AI Beacon

AI Beacon: Installation & Setup Guide

This guide covers the installation and activation of the AI Beacon plugin. Setup typically takes approximately 5 minutes.

Before You Begin

Requirements:

  • Your AI Beacon license key (Format: AIBC-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)
  • Administrator access to the WordPress site
  • The AI Beacon plugin zip file (ai-beacon-v2.0.0.zip)
  • WordPress 5.9+ and PHP 8.0+

Important: Add [email protected] to your contacts to ensure you receive license and renewal notification.

Step 1: Upload & Activate
  1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  2. Select the ai-beacon-v2.0.0.zip file and click Install Now.
  3. Click Activate Plugin.

Note: On activation, AI Beacon automatically backs up your existing robots.txt file to robots.txt.bak.

Step 2: Flush Permalinks (Mandatory)
  1. Go to Settings > Permalinks.
  2. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

You do not need to change any settings; simply clicking save registers the /md/ and /llms.txt routes.

Step 3: Activate Your License
  1. Go to Settings > AI Beacon.
  2. Under the License tab, enter your license key.
  3. Click Save Changes.

The status should update to Active. If it shows “Grace Period,” the plugin is functional but still attempting to verify with the server.

Step 4: Configure Caching (Crucial)

To ensure AI crawlers see fresh content, you must exclude AI Beacon endpoints from your server cache. Add the following paths to your cache exclusion list:

  • /md/
  • llms.txt

Hosting Specific Tips:

  • Vultr / Self-Managed: If using Nginx FastCGI cache, add a bypass for these URIs in your config.
  • SiteGround: Go to Site Tools > Speed > Caching > Exclude URLs.
  • Cloudways: Go to Application Settings > Varnish > Purge Exceptions. Add ^/md/ and ^/llms.txt.
Troubleshooting
  • 404 Errors on /md/ or /llms.txt This usually means Step 2 was skipped. Return to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes again.
  • Physical File Conflicts If you have a physical llms.txt or robots.txt file in your root folder, it may override the plugin. Delete the physical file via FTP or File Manager to allow the AI Beacon dynamic versions to take over.
  • License “Grace Period” This indicates a temporary connection issue to aibeacon.app. The plugin will remain fully functional for 7 days while it retries.
  • If the status doesn’t return to “Active” after 48 hours, contact [email protected].
Support & Renewals AI Beacon licenses are valid for 12 months.

You will receive email reminders 30 days and 7 days before expiration. To renew or ask a question, email [email protected].