=== Sellsmith – AI Chatbot, Lead Capture & Sales Chat ===
Contributors: hamzaafridi05
Tags: ai chatbot, woocommerce, chatbot, live chat, whatsapp
Requires at least: 6.0
Tested up to: 7.0
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.1.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

AI chatbot for WooCommerce that answers from your live products, captures leads, and sends buyers to WhatsApp. Free Gemini key.

== Description ==

It's 11pm. A buyer is on your store asking if you deliver to her city. Nobody answers. She closes the tab and buys from someone else.

This happens every single night. Sellsmith ends it.

**Sellsmith is a sales agent, not a support chatbot.** It answers buyers from your live WooCommerce products and your own policy answers, asks the right questions, and sends serious buyers straight to your WhatsApp with the order already written.

= It answers the 9 questions every buyer asks =

We built the setup form from real seller research. Buyers ask the same things everywhere:

1. What are the delivery charges?
2. Is this product available?
3. When will I receive it?
4. Do you deliver to my area?
5. Can I pay cash on delivery?
6. Can I open and check the parcel before paying?
7. What if the product has a fault?
8. Any discount?
9. What if I buy 2?

You write your answers once, in any language. Sellsmith answers buyers all day, all night, in the buyer's language.

= Why store owners pick Sellsmith =

* **No monthly AI bill.** Sellsmith runs on your own free Google Gemini API key. Google's free tier covers roughly 1,000+ requests per day, enough for most stores. Busy stores pay Google a few dollars directly. You never pay us for AI.
* **It never invents a price.** The AI searches your live WooCommerce catalog before answering. Real prices, real stock, with product cards in the chat.
* **WhatsApp is the checkout.** When a buyer is ready, Sellsmith shows a WhatsApp button with the order summary pre-written: product, price, quantity, city. The buyer lands in your WhatsApp, you reply "confirmed", done. No WhatsApp Business API, no Meta approval, works in every country.
* **Every chat becomes a lead.** Wake up to a list: who chatted, what they wanted, which city, who clicked WhatsApp. Buyers who didn't order today are your follow-up list for tomorrow.

= How Sellsmith is different =

Most AI chatbots for WooCommerce either lock the AI behind a paid plan, or make you sign up to their own service and pay them every month. Sellsmith runs real AI on your own free Google Gemini key. No account with us, no monthly AI bill. And when a buyer is ready, Sellsmith hands them to your WhatsApp with the order already written, which most chatbots do not do at all.

= Free features =

* Chat widget with your color, position, and welcome message
* Two modes: AI mode (answers from your products) or Message mode (no API key, just collect each visitor's question and contact as a lead)
* 5-minute setup wizard with a 3-step checklist
* Business profile built from the 9 real buyer questions, including cash on delivery and open parcel policy
* Live product answers with product cards (image, price, link)
* WhatsApp handoff with the AI-written order summary
* Leads inbox: conversations, cities, products discussed, WhatsApp clicks, transcripts
* Stats: chats today, chats this week, WhatsApp clicks
* Automatic language matching: Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, German, anything the buyer types
* Fallback mode: if the AI quota runs out, the widget shows a plain WhatsApp button instead of breaking
* Rate limiting per visitor to protect your free quota
* Optional privacy consent notice, GDPR export and erase tools
* Works without WooCommerce too (profile answers and leads; product answers switch on when WooCommerce is active)

= Sellsmith Pro (coming soon) =

A separate Pro add-on is planned with extra tools: lead scoring (hot, warm, cold), instant email alerts for hot buyers, CSV export, order status answers, a discount coupon the AI can offer when a buyer hesitates, and chat analytics. Everything described above stays free and fully working without it. Details at [devtonicstudios.com/sellsmith](https://devtonicstudios.com/sellsmith).

= How it works =

1. Install and activate
2. Paste your free Gemini API key (1 minute at Google AI Studio, no card needed)
3. Answer the 9 buyer questions in the Business Profile
4. Add your WhatsApp number

That's it. The widget goes live and starts selling.

== External services ==

This plugin connects to the Google Gemini API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com) to generate chat replies and to validate your API key. When a visitor sends a chat message, the message, your business profile answers, recent conversation history, and matching product details (name, price, stock, link) are sent to Google for processing. Nothing is sent until you add your own API key and switch the widget on.

Service provider: Google LLC.
Terms: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms
Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

== Privacy ==

Conversations are stored on your own site. You choose whether to keep them indefinitely or auto-delete them after a number of days in Settings → Advanced. The plugin registers with the WordPress privacy tools, so you can export or erase a visitor's chat data by email. Suggested privacy policy text is added under Settings → Privacy.

== Installation ==

1. Plugins → Add New → Upload, install and activate Sellsmith
2. Get a free Gemini API key at https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
3. Sellsmith → Connection: paste the key, press Test connection
4. Fill the Business Profile tab and add your WhatsApp number
5. Chat Widget tab: switch on "Show widget"

Tip: keep billing OFF on the Google project of your key. With billing off, Google uses the free daily limit. With billing on, every request is charged.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does the AI cost money? =

The plugin is free. The AI runs on your own Google Gemini key. Google's free tier covers roughly 1,000+ requests per day depending on the model, which fits most stores (a normal chat uses 2 to 3 requests per buyer message). If your store outgrows the free tier, you pay Google directly, usually a few dollars per month, never us.

= Do I need the WhatsApp Business API? =

No. The WhatsApp button uses the official wa.me link format. It opens your normal WhatsApp app with the buyer's order message pre-written. No Meta approval, no extra account.

= Which languages does it speak? =

Whatever your buyer types. The AI detects the language and answers in it, including Roman Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and dozens more. Your profile answers can be written in any language too.

= Will it make up prices or stock? =

No. For product questions the AI must search your live WooCommerce catalog first and answer only from the results. If nothing matches, it says so honestly and offers your WhatsApp.

= Does it work without WooCommerce? =

Yes. It chats from your business profile and captures leads on any WordPress site. Product search and cards switch on automatically when WooCommerce is active.

= Where do the leads go? =

Sellsmith → Leads in your WordPress admin. Each conversation shows the buyer's city when mentioned, the products discussed, the full transcript, and whether they clicked the WhatsApp button.

= Is my store data shared with you? =

No. Your API key, your conversations, and your leads stay between your site and Google. Nothing is sent to DevTonic Studios.

== Screenshots ==

1. The chat widget answering a buyer with live product cards
2. The WhatsApp handoff: order summary pre-written for the buyer
3. The Leads inbox: cities, products, WhatsApp clicks
4. A full conversation transcript
5. The Business Profile: the 9 real buyer questions
6. Connection settings with the one-click key test

== Changelog ==

= 1.1.0 =
* New: Message mode runs the widget with no API key. Visitors leave their question and their email or WhatsApp number, and it is saved as a lead in your inbox for you to follow up. Great for going live in seconds while you set up Gemini.
* Added developer hooks so add-ons (including the upcoming Sellsmith Pro) can extend the plugin. No change to how the plugin works for current users.

= 1.0.0 =
* First public release
* AI sales chat from your live WooCommerce catalog with product cards
* Knows which product page the buyer is on, so "this product" / "yeh wala" works
* Choose your AI model: Gemini Flash-Lite, Flash, and more
* Business profile built from the 9 real buyer questions (COD and open parcel included)
* WhatsApp handoff with AI-written order summary and click tracking
* Per-chat message limit that hands engaged buyers to WhatsApp
* Leads inbox with transcripts, cities, products, and weekly stats
* Automatic buyer language matching
* Quota fallback to a plain WhatsApp button
* Per-visitor rate limiting, GDPR export and erase, 30-day automatic cleanup
