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Yoast AI error messages

This documentation provides information about the errors displayed by the Yoast AI features of the Yoast SEO Premium plugin. All Yoast AI features connect to the Yoast AI API, which in turn connects to an AI service provider (currently: OpenAI). Below, we list the possible error messages based on the HTTP response status codes received from this API.

400 responses​

This section lists the errors that are displayed for 400 Bad Request responses.

"Unethical request" error​

The Yoast AI features rely on the Azure OpenAI content filtering system, which has a policy against unethical content. The system flags input that includes hate, violence, self-harm references or sexual content.

This error message is displayed when your content does not pass the content filter system.

Error message
Usage policy violation
Due to OpenAI's strict ethical guidelines and usage policies, we cannot generate suggestions for the content on this page. If you intend to use AI, kindly avoid the use of explicit, violent, copyrighted, or sexually explicit content. In case you need further help, please contact our support team.

"Not enough content" error​

The use of Yoast AI requires enough content in order to generate valuable AI suggestions. This error message is displayed when there is not enough content on the page.

Error message
Not enough content
Please add more content to ensure a valuable AI suggestion. Learn more on our page about common AI feature problems and errors. In case you need further help, please contact our support team.

"Site unreachable" error​

The use of Yoast AI requires your site to be publicly accessible. This error message is displayed when that is not the case.

Error message
Yoast AI cannot reach your site
To use this feature, your site must be publicly accessible. This applies to both test sites and instances where your REST API is password-protected. Please ensure your site is accessible to the public and try again. Learn more on our page about common AI feature problems and errors. In case you need further help, please contact our support team.

"Bad WordPress request" error​

In the Yoast SEO plugins for WordPress, we use the WordPress REST interface to connect to our Yoast AI API. This error message is displayed if something went wrong in that connection.

Error message
Something went wrong
The request came back with the following error: 'test'. Please try again later. If the issue persists, please contact our support team.

402 responses​

This section lists the errors that will be displayed for 402 Payment Required responses.

Subscription error​

The use of Yoast AI requires an active subscription for your site. Please refer to this page to understand the subscriptions required to use the Yoast AI features.

This error message is displayed when you do not have the required active subscriptions. The error message and links are adapted depending on the missing subscription(s).

Error message
Subscription required
For one subscription
To access this feature, you need an active Yoast SEO Premium subscription. Please activate your subscription in MyYoast or get a new Yoast SEO Premium subscription. Afterward, refresh this page. It may take up to 30 seconds for the feature to function correctly.
For two subscriptions
To access this feature, you need active Yoast SEO Premium and Yoast WooCommerce SEO subscriptions. Please activate your subscriptions in MyYoast or get a new Yoast WooCommerce SEO Premium bundle. Afterward, refresh this page. It may take up to 30 seconds for the feature to function correctly.

408 responses​

This section lists the errors that will be displayed for 408 Request Timeout responses.

"Request timeout" error​

The Yoast AI features expect a response from the Yoast AI API within 60 seconds. This error message is displayed when the response is not retrieved within 60 seconds.

Error message
Connection timeout
It seems that a connection timeout has occurred. Please check your internet connection and try again later. Learn more on our page about common AI feature problems and errors. In case you need further help, please contact our support team.

429 responses​

This section lists the errors that will be displayed for 429 Too Many Requests responses.

Rate limit error​

The use of Yoast AI comes with rate limits to ensure fair use. Moreover, we are in the process of introducing a subscription-based limit on the amount of AI generations per month. Please refer to this page to understand the rate limits that are applicable.

This error message is displayed when you surpass the Yoast AI rate limit for a specific time frame, or (in the future) your Yoast AI sparks limit.

Error message
You've reached the Yoast AI rate limit
You might have reached your Yoast AI rate limit for a specific time frame or your sparks limit for this month. If you have reached your rate limit, please reduce the frequency of your requests to continue using Yoast AI features. Our help article provides guidance on effectively planning and pacing your requests for an optimized workflow.

Generic error​

For all other error responses, the Generic error is displayed. This includes the following cases: when we are not able to further refine the 400 error response; 403 Forbidden and 503 Service Unavailable responses; other error responses (i.e., which are not 200 OK).

Error message
Something went wrong
Please try again later. If this issue persists, you can learn more about possible reasons for this error on our page about common AI feature problems and errors. In case you need further help, please contact our support team.>

Other errors​

This section lists other errors that can be displayed during the use of Yoast AI features, unconnected to the Yoast AI API.

"SEO analysis required" error​

Our Yoast AI features require the SEO analysis to be enabled in the settings. When a user tries to make use of the AI features without having the SEO analysis enabled, this error message is displayed.

Error message
SEO analysis required
Yoast AI requires the SEO analysis to be enabled. To enable it, please navigate to Site features in Yoast SEO, turn on the SEO analysis, and click 'Save changes'. If it's disabled in your WordPress user profile, access your profile and enable it there. Please contact your administrator if you don't have access to these settings.

Mocking these errors​

In WordPress​

If you need to display these errors without actually triggering them (e.g., displaying the rate limit error without actually reaching the rate limit), you can do so by replacing the output of the get_suggestions function of src/actions/ai-generator-action.php in the Yoast SEO Premium code.

Choose one of the errors below:

throw new Bad_Request_Exception( "test", 400, "AI_CONTENT_FILTER" );     // Unethical request error
throw new Bad_Request_Exception( "test", 400, "NOT_ENOUGH_CONTENT" );    // Not enough content error
throw new Bad_Request_Exception( "test", 400, "WP_HTTP_REQUEST_ERROR" ); // Bad WordPress request error
throw new Bad_Request_Exception( "test", 400, "SITE_UNREACHABLE" );      // Site unreachable error
throw new Bad_Request_Exception( "test", 400, "other" );                 // Generic error
throw new Payment_Required_Exception( "test", 402, "test", null, ['Yoast SEO Premium'] ); // Subscription error, replace the array with the missing licenses
throw new Request_Timeout_Exception( "test", 408, "test" );              // Request timeout error
throw new Too_Many_Requests_Exception( "test", 429, "test" );            // Rate limit error