Bulk Generate, or the AI Image Generator block “Generate Prompt from Content” sends your post title and body to the provider’s text API: gpt-4o-mini (OpenAI), grok-3-mini (Grok), or Gemini 2.5 Flash (Gemini, Pro) OpenAI (Free & Pro): image generation and prompt generation. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | API Documentation Stability AI (Free & Pro): image generation; for Pro users, upscaling and background removal also send your existing featured image file to Stability AI for processing. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | API Documentation Grok / xAI (Free & Pro): image generation and prompt generation. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | API Documentation Google Gemini (Pro only): image generation and prompt generation. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | API Documentation Data usage: generated images are stored in your WordPress media library. No personal data is stored by the providers beyond what’s necessary for API processing. You are responsible for ensuring your content complies with the selected provider’s usage policies.

Smart Auto Featured Image is the most advanced Featured Image generator for WordPress. Create custom templates with the built-in editor and use them directly in your posts. Add dynamic fields such as the post title to automate the image generation process. Get rid of third party image tools, and simplify your workflow. Featured Images are saved directly to the post being edited ! 🚀 BUILT-IN TEMPLATE EDITOR Create beautiful templates in a similar fashion as you would create an image with Adobe Photoshop. Build your image using multiple layers. Move, resize, rearrange layers anywhere you like within the canvas. Use the grid and keyboard keys to make editing a breeze ! * Hold Ctrl: snap to grid * Hold Alt: resize from center * Hold Shift: preserve aspect ratio / create at 1:1 ratio All keys can be used in combination. Ex: Alt + Shift: Resize from center while preserving layer aspect ratio 📐 AUTOMATE WITH DYNAMIC ELEMENTS If you wish to have the post title in your image, you can use a Text layer set as {{title}} 🖼️ UNSPLASH IMAGES BROWSER Browse from 3M+ HD images and integrate them directly in your designs for free, without attribution required. No API key required. Source: WordPress [PRO] 🖼️⚡️ DYNAMIC IMAGES Use dynamic images in your templates to automate even further your featured image generation. Supported dynamic images : First image from the post content Author image Site logo YouTube thumbnail from embed ACF image [PRO] 🖼️ HD IMAGE RENDERING High Definition Featured Images contain 4x more pixels to ensure crisp images on high-DPI displays. [PRO] 📁 FONT AWESOME 6 FREE ICONS Use thousands of free icons in your templates to enhance your designs. [PRO] 💬 GOOGLE FONTS SUPPORT Create visually attractive texts in your design thanks to the Google fonts collection. [PRO] 🔺 SVG SUPPORT Integrate vector graphics easily from either SVG files, or with a simple copy/paste of any SVG code. [PRO] .WEBP IMAGE FORMAT SUPPORT In addition to .JPG & .PNG formats, you can use the modern .WEBP image format which will keep your website fast by minimizing the image file size ! Select image quality between 1-100. [PRO] ❔ CONDITIONAL RENDERING Create conditional layers in one template that will render differently depending on the actual post content. For example, if you write articles about pets, you could show a cat icon for the posts of category “cats”, and a dog icon for the posts of category “dogs”, and a paw icon for any other category. 👨‍💻 Developer friendly Smart Auto Featured Image leverages the power of WordPress Hooks. It provides a wide variety of Actions and Filters that you can hook onto. 💪 Get Smart Auto Featured Image Pro Want to create stunning Featured Images effortlessly ? Go Pro now and start creating professional grade Featured Images ! Dozens of Pro templates included Unlimited layers per template All design tools available Conditional layers HD/HQ Unsplash images Google fonts available Rounded corners + Borders Rotate layers HD image generation Select Image quality from 1-100 WEBP image format available ACF integration Yoast SEO / RankMath focus keyword integration Get Smart Auto Featured Image Pro now CHECK OUR OTHER PLUGINS Joli Table of Contents Joli FAQ SEO Joli CLEAR Lightbox 3rd party services This plugin relies on 3rd party services to enable provided features. driver.js is javascript library, licensed under the MIT license, used for the built-in tutorials of the editor (driverjs.com). wp-color-picker-alpha is a javascript module that enables transparency setting in the wp-color-picker, it is licensed under the GPLv2 license (github.com/kallookoo/wp-color-picker-alpha) The freemius sdk is used for license management and for letting users upgrade to pro (freemius.com | terms: freemius.com/terms | privacy policy: freemius.com/privacy). html2canvas is a javascript library, licensed under the MIT license, used to save template thumbnails and generate images (html2canvas.hertzen.com).