Automatic, Manual, and Disabled Modes Explained
SEOvault AI has three output modes that control how the plugin manages and prints SEO metadata to your frontend. The mode you choose determines whether the plugin auto-generates values, outputs only what you enter manually, or stays silent entirely.
Where to find output mode
Section titled “Where to find output mode”Go to SEOvault AI > General > Output Mode in the WordPress admin. The setting is a radio button with three options:
- Full SEO output (Automatic) – labeled “Autopilot” on the dashboard
- Title only (Manual) – labeled “Manual” on the dashboard
- No output (Disabled) – labeled “Disabled” on the dashboard
The dashboard status strip always shows your current mode so you can verify it at a glance.
Automatic mode (Autopilot)
Section titled “Automatic mode (Autopilot)”Automatic mode is the default. The plugin generates and manages SEO output without requiring you to edit every field manually.
What happens in Automatic mode
Section titled “What happens in Automatic mode”- SEO titles are generated from your post title and title template (e.g.,
%title% | %sitename%) - Meta descriptions are generated from your post excerpt or content
- Canonical URLs are set automatically based on the permalink
- Robots directives are applied based on your global settings (noindex for search archives, date archives, empty taxonomies, etc.)
- Open Graph and Twitter/X Card tags are generated from your social templates and post data
- Schema markup is generated from your site identity and post content
- Sitemap entries are included for all indexable content
- Image SEO (ALT and title attributes) is applied automatically
When to use Automatic mode
Section titled “When to use Automatic mode”- Most websites with standard content (blogs, business sites, portfolios)
- Sites where you want solid SEO without editing every post’s meta fields
- Sites where you occasionally override specific posts manually
Manual overrides in Automatic mode
Section titled “Manual overrides in Automatic mode”Even in Automatic mode, you can manually set any SEO field per post. Open the post in the editor, find the SEOvault AI meta box, and enter a custom title, description, canonical URL, or robots directive. Manual values always take priority over auto-generated ones.
Manual mode
Section titled “Manual mode”Manual mode outputs SEO tags but does not auto-generate values. You control what appears by entering values per post.
What happens in Manual mode
Section titled “What happens in Manual mode”- SEO titles – the plugin outputs the title tag using your post title and title template. If no title template is set, WordPress uses its default document title
- Meta descriptions – only output if you enter a custom description in the post’s SEO meta box. Posts without a manual description get no description tag
- Canonical URLs – only output if you set one per post
- Robots directives – global robots settings still apply (noindex for archives, etc.), but per-post robots must be set manually
- Open Graph and Twitter/X Card tags – only output if social templates are configured or per-post social data is entered
- Schema markup – still generated from your site identity. Post-level schema requires manual configuration
- Sitemap – still includes all indexable content
- Image SEO – still applies automatic ALT and title attributes
When to use Manual mode
Section titled “When to use Manual mode”- Sites where you want to control every meta field yourself
- SEO professionals who need precise control over what is output
- Sites with custom title patterns that do not fit a template
- Situations where you want to output less metadata, not more
Key difference from Automatic mode
Section titled “Key difference from Automatic mode”In Manual mode, posts without manually entered SEO fields will have minimal output. The title tag still works, but meta descriptions, canonical URLs, and social tags may be absent unless you enter them. This gives you control but requires more effort per post.
Disabled mode
Section titled “Disabled mode”Disabled mode stops the plugin from outputting any SEO tags to the frontend. The admin UI remains fully functional for managing SEO data, but nothing is printed into your page HTML.
What happens in Disabled mode
Section titled “What happens in Disabled mode”- No SEO tags are output in
wp_head– no meta description, no canonical, no robots, no Open Graph, no Twitter/X Card - No title filter is applied – WordPress uses its default document title
- No schema markup is output
- Admin UI still works – you can still enter and manage SEO data in the post editor meta box, General Settings, and all other admin pages
- Database tables remain – 404 monitor, redirect manager, and audit log tables are not affected
- REST API still works – the web app connection and API endpoints remain functional
When to use Disabled mode
Section titled “When to use Disabled mode”- You have another SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO) handling frontend output and want to avoid duplicate tags
- You are using a theme with built-in SEO output
- You want to use SEOvault AI only for the admin UI and web app connection, not for frontend output
- You are debugging a conflict and want to isolate which plugin is outputting what
How it works technically
Section titled “How it works technically”When Disabled mode is active, the Detector::should_output_seo() check returns false. This prevents the Head class from hooking into wp_head and the Title class from filtering the document title. All other plugin features (admin UI, API, database tables) continue to work normally.
Mode comparison
Section titled “Mode comparison”| Feature | Automatic | Manual | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO title tag | Auto-generated | From template only | Not output |
| Meta description | Auto-generated | Only if manually set | Not output |
| Canonical URL | Auto-generated | Only if manually set | Not output |
| Robots directives | Global + per-post | Global + per-post | Not output |
| Open Graph tags | Auto-generated | From templates or per-post | Not output |
| Twitter/X Card | Auto-generated | From templates or per-post | Not output |
| Schema markup | Auto-generated | Site identity only | Not output |
| XML sitemap | Included | Included | Not output |
| Image SEO | Automatic | Automatic | Not output |
| Admin UI (meta box, settings) | Full | Full | Full |
| REST API / web app connection | Active | Active | Active |
| 404 monitor | Active | Active | Active |
| Redirect manager | Active | Active | Active |
Change the output mode
Section titled “Change the output mode”- Go to SEOvault AI > General > Output Mode.
- Select Automatic, Manual, or Disabled.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the settings page.
The change takes effect immediately. No cache clearing is required, though if you use a caching plugin you may need to clear its cache for the new tags to appear on cached pages.
What about other SEO plugins?
Section titled “What about other SEO plugins?”If another SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO) is active alongside SEOvault AI, the dashboard shows a warning about potential duplicate meta tags. The plugin does not automatically disable itself – you choose how to handle it:
- Switch to Disabled mode if you want the other plugin to handle output
- Deactivate the other plugin and keep SEOvault AI in Automatic or Manual mode
- Import the other plugin’s data from General Settings > Tools, then deactivate it
SEOvault AI detects the active provider and displays it on the dashboard under “Detected SEO Plugin”. This is informational only – it does not gate your output. The output mode setting is the only thing that controls whether SEOvault AI prints tags.