AI Chatbot & Semantic Search vs Rapls AI Chatbot – Self-Hosted RAG & MCP Server

Add an AI chatbot that answers visitors from your own content — and admits when it doesn’t know. Rapls AI Chatbot searches your posts, pages, and knowledge base first, then replies in natural language, in the visitor’s own language. With Grounded Answers Only mode, if your content has no answer, the bot says so instead of making something up. You can be live in about five minutes, for free, with no credit card. On first setup a guided “Start for free” panel hands you a free key from OpenRouter or the Google Gemini free tier, tests it, auto-selects a working model, and switches the chatbot on — no AI or API experience needed. Watch the setup, start to finish: No monthly SaaS fee — and no runaway bill. It runs on your own API key with no markup, and built-in Usage Control caps daily usage per visitor, so you can open the bot to the public without worrying about your API spend. A Monthly Cost Guard lets you set a hard budget, and Model Fallback keeps the bot answering on a lightweight model when your main model hits its quota. Conversations and keys stay on your own server. Built for site owners, agencies, and developers who want control over the model, the data, and the cost. Connect OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, or OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Alibaba Tongyi Qwen (DashScope) — useful where OpenAI and Gemini are hard to reach — and switch anytime. Why site owners pick Rapls Free to try, fast to launch. Guided onboarding gets you from install to a working chatbot in minutes, with a no-credit-card OpenRouter or Gemini key. Grounded answers, or an honest “I don’t know.” RAG hybrid search grounds replies in your actual posts, pages, and knowledge base — and Grounded Answers Only mode keeps the bot from inventing answers your site doesn’t contain. Your bill can’t run away. Self-hosted and BYOK with no markup, plus per-visitor daily caps (Usage Control) so public traffic can’t drain your API budget. Replies that don’t sound like a robot. An optional AI-smell score reviews the bot’s Japanese replies for machine-sounding wording, so you can tune the tone. (Detection only — replies are never altered.) No lock-in. Switch between OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and OpenRouter whenever you want. Speaks your visitors’ language. Automatic multi-language replies, so one bot serves an international audience. What it does Bring your own key: OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Alibaba Qwen/DashScope, DeepSeek, Zhipu), switchable per site. Site learning: indexes your posts and pages so the bot answers from your content. Knowledge base: add Q&A or upload TXT/MD/PDF/DOCX files (large documents are split into parts automatically so they embed reliably), with priority over general answers. RAG hybrid search: combines keyword and semantic retrieval for grounded replies. Grounded Answers Only: an optional mode that makes the bot reply “I couldn’t find that” instead of inventing an answer your content doesn’t support. Web search: lets the bot pull current information when configured. MCP tools: exposes 5 Model Context Protocol tools, so agents such as Claude or ChatGPT can read and act on your site through conversation. Usage dashboard: tracks conversations, messages, and API cost. Usage Control: optional per-visitor daily caps so public traffic can’t run up your API bill. Unanswered Questions: records what the bot could not answer, with one-click “Add to knowledge” and an AI-drafted FAQ page. AI-smell score: an optional read-only score that flags machine-sounding wording in Japanese replies (detection only — replies are never altered). Industry starter templates: one click applies a ready-made system prompt and preset questions for hotels, shops, clinics, professional services, or company sites. Gutenberg block: drop the chatbot into any page or post. Deep-link auto-send: a ?raplsaich_q= URL opens the chatbot and sends the question automatically, so end-of-article “suggested questions” become one-click conversations. Turns visitor questions into content The bot doesn’t just answer — it tells you what your site is missing. Questions it could not answer from your content are recorded on the dashboard, one click turns them into a knowledge entry, and another click drafts an FAQ page from the last 30 days of real visitor questions. Answer gaps become content, content improves the bot, and the same pages work for SEO and AI search (LLMO). Self-hosted and private Conversations and keys stay on your own WordPress install. You are billed by your AI provider directly, so cost is transparent and there is no markup. Visitors can delete their own chat history from the widget (optional), and retention is configurable — GDPR-friendly by design. Free and Pro Free — not a trial. The free version is the full product: chatbot, site learning, knowledge base, RAG hybrid search, Grounded Answers Only, MCP server (5 tools), a usage dashboard (conversations, messages, and cost), and per-visitor daily caps. Run it forever at no cost on a free-tier key. Pro — for sites that run the bot as a business tool: Lead capture automation — collect contacts from conversations, with Google Sheets and Slack sync. Analytics — conversation, cost, and quality metrics at a glance. Usage Control suite — role-based limits, per-user monthly credits with auto-reset, and a usage-control dashboard to grant and track credits, so members and guests each get a fair share of your API budget. Extra MCP tools — product-search and analytics tools for AI agents, on top of the five in Free. Context & embedding controls — reprocess embeddings and shape the context retrieved for each reply. LINE integration (add-on) — connect the chatbot to LINE messaging, the dominant messenger in Japan. Up and running in about 5 minutes (free, no credit card) You do not need an API key or any AI experience to start. On first setup the plugin shows a “Start for free” panel with two no-credit-card paths: an OpenRouter free key or a Google Gemini free-tier key. Pick OpenRouter or Gemini. Click through to get a free key (about a minute) and paste it in. Press Test Connection — the key is validated and saved, a working free model is auto-selected, and the chatbot is switched on. That’s it. Each option states its data-handling trade-off up front (the Gemini free tier may use submitted content to improve Google’s models), so you choose with eyes open. You can switch to your own OpenAI, Claude, or Gemini key at any time. Learn more: Plugin details | Source code (GitHub) See it in action Watch the full setup — from install to first reply — in about 5 minutes, no credit card required: See it answer from your own content, and how that differs from plain ChatGPT: External Services This plugin connects to the following external third-party services. No data is sent to any service until you configure an API key and enable the feature in the plugin settings. Each service requires the site administrator to create an account and obtain API credentials. By using these services, you agree to their respective terms and privacy policies listed below. 1. OpenAI (GPT models): AI Provider Used when you select OpenAI as your AI provider. User messages and optionally site content are sent to generate AI responses. Service URL: https://api.openai.com/ Terms of Use: https://openai.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/privacy/ 2. Anthropic (Claude models): AI Provider Used when you select Anthropic Claude as your AI provider. User messages and optionally site content are sent to generate AI responses. Service URL: https://api.anthropic.com/ Terms of Use: https://www.anthropic.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.anthropic.com/privacy 3. Google (Gemini models): AI Provider Used when you select Google Gemini as your AI provider. User messages and optionally site content are sent to generate AI responses. Service URL: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/ Terms of Use: https://policies.google.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy 4. OpenRouter: AI Provider Used when you select OpenRouter as your AI provider. OpenRouter is a unified API gateway that routes requests to various AI models. Service URL: https://openrouter.ai/api/ Terms of Use: https://openrouter.ai/terms Privacy Policy: https://openrouter.ai/privacy 5. OpenAI-compatible endpoints (e.g. Alibaba Qwen/DashScope, DeepSeek, Zhipu): AI Provider Used only if you select the “OpenAI-compatible” provider and enter a base URL. User messages, and optionally your site content (including indexed content for RAG embeddings), are sent to the endpoint you configure to generate responses or embeddings. Because the endpoint is chosen by you, please review the terms and privacy policy of the specific provider you connect to. For example, Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (DashScope), which powers Tongyi Qwen: Service URL: https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/model-studio/ Terms of Use: https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/legal/ Privacy Policy: https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/legal/latest/alibaba-cloud-privacy-policy/ 6. Google reCAPTCHA v3 (Optional) Used only if you enable reCAPTCHA in the plugin settings for spam protection. The visitor’s IP address and interaction data are sent to Google for verification. Service URL: https://www.google.com/recaptcha/ Terms of Use: https://policies.google.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy 7. LINE Messaging API (Pro Add-on, Optional) Used only if you enable the LINE integration via the Pro add-on. Connects to the LINE Messaging API for chatbot-to-LINE messaging. Service URL: https://api.line.me/ Terms of Use: https://terms.line.me/ Privacy Policy: https://line.me/en/terms/policy/ Cross-Site Embed The plugin includes an optional embed loader script (embed-loader.js) for embedding the chatbot on external websites via an iframe. This script does not load any external CDN resources or third-party scripts. It creates an iframe pointing back to your own WordPress site, and all data processing occurs on your server. Data Transmitted to External Services User messages: Chat messages entered by visitors (sent to the configured AI provider only) Site content (if Site Learning is enabled): Excerpts from your published posts/pages (sent to the configured AI provider) Knowledge base (if configured): Custom Q&A entries you create (sent to the configured AI provider) IP address (reCAPTCHA only): Sent to Google for spam verification Data Storage Conversation history: Stored locally in your WordPress database (can be disabled) Visitor IP: Stored as SHA-256 hash (not plain text) for rate limiting Retention: Configurable auto-deletion period (default 90 days) User Controls You can disable these features in the plugin settings: * Conversation history saving * Site content crawling/learning * Google reCAPTCHA verification * Web search

Answers your visitors can trust, drawn only from your own content. SmartSearchWP turns your WordPress site into an AI assistant that replies from YOUR posts and pages, grounded in your data instead of generic ChatGPT answers. It pairs an AI chatbot with a semantic search engine (RAG) that retrieves the right passages from your content before it answers. It runs on your own site, with your own OpenAI key. Premium: unlock all 10 premium add-ons (WooCommerce, PDF, custom post types & ACF, lead capture, analytics, usage control, prompt override, and more) for €49.99/year. Get SmartSearchWP Premium » Whether you run an eCommerce store, corporate site, blog, or documentation platform, SmartSearchWP improves engagement, reduces support workload, and enhances content discovery. What makes SmartSearchWP different Most AI chatbot plugins simply forward your visitors to OpenAI. SmartSearchWP is built around three ideas: Grounded in YOUR content. Answers are retrieved from your own posts and pages using embeddings (RAG), so replies stay on topic and reflect what you actually published, not the open web. Self-hosted, your key. The plugin runs on your WordPress install and calls OpenAI with your own API key. Your content and your keys stay under your control, which helps with GDPR compliance. Modular, not bloated. A complete free core, extended by dedicated premium add-ons you install only if you need them. No competing plugin combines all three at once: grounded answers from your own content, running on your own site, with your own key. What you get Fewer repetitive support requests: visitors get instant, content-based answers. Better content discovery: semantic search surfaces the right page instead of keyword guesses. Answers you can stand behind: responses are drawn from your published content, not invented. Full ownership: your site, your OpenAI key, your data. Core Features (free) AI Chatbot Integration Connect your website to OpenAI’s ChatGPT models to provide dynamic, contextual answers based on your own content. All available ChatGPT models are presented in the plugin settings depending on your API key and OpenAI account. Supported models include Chat models (gpt-4o, gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4.1, etc.), Reasoning models (gpt-5, o3, o4-mini, etc.), and legacy options, each with recommendations, estimated cost levels, and suitability guidance for chatbot use. Semantic Search Engine Improve content discovery with AI-driven semantic search instead of simple keyword matching. Contextual Content Indexing Index your posts and pages so the chatbot answers from your own content. (Indexing custom post types and ACF fields is available with the premium Custom Type Manager add-on.) Modular Architecture Extend functionality through dedicated addons without bloating your core installation. No request or usage cap is reserved to a paid tier: the free core is complete, and you bring your own OpenAI key. Premium Add-ons A premium license unlocks the add-ons that extend what the assistant can read and do: WooCommerce Integration (premium addon): use your products, with SKU and price, as a content source. PDF (premium addon): add the content of your media-library PDFs to the answers. Custom Type Manager (premium addon): index custom post types and ACF fields (the free core indexes posts and pages). Prompt Override (premium addon): replace the system prompt to control tone and scope. Usage Control (premium addon): restrict access by role, page, device, schedule, or question budget. RAG Auto Sync (premium addon): automatically re-index new content (uses your OpenAI key). Lead Capture (premium addon): collect visitor emails in-chat with a GDPR form and CSV export. Analytics & Insights (premium addon): a KPI dashboard over your chat logs (top questions, charts, CSV, weekly email). RAG Debugger (premium addon): test questions and inspect the retrieved contexts. Customization (premium addon): adjust the chatbot appearance (colors, position). Premium add-ons are available with a license at €49.99/year: Get SmartSearchWP Premium » Who it’s for Site owners, agencies, and developers who want answers grounded in their own content. Teams that prefer a self-hosted tool using their own OpenAI account rather than a SaaS black box. eCommerce, corporate, blog, and documentation sites that want to reduce support load and improve discovery. Who it’s not for Anyone who does not want to use their own OpenAI API key (the plugin needs one to answer). Sites looking for a fully managed, hosted chatbot with no setup: SmartSearchWP runs on your server. Live human-agent chat: SmartSearchWP answers from your content, it is not a live-chat helpdesk. Performance & Safety SmartSearchWP follows WordPress development standards and keeps a clean separation between core functionality and extensions. Lightweight architecture API-based processing via OpenAI No unnecessary front-end bloat Full administrative control Easy activation and deactivation SmartSearchWP does not store unnecessary data and allows you to manage and limit API usage efficiently. Use Cases eCommerce stores providing instant product assistance Corporate websites reducing support requests Blogs with large content libraries improving discoverability Technical documentation sites offering intelligent Q&A Agencies deploying scalable AI solutions for clients The chatbot uses OpenAI as a third-party service to generate its answers. You can find more information about OpenAI here and consult their privacy policy.