Auto Featured Image AI | AI Featured Image Generator for WordPress

Finding & Optimizing Featured Images is a Chore

Sourcing relevant, high-quality featured images takes time. Creating custom ones takes even longer. Then you have to upload them, optimize them, and crucially, write descriptive alt text for SEO and accessibility. It's easy to skip, leaving posts visually bland and poorly optimized.

Hours spent searching stock photo sites or designing graphics.
Inconsistent visual style across your blog.
Missing featured images hurt engagement and aesthetics.
Skipped alt text negatively impacts SEO and accessibility.

Illustration showing posts with missing featured images

Auto Featured Image AI: Your On-Demand Visual Creator

This plugin connects your WordPress site directly to OpenAI's powerful image generation (DALL-E) and text generation (GPT) models. It intelligently creates a fitting image prompt from your content, generates a unique image, crafts relevant alt text, uploads everything to your Media Library, and sets it as the Featured Image – all automatically when one is missing.

The AI Workflow (Future & Retroactive)

1. Analyze Content

Plugin reads post title/content.

2. Generate Prompt

GPT creates an effective image prompt.

3. Generate Image

DALL-E creates image from prompt (+ style settings).

4. Generate Alt Text

GPT creates descriptive alt text (optional).

For Future Posts (Async)

Publish post without featured image.
Plugin schedules background task (WP Cron).
AI Workflow runs shortly after saving.
Image downloaded, uploaded, & set automatically!

For Existing Posts (Retroactive)

Configure Batch Size in Settings.
Click "Start Retroactive Processing".
Plugin processes untagged posts in batches (via AJAX - keep page open).
AI Workflow runs for each post in batch.
Watch the status updates!

Powerful AI Image Features

AI Image Generation

Uses OpenAI DALL-E 3 (or 2) to create unique featured images based on your content.

AI Alt Text Generation

(Optional) Uses GPT to automatically write descriptive alt text for better SEO & accessibility.

AI Image Prompt Generation

Intelligently crafts effective prompts for DALL-E from your post title & content for better results.

Asynchronous On-Save

Image generation for new posts runs in the background (WP Cron) so it doesn't slow down your publishing workflow.

Retroactive Batch Processing

Process existing posts missing featured images via a controlled AJAX batch system.

Image Settings Control

Configure DALL-E model, image size, quality (HD/Standard), and add custom style prompts.

Batch Size Control

Set how many posts are processed per request during retroactive runs (Default 5).

Smart Triggering

Only generates an image if a Featured Image is not already set for the post.

Secure License Activation

Simple activation using your Gumroad license key.

Benefits You'll Love

Save Massive Amounts of Time

Stop searching, creating, uploading, and optimizing images manually. Automate the entire process.

Unique & Relevant Visuals

Get custom-generated images tailored to your specific post content, not generic stock photos.

Boost SEO & Accessibility

Ensure every post has a featured image with relevant, AI-generated alt text, improving image search ranking and usability.

Enhance Blog Aesthetics

Improve visual appeal and consistency across your entire site with featured images on all posts.

Revitalize Old Content

Easily add relevant featured images to your entire archive of existing posts using the retroactive processor.

Improve Visitor Engagement

Visually appealing posts with featured images tend to keep readers engaged longer.

Ideal For...

Bloggers & Content Creators

Generate unique visuals instantly without design skills or stock photo costs. Fill your archives!

Marketers & SEO Specialists

Ensure all content has optimized images with alt text for maximum visibility and accessibility.

Agencies & Site Managers

Quickly enhance client sites or large content libraries by adding missing featured images efficiently.

Important Note on API Costs

This plugin requires an OpenAI API key with billing enabled.

Generating images with AI (like DALL-E 3) is **significantly more expensive** per operation than generating text (like categories or alt text). Each featured image generated involves potentially three API calls (prompt generation, image generation, alt text generation).

While processing future posts might have minimal cost impact, using the **Retroactive Processing** feature on hundreds or thousands of posts **can result in substantial charges** to your OpenAI account. Please check OpenAI's current pricing, understand the costs, and use the retroactive feature judiciously, starting with small batch sizes.

You are solely responsible for all costs incurred through your OpenAI API key usage.

Setup & Usage Instructions

Admin access to your self-hosted WordPress site.
Plugin .zip file from Gumroad.
Your Gumroad License Key.
Your OpenAI API Key (with DALL-E access & billing enabled).

Go to WordPress Admin > Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
Upload the plugin .zip file and Install Now.
Activate Plugin.

Go to Settings > Auto Featured Image AI.
Enter your Gumroad License Key & OpenAI API Key.
Configure Image Settings (Model, Size, Quality, optional Style Prompt).
Configure Alt Text Settings (Enable/Disable AI Alt Text, optional Prompt Addon).
Configure On-Save Setting (Enable/Disable processing future posts).
Configure Retroactive Settings (Batch Size - start low, e.g., 5).
Click Save Settings.
Verify License Status shows "License Active".

For Future Posts:

Ensure "Process Future Posts" is enabled in settings.
Publish a new post *without* manually setting a Featured Image.
The plugin schedules a background task (WP Cron). The image will be generated and set automatically shortly after saving (it's not instant). Check the post/media library after a minute or two.

For Existing Posts (Retroactive):

Go to Settings > Auto Featured Image AI.
Review the estimated posts count and **cost warnings**.
Confirm Batch Size setting (start low!).
Click "Start Retroactive Processing".
**Keep the page open.** Monitor the status updates.
Processing occurs in batches until complete or stopped.

See What People Are Creating!

"No more hunting for images! This plugin generates fantastic, relevant visuals for my posts automatically. A huge time saver."

- Tech Blogger

"The retroactive feature filled in hundreds of missing featured images on our archive. The alt text generation is great for SEO too."

- Marketing Manager

"Impressive results from DALL-E 3 integration, and the settings give good control. Easy way to add visual appeal."

- WordPress Developer

Automate Your Featured Images Now!

Elevate your content's visual appeal and save hours of manual work. Get the Auto Featured Image AI plugin and let AI handle the visuals.

Get Auto Featured Image AI via Gumroad

Secure payment. Requires WordPress, plugin license, and OpenAI API key (API costs apply).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

No. The plugin checks if a featured image (`_thumbnail_id`) is already set for a post before doing anything. It will only process posts that are currently missing one.

You pay for:

The **plugin license** (via Gumroad).
**OpenAI API Usage** (paid directly to OpenAI). This includes costs for:
- Generating the image prompt (GPT-3.5 Turbo or similar, usually very cheap).
- **Generating the image itself (DALL-E 2 or DALL-E 3, this is the main cost - check OpenAI pricing, e.g., $0.04-$0.12 per DALL-E 3 image).**
- Generating the alt text (GPT-3.5 Turbo or similar, usually very cheap, only if enabled).
Retroactive processing on many posts can add up quickly. Monitor your OpenAI usage!

No, it's not instant. AI image generation can take 5-30 seconds or more per image depending on the model and current API load. That's why the "Future Posts" feature runs asynchronously in the background (via WP Cron) *after* you save, so it doesn't block your workflow. The image will appear shortly after publishing. Retroactive processing time depends on the number of images and batch size.

Yes! The plugin settings allow you to choose the DALL-E model (DALL-E 3 recommended), image size (e.g., square, landscape, portrait), and quality (Standard/HD for DALL-E 3). You can also add a "Custom Style Prompt Addition" (like "illustration style", "photorealistic") which gets appended to the AI-generated image prompt.

It uses a GPT model to analyze the image prompt context and post title to generate descriptive alt text. The quality is generally very good for accessibility and basic SEO. You can disable this feature in settings if you prefer to use the post title as alt text or write it manually later. You can also add custom instructions to the alt text prompt.

AI image generation is powerful but not perfect. While the plugin aims for relevance using AI prompt generation, occasional odd results can happen. You can always manually replace the featured image later if needed. Using DALL-E 3 and refining the "Custom Style Prompt" in settings can help improve consistency. You can also disable the "Process Future Posts" setting if you prefer full manual control.

**[IMPORTANT: Replace with your actual policy]** Your purchase typically includes [e.g., one year / lifetime] of plugin updates for compatibility and new features, plus access to email support for installation and bug-related issues. Check the Gumroad page for specific terms.

Never Search For Featured Images Again!