Centous AI Search with Askiva

Description

Centous AI Search with Askiva is developed by Centous. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official product of Askiva. It connects your WordPress site to Askiva, a third-party AI search platform, for indexing, semantic search, and streamed AI answers.

This plugin connects your WordPress site to the Askiva backend for:

• Content indexing: batch sync of published posts/pages to Askiva
• AI search: semantic search with streamed AI answers (GFM Markdown)
• Rich results: list or grid layout, thumbnails, pagination, “Read more” links
• Query help: “Did you mean” suggestions when the API detects typos
• Admin tools: connection settings, sync dashboard, statistics, logs

The frontend search box uses AJAX by default: results and the AI answer load inline without a full page reload. Server-rendered results are still supported when a search URL contains a query parameter.

External services

This plugin connects to third-party Askiva services. An Askiva account is required. Centous does not operate these services.

Askiva account portal

Website: https://askivasearch.com/

Used to register an account, add your WordPress site, and obtain your Site Identifier and API Key.

Data sent when you use the portal (in your browser, outside this plugin): account registration details and site information you enter when adding a site.

Terms of use: https://askiva.io/legal/terms-of-use
Privacy policy: https://askiva.io/legal/privacy-policy

Askiva API

API endpoint (default): https://askiva-bk.postyoulike.com/api/v1

Used to verify your connection, sync published WordPress content, run search queries, stream AI answers, and load dashboard statistics.

Data sent from your WordPress site to the API:

• On connect (Verify Key): Site Identifier and API Key
• On sync: published post/page title, URL, slug, excerpt, plain-text content, headings, categories, and tags
• On search: search query, Site Identifier, API Key, pagination, and optional content type filter
• On dashboard stats: Site Identifier and API Key

Data is sent only when you or a visitor triggers these actions (connect, sync, search, or when an administrator views the dashboard).

Terms of use: https://askiva.io/legal/terms-of-use
Privacy policy: https://askiva.io/legal/privacy-policy

Configuration

Create your Askiva account and site

1. Register and log in at Askiva
2. In the dashboard sidebar, click Sites
3. On the Sites page, click Add Site
4. In the popup, enter your website details and click Add Site
5. Your site appears in the list: click it to open the site detail page
6. On the detail page, copy your Site Identifier and API Key (you will enter these in the WordPress plugin)

Connect your site

1. Open Centous Search → Settings in WordPress admin
2. Enter your Site ID (the Site Identifier from the Askiva portal, e.g. my-site-aBc12XyZ)
3. Enter your Site Key (the API Key from the Askiva portal)
4. Click Verify Key: the plugin calls POST /wp/verify to validate credentials
5. When connected, Site ID and Site Key fields are locked until you disconnect

Saved settings also include numeric api_site_id when the verify response returns one (used for search API compatibility).

Sync your content

After a successful connection:

1. Go to Centous Search → Sync
2. Click Start Sync to index your published WordPress content to Askiva
3. Wait for the sync to complete (monitor progress and logs on the Sync page)

When sync finishes, your site content is available for AI search.

Enable search on your site

Add the search shortcode to any page or post:
[askiva_search]

Visitors can search your site and see streamed AI answers with semantic results. See Usage below for shortcode options and layout settings.

Search & display settings

Under Centous Search → Settings:

Setting
Description
Default

Content Items per Index Cycle
Posts/pages sent per sync batch
10

Results Display Mode
list or grid for search results
list

Results per Page
Results shown per page (1–100)
10

Thumbnail Size
Result thumbnail size in px (48–400)
96

Advanced: API base URL (optional)

Note: Most users do not need this step. If you registered at Askiva and connect with your Site Identifier and API Key, the plugin uses its built-in API endpoint automatically.

Override the API base URL only when Askiva support directs you to a different host (for example a staging environment or a custom API deployment). The URL must include the /api/v1 path.

Option 1: wp-config.php (recommended)

`php

define( ‘ASKIVA_API_BASE’, ‘https://your-askiva-api.example.com/api/v1’ );
`

Option 2: filter hook

`php

add_filter( ‘askiva_api_base’, function () {
return ‘https://your-askiva-api.example.com/api/v1’;
} );
`

If neither is set, the plugin uses https://askiva-bk.postyoulike.com/api/v1 by default.

Usage

Search shortcode

`

[askiva_search]
`

Place on any page, post, or widget area. Visitors search inline; the AI answer streams in and results appear below the form.

Common setup:

1. Create a page (e.g. /search/) with [askiva_search show_results="1"]

2. For a header or sidebar button that redirects to your search page, use the popup shortcode:

   [askiva_search_popup results_url="/search/" trigger_text="Search"]

3. Optionally set a global results URL for the popup shortcode:

   php
add_filter( 'askiva_search_results_url', function () {
return site_url( '/search/' );
} );

Note: [askiva_search show_results="0"] hides pre-loaded results on page load, but search still runs inline on that page via JavaScript. Use the popup shortcode to redirect visitors to a separate search page.

Shortcode attributes:

Attribute
Type
Default
Description

placeholder
string
Search…
Input placeholder

button_text
string
Search
Button label (legacy)

site_id
string
(from settings)
Override site ID; saved settings always win when set

type
string
(empty)
Optional content type filter sent to API

results_url
string
(auto)
Full URL or path for search results page

results_page_id
int
–
WordPress page ID for results (alternative to results_url)

show_results
auto | 0 | 1
auto
When to show results block (auto = when ?q= is present)

results_limit
int
(from settings)
Results per page (1–100)

view_all_limit
int
50
Max results when “view all” is used

ajax
0 | 1
0
Legacy flag; JS still handles live search. Affects pagination scroll behavior

live
bool
false
Search while typing (debounced)

min_chars
int
2
Minimum characters before search runs

debug
0 | 1
0
Pass debug flag to search API (admin troubleshooting)

limit
int
10
Legacy AJAX limit

URL query parameters:

Parameter
Default name
Purpose

Search query
q
Search term (askiva_q legacy alias still supported)

Page
askiva_page
Pagination

View all
view
Use view=all for expanded result limit

Change the query parameter name:

`php

add_filter( ‘askiva_search_query_param’, function () {
return ‘q’;
} );
`

Popup search shortcode

Opens a modal search box and redirects to your results page on submit:

`

[askiva_search_popup results_url=”/search/” trigger_text=”Search”]
`

Attribute
Default
Description

trigger_text
Search
Button that opens the popup

placeholder
Search…
Input placeholder

close_text
Close
Close button label

results_url
(auto)
Where to send the user after search

results_page_id
–
Page ID alternative to results_url

min_chars
2
Minimum query length

Frontend search behavior

When a visitor searches:

1. AI answer: streamed via Server-Sent Events (/search/stream), rendered as GFM Markdown (bold, italics, bullet/numbered lists) with DOMPurify sanitization
2. Search results: fetched via AJAX proxy (/search/), with thumbnails and excerpts
3. Did you mean: shown when the API returns a did_you_mean suggestion
4. Source links: [Source N] markers in the AI answer link to matching result URLs

Bundled assets (no external CDN): marked.min.js (v15.0.12), purify.min.js, search.js, search.css.

Theme template overrides

Copy templates into your theme to customize markup:

`

wp-content/themes/your-theme/centous-ai-search-with-askiva/
search.php
search-results.php
search-result-item.php
search-popup.php
`

Dashboard

Centous Search → Dashboard shows (when connected):

• Connected site / domain
• Indexed pages
• Searches this month
• AI answers generated

Statistics are fetched from GET /wp/stats and cached for performance.

Sync

Centous Search → Sync:

1. Optionally enable Delete all data and start fresh sync for a full re-index
2. Click Start Sync to index published content in batches
3. Monitor progress and logs in the sync panel

Sync uses POST /wp/documents/ in batches sized by Content Items per Index Cycle. Long-running sync requests extend PHP time limits automatically.

Note: Closing the browser may pause progress; resume from the Sync page.

WordPress REST API (plugin)

Registered under askiva/v1 for remote/automated sync control:

Route
Method
Description

/wp-json/askiva/v1/remote-sync
POST
Start or resume sync (returns immediately; use /sync/tick to advance)

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/status
GET
Current sync status

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/start
POST
Start sync (fresh_start optional)

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/pause
POST
Pause sync

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/resume
POST
Resume sync

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/restart
POST
Restart sync

/wp-json/askiva/v1/sync/tick
POST
Process one sync tick

Authenticate with the same credentials saved in Centous Search → Settings:

• Site identifier: send as site_id, site_identifier, or api_site_id (JSON body or query), or header X-Askiva-Site-Id / X-Askiva-Site-Identifier
• Site key: send as site_key or api_key (JSON body or query), or header X-Askiva-Key

Both the string site identifier (e.g. sdgicity-kH33Isf1) and numeric api_site_id from verify are accepted when they match saved settings.

Askiva backend API

All paths are relative to your configured API base (e.g. https://api.example.com/api/v1).

Connection and status

Method
Endpoint
Description

POST
/wp/verify
Validate Site ID + Site Key

POST
/wp/connect
Legacy connect

GET
/wp/status
Connection test (X-Askiva-Key header)

GET
/wp/stats
Site statistics

Documents and indexing

Method
Endpoint
Description

POST
/wp/documents/
Index a batch of documents

GET
/wp/documents/batch/{id}
Batch status

DELETE
/wp/documents/all
Delete all indexed documents (site_id + api_key in JSON body, X-Askiva-Key header)

Search (frontend)

Method
Endpoint
Description

POST
/search/
Search results + AI answer metadata

POST
/search/stream
Streamed AI answer (SSE)

Search requests send site_id, api_key, query, limit, and page in the JSON body, plus X-Askiva-Key header.

Developer filters

`php

// API base URL
add_filter( ‘askiva_api_base’, $callback );

// Default search results page URL
add_filter( ‘askiva_search_results_url’, $callback );

// URL query parameter name (default: q)
add_filter( ‘askiva_search_query_param’, $callback );

// Include API trace/debug in search payload (default: true)
add_filter( ‘askiva_search_include_trace’, $callback );

// Template variables passed to PHP templates
add_filter( ‘askiva_template_vars’, $callback, 10, 2 );
<h3>Requirements</h3>
* WordPress 5.8+
* PHP 7.4+
* Valid Askiva account (Site Identifier and API Key from the [Askiva dashboard](https://askiva-ai-frontend.vercel.app/))
* Outbound HTTPS to the Askiva API host
* Published content to index (drafts are skipped)<h3>Features</h3>
* Secure admin AJAX with nonces andmanage_optionschecks
* Site ID + Site Key connection with verify endpoint
* Batch content sync with pause/resume/restart
* Real-time sync status and error logging
* Streaming AI answers with GFM Markdown rendering
* “Did you mean” typo suggestions from API
* List and grid result layouts with configurable thumbnails
* Search popup shortcode for header/navigation use
* Server-rendered and AJAX search modes
* Theme template overrides
* WordPress REST sync endpoints for automation
* Cached dashboard statistics
* First-run redirect to settings
* Clean uninstall support<h3>Troubleshooting</h3><h3>Connection issues</h3>
1. Confirm **Site ID** and **Site Key** match the **Site Identifier** and **API Key** on your Askiva site detail page
2. If you use a custom API host, verifyASKIVA_API_BASE(or theaskiva_api_basefilter) includes/api/v1and points to the correct server
3. Use **Test Connection** on the Settings page
4. Check **Centous Search → Logs** for API error details<h3>Search issues</h3>
1. Ensure the site is connected and content has been synced
2. Confirm the shortcode page loadssearch.js(no JavaScript console errors)
3. In browser DevTools → Network, inspectaskiva_public_searchandaskiva_public_search_streamAJAX calls
4. Enable shortcodedebug=”1″` for API trace data when diagnosing “Did you mean”

Sync issues

1. Review sync logs and error tab on Centous Search → Sync
2. Only published content is indexed
3. Try a fresh sync if indexed data looks stale or corrupted
4. Increase Content Items per Index Cycle cautiously on slow hosts

Support

Plugin support: Centous, developer of this plugin.

Askiva (third-party service): account setup at Askiva and Askiva dashboard. Not affiliated with Centous.