AI alt text generator for WordPress: installation and configuration

DockAccess AI Alt Generator adds alt generation to the WordPress media library and provides a separate bulk screen. It immediately saves each generated description to the attachment’s Alternative Text field. The accessibility widget is not required.

Requirements and scope

You need WordPress 6.0 or newer, PHP 7.4 or newer, permission to install plugins and edit media, and a DockAccess account. Begin with a few test image copies. The plugin works with media library images; it does not automatically describe every theme icon or CSS background.

Step 1. Prepare the site in DockAccess

1. Sign in to DockAccess or create an account, then verify your email address.
2. Open My sites, choose Add site and enter the production domain, without a protocol or path. For an existing site, open its configuration instead of creating a duplicate.
3. Enable ALT Generator for this site and save. A paused service must be resolved within the account’s site allowance before the plugin can generate.
4. Copy the site token from the site configuration. In the CMS connection form, enter that token and the login and password of the DockAccess account that owns it. Select Connect.
5. Check the connected status and site address, then generate one test alt before starting a batch. The plugin must also appear among this site’s connected integrations in DockAccess.

The site token identifies the website. It is different from the account API key and the connection secret. Enter DockAccess credentials, not your CMS administrator credentials. The official plugins use the password for the connection request and do not store it. If you normally use social sign-in and have no password, set one using the password reset flow first.

Step 2. Install the plugin

1. Open the generator page and its Integrations section. Choose WordPress and download the package provided there. If the card has no download button, the package has not yet been made available in the catalogue.
2. In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin. Select the ZIP, choose Install Now, then Activate Plugin.
3. Open Settings → AI Alt Generator → Connection. Enter the site token and your DockAccess login and password. Select Connect.
4. Check the connection status, website address and service state. Use Test the endpoint to check whether changes from DockAccess can reach the site.

Use the alt generator package. Assist For WCAG is the widget plugin and has separate settings. If WordPress runs in a subdirectory or behind a proxy, check its main address and REST API before connecting.

Step 3. Set generation defaults

In Settings → AI Alt Generator → Generation, enter site context of up to 500 characters and choose a tone. These are starting values; you can override them for an individual image. Begin with neutral or descriptive tone and context explaining how the pictures are used.

Step 4. Generate and review one alt

1. Open Media → Library and select an image.
2. Beside Alternative Text, check the language and generation options. Choose Generate alt text.
3. The description is applied and saved immediately. Review it and edit it by hand if needed.
4. Open a page using that image and inspect its rendered img alt. A block, page builder or previously saved HTML may have its own text independent of the library.

Step 5. Bulk generation

Open Settings → AI Alt Generator → Bulk generation. Search images, filter for missing alts, select the required rows and start the batch. Images are sent in sequence and each result is saved as it arrives. Review the selection: an empty alt may intentionally mark a decoration. Avoid running simultaneous batches for the same media.

WPML, Polylang and synchronization

The plugin determines each media item’s language from WPML or Polylang; you can override it for the image. Without that information it uses the site language. WordPress stores one alt per attachment. If one media version is used in multiple languages, use translated media items or an editorial solution appropriate to your multilingual system.

After the first generation, the plugin knows the image’s DockAccess identifier. Later changes to that WordPress alt field are synchronized to the account. The plugin can also receive a signed REST update, but account editing currently does not trigger this delivery. Save corrections made in DockAccess in WordPress as well. Synchronization does not automatically apply to every image already in the library.

Allowances

The standard free allowance is 10 image generations per UTC day and 1 site with ALT Generator enabled. Ready-made CMS integrations are available on the free plan.

Paid ALT generator plans use a calendar-month allowance, available in full without a daily split. The site allowance is separate from the generation allowance. Your current allowance and usage are shown in the account dashboard. Check current plans

The generation allowance is shared across the account: the online tool, connected sites and API use the same pool. Generating again also uses the allowance; editing a saved text by hand does not generate a new description.

Daily usage resets at 00:00 UTC; monthly usage resets at 00:00 UTC on the first day of the next calendar month. This is independent of the subscription payment date. In Poland, 00:00 UTC is 01:00 in winter and 02:00 in summer. The usage service returns the exact renewal time as resets_at.

Bulk generation processes images in sequence. When the account allowance is exhausted, completed descriptions stay saved and the batch stops. Continue with the remaining images after renewal or a plan upgrade. A temporary request-rate limit causes a wait and retry instead. Older plugin versions may label a monthly counter “daily”; use the period and renewal time shown in your DockAccess account.

Diagnosis and disconnecting

Connection refused: login or email verification

Use the DockAccess account that owns the site token, verify its email address and check the login and password. Repeated failed attempts can temporarily block further connection attempts.

The site address does not match

Check that the CMS production address is registered among the token’s domains. A staging connection does not confirm the production domain. Check HTTPS, reverse-proxy settings and the canonical site address before reconnecting.

Generator disabled (alt_disabled)

Enable ALT Generator for this exact site in DockAccess and save. Installing a plugin alone does not enable the service.

Generator paused (alt_paused)

The account’s site allowance has been exceeded, for example after a plan change. Free up a site slot or increase the allowance. Paused sites and previously generated texts are not deleted.

The site is already connected

Replace the connection only when you intend to reconnect this installation. Confirming replacement rotates the connection secret, so any other copy using the previous secret must reconnect.

The daily or monthly allowance is exhausted

Check the account dashboard and the renewal time. Completed texts remain saved. Wait for the appropriate UTC window to renew or choose a higher plan; reconnecting does not reset usage.

Too many requests in a short time

Let the batch wait and retry. In a custom integration, respect Retry-After and distinguish X-Alt-Reason: rate_limited from limit_reached. Avoid repeatedly clicking Generate.

An image cannot be generated

Check that the CMS can read the original local image. Use a valid supported raster file, such as JPEG, PNG or WebP. A file extension alone is insufficient; unsupported or damaged files must be converted or replaced. Joomla does not generate descriptions for remotely hosted article images.

Edits do not reach the CMS

Account editing currently does not automatically send changes to the CMS; save the correction there as well. The plugins can receive push updates. When implementing your own sender, test the endpoint and check public HTTPS, routes, firewall rules, signature headers and server clocks. Signed requests allow a five-minute clock difference and require a local image mapping.

The saved alt is not visible on the page

Inspect the rendered img element and clear page, template and CDN caches. A CMS media field does not necessarily update HTML already saved in an article or page builder. Correct that image instance or the template. Never fill a deliberately empty decorative alt in bulk.

Disconnect on the Connection screen using your DockAccess credentials, or beside the integration in your account. Disconnecting does not delete text saved in the library. See the generator user guide for writing and checking descriptions.