Setup

What you need

AgenticPress runs on keys you bring. Everyone needs a writing key. Product and affiliate posts also need search.

On this page

Writing key

Every scheduled run needs one language-model key. Pick OpenAI or xAI — not both, unless you want to switch later.

Copy the secret once and store it somewhere safe. In WordPress it goes in OpenAI API Key or xAI API Key, and you set the matching provider.

Skip this section if you are not running an affiliate program and do not need the runner to find products.

If you are, we recommend both Google Programmable Search and SerpAPI. Google is better at staying on a merchant you care about. SerpAPI covers the gaps. You do not need Brave.

Google is two values, not one: a Search Engine ID (sometimes called CX) and a Custom Search JSON API key. Creating only the search engine is the step most people stop at — the JSON API is what AutoPress actually calls.

Google Programmable Search

1. Create the search engine

  1. Open the Programmable Search Engine control panel and sign in with Google.
  2. Click Add to create an engine.
  3. Give it a name you will recognize (for example “AgenticPress products”).
  4. Under what to search, turn on Search the entire web. If you only search your own site, we cannot find merchant product pages.
  5. Create the engine.

2. Copy the Search Engine ID

  1. Open that engine in the control panel.
  2. On Overview / Basics, copy Search engine ID. It looks like a long token, not a URL.
  3. That value is what the plugin calls Google Search Engine ID.

3. Enable the Custom Search JSON API

  1. Open Google Cloud Console. Create a project if you do not have one (a name like “AgenticPress” is fine).
  2. Go to APIs & Services → Library.
  3. Search for Custom Search API and click Enable. The product name is Custom Search JSON API — that is the one.

4. Create the API key

  1. Go to APIs & Services → Credentials.
  2. Click Create credentials → API key.
  3. Copy the key. Optionally restrict it to the Custom Search API so it cannot be used for other Google products.
  4. That value is what the plugin calls Google Search API Key.

Google’s free tier is modest (on the order of 100 queries per day). After that, Cloud billing must be enabled or search will start failing mid-run. Official overview: Custom Search JSON API.

SerpAPI

SerpAPI is the straightforward second source.

  1. Create an account at serpapi.com.
  2. Copy your API key from the dashboard.
  3. Paste it into SerpAPI Key in the plugin.

Their free plan is enough to try the product path. Paid plans raise the monthly search cap if affiliate volume grows.

Where these go

In WordPress: Settings → Agentic Press.

The AgenticPress service API key from signup is separate — that only connects the plugin to your account. See the install guide for that step.

Have your keys?

Install the plugin and paste them in Settings → Agentic Press.

Back to the install guide Download plugin