The chatbot displays “Forbidden” or an error page—what should I do?

This is an FAQ entry for the WordPress chatGPT SmartSearchWP plugin.

Symptoms #

• The chatbot appears, but no response is displayed after sending a message.
• In the browser’s developer tools ( Network tab), the following request fails with a 403 Forbidden error code: POST /wp-json/wdgpt/v1/retrieve-prompt
• Sometimes, visitors would previously see the raw text of an error page in the chatbot’s message bubble (“Forbidden — You don’t have permission to access this resource”).

Cause #

This isn’t a problem with the OpenAI key or with the context settings in SmartSearchWP.

On some hosting plans, a security filter (WAF, ModSecurity, Wordfence, OVH Basic CDN, etc.) blocks POST requests to the chatbot’s REST API before they reach WordPress.

Context or embedding generation can continue to function, as it uses different routes. Only the visitor → chatbot interaction is affected.

Solution — Update SmartSearchWP #

Starting with version 2.7.4, the plugin:

1. automatically retries the REST call;
2. Switch to admin-ajax.php if /wp-json/ remains blocked;
3. displays a clear message to the visitor instead of the raw HTML code of the error.

Steps:

1. Go to Dashboard → Updates (or Plugins → SmartSearchWP).
2. Install version 2.7.4 or later.
3. Clear the cache (cache plugin, CDN, browser) and test a question in the chatbot.

If the update doesn’t appear right away, try again in a few hours: WordPress.org may take some time to make the new version available.

If the problem persists after 2.7.4 #

Ask your hosting provider (or configure your WAF/CDN) to allow or block:

Troubleshooting: Temporarily disable the CDN or WAF. If the chatbot works without them, the cause is confirmed.

Web Hosting Providers Most Often Affected #

• OVH (including CDN Basic)
• Wordfence
• ModSecurity (shared server rules)
• Other WAFs / Application Firewalls

Need help? #

• Plugin support: WordPress.org forum
• Discussion thread: Forbidden access
• Contact: hello@smartsearchwp.com