AI Chatbot Free Models – Customer Support, Live Chat, Virtual Assistant vs Zupportly – WordPress Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System

AI Chatbot Free Models is a fully self-contained AI chatbot platform for WordPress. It provides everything you need to run professional live chat, customer support and virtual-assistant experiences on your website while leaving the choice of the AI model entirely in your hands. There is no paid SaaS behind this plugin. No mandatory subscription, no premium gateway, no external dashboard, no account required with the plugin developer. The only thing you need is access to an AI model: a hosted provider (many of which offer generous free tiers) or a self-hosted, local inference server. Every other component – interface, conversations, knowledge base, notifications, styling – runs on your own WordPress installation and your own database. Bring your own model, keep control of your data Connect OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Run completely free with free-tier models or a local server (llama.cpp, Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, gateways and proxies). Conversations are stored only if you enable it, in dedicated tables inside your own database. The knowledge base is built from your own published posts and pages – no external crawling, no third-party index. Core features Provider-agnostic AI connection with configurable endpoint, API key and model Dynamic model selection where the provider supports model discovery Streaming responses with live typing indicator Stop generation at any time while a response is being streamed Retry failed responses and start a new conversation without reloading the page Configurable maximum response tokens and streaming timeout with inactivity watchdog Conversation context maintained with a configurable token budget Optional pre-chat form to collect name and email for support and lead generation Live knowledge base with FULLTEXT-indexed search over titles and content, response caching and clickable source citations in answers Per-IP rate limiting and server-side sanitization of conversation history Dedicated database storage with optional message and IP retention (disabled by default) Unread conversation notifications, search and conversation management in the WordPress admin Floating widget (bottom-left or bottom-right) or embedded chat via the [newcodebyte_chatbot] shortcode Extensive appearance customization: colors, images, sounds, widget position Translatable frontend interface, responsive layout, multilingual AI support Modern object-oriented codebase following current WordPress standards Requirements WordPress 5.0 or later (tested up to 7.1) PHP 7.4 or later (compatible with current PHP 8.x releases) MySQL 5.6 or later / MariaDB 10.0 or later (required by the FULLTEXT knowledge base index) An API key for the provider you choose – or none at all, if you use a local OpenAI-compatible server How it works A visitor sends a message from the floating widget or the embedded chat. WordPress receives the request and the plugin prepares the conversation context. The configured provider or endpoint is selected and the request is sent. The response is streamed back to the visitor when streaming is supported. The conversation can optionally be stored in your own database for review. A note on costs The plugin is free and adds no usage fees of its own. AI costs depend exclusively on the provider and model you configure: free models and free quotas are fully supported, and a self-hosted server removes usage costs entirely. Looking for a platform-independent version? A standalone build for non-WordPress websites (HTML, PHP and more) is available on GitHub: https://github.com/NewCodeByte/chatbot-ai-free-models Configuration Open the Chatbot settings page. Depending on the selected provider you can configure: Provider (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or OpenAI-compatible endpoint) API endpoint and API key Model, selected from discovery or entered manually Maximum response tokens and streaming timeout Knowledge base, pre-chat form, storage options, appearance and sounds Free models on OpenRouter are identified by the :free suffix. When using a local or self-hosted OpenAI-compatible server, simply point the endpoint to your server (for example http://localhost:8080/v1): no external account is required and your traffic never leaves your infrastructure. External Services The plugin can transmit the content of a visitor’s message to the AI provider you configure (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or a custom endpoint) in order to generate a response. The terms of service and privacy policy of the selected provider apply to that processing. The plugin developer does not control and is not responsible for external providers’ pricing, availability, retention policies or data processing. Privacy Message and IP storage are optional and disabled by default. When enabled, data is stored in dedicated tables inside your own database and can be reviewed, exported or deleted from the admin area. The plugin itself sets no cookies. If you enable storage or the pre-chat form, update your privacy policy to describe the processing. You are responsible for compliance with applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR. Disclaimer AI-generated content can be inaccurate. The plugin developer is not responsible for AI responses, decisions made based on them, provider outages, pricing or API changes, or data processing performed by external providers. Always verify important information independently. Supporting the project AI Chatbot Free Models is developed and maintained as an independent free project. If you find it useful, consider keeping the optional “Powered by NewCodeByte” attribution enabled or supporting development with a donation. Contributions fund development, maintenance, testing and infrastructure.

Zupportly is a powerful, free, and self-hosted ticketing solution that eliminates monthly fees and per-agent costs. It features Unified Agent Management, Automated Ticket Routing, and Role-Based Access Control to securely manage unlimited departments while providing customers a polished frontend portal to track requests. Built with a privacy-first architecture, Zupportly is GDPR-ready, ensuring all support data stays securely on your own server with 100% ownership and no external tracking. Key features : Unified Agent System (WP User-Based) Front-end Customer Support Portal Intelligent Ticket Auto-Assignment Department-Specific Routing Read / Unread tracking with ticket count badge on admin menu Custom Short Code For New Ticket Page Floating Support Chat Bubble Auto-refresh on open ticket view — polls every 15 seconds for new replies; shows a pulsing “New reply!” button when updates arrive. Priority levels — Low / Medium / High / Urgent (set by agents only) Custom Agent Avatars & Display Names Live Agent Online Indicator Threaded Chat-Style Conversations Universal Ticket Transfer System Unique Ticket ID Tracking (ZT-XXXXXXXX) Automated Email Notification Engine Modern Card-Style Admin Dashboard Multi-Status Ticket Lifecycle Management Integrated Image Attachment Support Shortcode-Powered Ticket Lookup ([zupportly_tickets]) Inline Ticket Submission Form ([zupportly_ticket_form]) — embed on any page Full Admin Oversight & Team Stats Self-Hosted Data Security (No External APIs) Responsive UI Agent & Department Management – Agents are standard WordPress users with the Ticket Agent role — create them from Users → Add New. – Each agent gets a custom Chat Bubble Display Name (e.g. “Billing Dept”, “Sales Team”) shown to customers in the chat bubble — completely separate from their WordPress display name. – Upload a custom avatar per agent via the Settings page using the WordPress Media Library. – Avatars and department names appear in the chat bubble, ticket list, ticket detail view, and the frontend customer portal. Chat Bubble – A floating chat bubble appears on every page of your site, letting customers open a new support ticket in seconds. – The bubble header shows stacked agent avatars and a live green online indicator next to the “Support” label. – Customers choose a department/agent from a dropdown that shows the custom bubble display names. – The close (×) button reliably dismisses the form. Ticket Lifecycle – Every ticket gets a unique ID (e.g. ZT-XXXXXXXX) for easy reference and lookup. – Statuses: New (blue), In Progress (orange), Solved (green), Closed (grey). – Unlimited back-and-forth conversation with image attachments in every reply. – Both agents/admins and customers can close tickets; closed tickets disable further replies. Agent Assignment & Transfer – Tickets submitted via the chat bubble are automatically assigned to the chosen agent. – Agents see all tickets assigned to them plus all unassigned tickets in their list. – When an agent replies to an unassigned ticket, it is automatically assigned to them. – Any agent or admin can transfer a ticket to another agent at any time via the Assignment meta box. – Once transferred, only the new assignee and admins can reply. Admin Interface – Dashboard — stats overview (total, new, in progress, solved, closed), recent tickets table, and team overview with open ticket counts per agent. – All Tickets — beautifully styled ticket list with card rows, colour-coded status border accents, ticket number chips, stacked customer info, agent avatars, and inline row actions. – Ticket Detail — structured details panel, chat-bubble conversation thread (agent right/blue, customer left/green), and a clean reply composer with image attachment support. – Create Ticket — agents and admins can create tickets on a customer’s behalf with an agent picker showing avatars. – Settings — unified agent table pulling directly from WordPress users; set the Chat Bubble Display Name and avatar per agent; configure the frontend Ticket View Page URL. Frontend Customer Portal & Shortcodes – Shortcode [zupportly_tickets] places a ticket lookup portal on any page. Customers enter their email to see all their tickets, or enter their email and ticket number to jump straight to a specific conversation. – Shortcode [zupportly_ticket_form] embeds the full ticket submission form directly on any page — great when the floating chat bubble is turned off or you want a dedicated contact/support page. – Modern card design with a gradient header, status pill, chat-style bubbles with agent avatars, and an inline reply input. – The ticket view is wider and fully responsive for mobile. Email Notifications – Agent notified on new ticket assignment with ticket details. – Customer receives confirmation on submission with their ticket number and a link to the view page. – Both parties notified on new replies (with image links if attached). – Ticket view page URL included in all notification emails. Security & Performance – All inputs sanitized and escaped. Nonces on every AJAX action. – Agents only access their own tickets plus unassigned ones — proper capability checks throughout. – All data stored in your own WordPress database — nothing leaves your server. ⭐ Zupportly Pro — Take Your Helpdesk Further Get Zupportly Pro → Upgrade to Zupportly Pro and unlock a complete professional helpdesk suite built on top of everything you already have in the free version. No migration, no data loss — just more power. 🧩 Custom Form Fields Add unlimited custom fields to your ticket form — short text, long text, dropdown, checkbox, number, and URL types. Drag and drop to reorder every field (including built-in fields like Name, Email, Subject) in any order you want. Rename any field label and set custom placeholder text. Custom field values are saved with every ticket and displayed in the admin ticket view. 📚 Knowledge Base Create a full Knowledge Base with categorised articles and a professional article layout. A smart suggestion popup appears directly below the Subject field as customers type — showing matching articles before they submit, reducing your ticket volume. Helpful vote counters (👍 Yes / 👎 No) track article usefulness. Agents can search KB articles from inside any ticket. Mark any WordPress Page or Post as a KB article with one click. ⚡ Canned Responses Speed up replies with one-click pre-written responses. Agents can insert responses from a searchable modal filtered by category. Agents can also save their own personal responses directly from the reply composer — just write a reply and click “💾 Save Current Reply.” 🛒 WooCommerce Integration Link WooCommerce orders and products to support tickets. Customers can search by Order ID when submitting a ticket. Agents see full order details, purchase history, and linked products in the ticket sidebar. Configurable agent access permissions — restrict order data to admins only if needed. ✉️ Branded HTML Emails Replace plain-text notification emails with beautifully designed HTML emails. Upload your logo, choose a brand colour, customise the “From” name and footer text. Includes a live browser preview. ⏱ Ticket Auto-Close Automatically close tickets that have been inactive for a configurable number of days. Sends a reminder email before closure. Choose which ticket statuses to apply auto-close to. 🔒 Private Notes Agents can add internal-only notes to any ticket. Private notes are stored separately from the conversation thread and are never shown to customers. ⭐ CSAT Surveys Automatically send a 1–5 star satisfaction survey when a ticket closes — via email and as an inline widget in the customer portal. Results appear in a WP Dashboard widget showing average score and per-star breakdown. 🔔 Auto-Refresh & Live Updates Configurable auto-refresh keeps the dashboard and ticket list current. A Refresh button with a live unread count badge is added to the dashboard. Set the refresh interval (15–600 seconds) from Pro Settings. 🏷 Custom Ticket Statuses Add unlimited custom statuses alongside the four built-in ones. Each status has a custom label, URL slug, and colour picker for visual clarity in the ticket list. 📋 Audit Trail & Activity Logs Every action on every ticket is automatically logged — replies, status changes, assignments, private notes, auto-closes, and CSAT ratings. View per-ticket logs in the Activity Log meta box. Export as Excel/CSV or print as PDF. 💾 Backup & Restore One-click JSON export of all tickets and Pro settings. Import on any Zupportly site to restore or migrate data. → Get Zupportly Pro