Connect Claude Web or ChatGPT

This guide covers connecting web AI clients — Claude Web at claude.ai and ChatGPT with custom connectors — to your WordPress site using OAuth.

OAuth is the right choice for web clients because:

• Your WordPress password is never shared with the AI client.
• The client receives a scoped token that you can revoke at any time.
• You can see and remove the connection from WordPress admin.

Requirements

• Axtolab AI Connector installed and activated on your WordPress site.
• Your site must be reachable over HTTPS. OAuth 2.1 requires HTTPS in production. Most managed WordPress hosts include SSL automatically; if yours does not, set one up before continuing — for example, with Let’s Encrypt.
• A Claude Web account at https://claude.ai, or a ChatGPT account with access to custom connectors.

Step 1 — Find your connector URL

1. In WordPress admin, open AI Connector.

2. Look for the MCP transport or Web AI clients section.

3. Copy the connector URL. It looks like:

   https://YOUR-SITE.example/wp-json/axtolab-ai-connector/v1/mcp

That is the URL you paste into Claude Web or ChatGPT in the next step.

Step 2 — Add the connector to your AI client

The steps depend on which client you are using.

Claude Web (claude.ai)

1. Open https://claude.ai and sign in.
2. Open Settings → Connectors (or Custom connectors, depending on your Claude version).
3. Click Add custom connector.
4. Paste your connector URL from Step 1.
5. Confirm and continue.

Claude opens your WordPress site in a new tab so you can authorise access.

ChatGPT (chat.openai.com)

1. Open https://chat.openai.com and sign in.
2. In a chat, open Settings → Connectors or Apps & connectors.
3. Click Add connector.
4. Paste your connector URL from Step 1.
5. Continue.

ChatGPT opens your WordPress site in a new tab to authorise.

Step 3 — Authorise the connector in WordPress

WordPress shows an authorisation page summarising:

• The client name (Claude Web, ChatGPT, or whichever client started the request).
• The capability preset that will be granted to this connection.
• An option to change the preset before approving.

1. Sign in to WordPress if you are not already signed in.
2. Choose the capability preset you want this connection to have. For first-time setup, pick Draft only — it lets the AI read content and create drafts, but never publish.
3. Click Authorise (or Approve, depending on the wording).

WordPress redirects you back to the AI client and the connection is now live.

Step 4 — Verify with a read-only test

In Claude Web or ChatGPT, ask:

List the five most recent posts on my WordPress site, with title and status.

If the client returns a list, the OAuth connection is working.

Step 5 — Create a draft

While still on the Draft-only preset, ask:

Create a short draft post titled “Web AI Connector Test” with one paragraph explaining that this is a setup test. Do not publish it.

Then in WordPress admin:

1. Go to Posts → All Posts.
2. Confirm the draft exists with Draft status.
3. Trash it once you have reviewed it.

Managing OAuth connections

In WordPress admin, AI Connector → Connections lists every connection — both Claude Desktop (Application Password) and web (OAuth). For each one you can:

• See the connection name, client type, capability preset, and last-used time.
• Change the capability preset.
• Revoke the connection.

After a revoke, the AI client receives a clear error on the next request. Tokens are not recoverable — to reconnect, repeat the OAuth flow.

Why is HTTPS required?

OAuth 2.1 requires HTTPS in production for two reasons:

• The redirect step sends a short-lived authorisation code back to the AI client; without HTTPS, anyone on the network can intercept it.
• Refresh tokens travel between the AI client and WordPress on every long session; without HTTPS, the same risk applies.

If your site is on HTTP, you cannot complete the OAuth flow safely. Switch to HTTPS first.

For local development without HTTPS, use Claude Desktop with an Application Password instead — that path does not require HTTPS.

Common gotchas

• “Authorisation failed” or redirect error. WordPress permalinks must be set to a structured format (e.g. Post name), not Plain. Change at Settings → Permalinks.
• Authorisation page is blank or 404. A security plugin or aggressive page cache may be blocking the REST API routes the OAuth flow needs. Temporarily relax the rule or bypass cache for /wp-json/* and /wp-login.php and try again.
• “Authorisation expired”. Tokens are scoped to the connection record. If you deactivated and reactivated the plugin, or changed the site URL, existing tokens may no longer work. Revoke and re-authorise.

For longer troubleshooting see Troubleshooting.

Where to go next

• Connect Claude Desktop — desktop AI client setup
• Permissions — choose capability presets safely
• Troubleshooting — common setup issues