Rate Limit And Troubleshooting
6 min read
This guide covers Cycle AI’s daily quota, common error messages, and what to do when things don’t work as expected.
Daily Quota #
| Plan | Quota | Window |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 10 conversations / month | Rolling 30-day window |
| Pro | 50 conversations / day | Rolling 24-hour window |
All Pro plans share the same limit — there’s no per-tier differentiation. Admin users do not have a bypass; everyone gets the same quota for their plan.
What counts as “one use” #
A conversation = 1 daily use. Not a single message — a whole conversation, which may include:
- The first prompt (campaign creation)
- Any number of refinements (“make it 30%”, “add shoes”)
- Any number of chat questions (“which campaigns are running?”)
- Any number of management actions (pause, activate, edit, delete)
A conversation ends when you:
- Click Review & Launch on a campaign preview
- Click New Conversation
- Close the panel or navigate away outside the plugin
- Close the browser tab
When quota is charged #
- The quota is consumed on success of the first message in a conversation
- If the API fails (network error, AI service unavailable), no quota is consumed — try again
- Refinements, chat mode, and management actions within the same conversation are free (no additional quota)
Quota Indicator #
When your remaining daily quota drops below 5, each response from Cycle AI includes a quota badge showing how many conversations you have left. The badge appears next to the AI’s response in the chat area.
When you’re above 5 remaining, no badge shows — Cycle AI doesn’t nag you about quota when you have plenty.
Hitting the Limit #
When you’ve used your full quota (10 for Free, 50 for Pro), you’ll see:
You’ve reached your Cycle AI limit. Please try again later.
The counter resets on a rolling window — Pro is 24 hours, Free is 30 days. So if you used your last conversation at 3:17 PM today on Pro, you’ll have one more available at 3:17 PM tomorrow. Free works the same way but on a monthly rolling basis.
While waiting, you can still:
- Create campaigns manually in the wizard
- Edit existing campaigns through the overview panel or campaigns list
- Use all the plugin’s non-AI features normally
Common Error Messages #
“Cycle AI is temporarily unavailable. If this persists, please contact support.” #
Cause: The hosted AI service is unreachable or returned an error.
Fix:
- Wait 30–60 seconds and try again
- Check that your site has outbound internet access
- If it persists for more than a few minutes, contact Webstepper support
“Cycle AI requires your consent to send data to Webstepper’s hosted AI service.” #
Cause: You haven’t opted in yet, or consent was revoked.
Fix: Open the Cycle AI panel. You’ll see the welcome modal. Click Enable Cycle AI to opt in.
“You’ve reached your Cycle AI limit. Please try again later.” #
Cause: You’ve used your full quota — 50 conversations in the last 24 hours on Pro, or 10 in the last 30 days on Free.
Fix: Wait for the rolling window to advance, or upgrade to Pro for the higher daily allowance. See Hitting the Limit above.
“I couldn’t find a campaign called ‘X’ — could you clarify?” #
Cause: The AI couldn’t match your reference to any campaign in its context.
Fix:
- Check the exact campaign name in the campaigns list
- Try a different reference: status (“the active one”), date (“last week’s”), or partial name
- If you just created the campaign in another tab, the AI may not see it yet in the current conversation — start a new conversation
“‘X’ is already paused.” (or “already active”) #
Cause: You asked to pause an already-paused campaign (or activate an already-active one).
Fix: No action needed — the campaign is already in the state you wanted.
“The best fit for this is [Pro type], which is a Pro feature…” #
Cause: You’re on the Free plan and described a goal that maps to a Pro-only discount type (tiered, spend threshold, bundle) or a Pro-only campaign setting (usage limits, stacking, advanced filters, subscription controls, etc.).
Fix: Cycle AI will name the specific Pro feature, include a direct upgrade link, and offer to build a simpler version of the campaign you can use today on Free. Pick whichever path fits — accept the simpler version, or upgrade and re-run the prompt.
Unexpected AI Behavior #
The AI keeps picking the wrong products #
Causes:
- Product names are ambiguous (e.g., “the red one” matches several products)
- Your category structure is unusual and the AI misinterprets it
- Your catalog exceeds 250 products and the AI only sees a subset
Fixes:
- Reference products by category (“all T-shirts”) or segment (“bestsellers”) instead of individual names
- Use the wizard for surgical product-by-product selection
- After Review & Launch, adjust the product list in Step 2 of the wizard
The AI keeps picking the wrong discount value #
If Cycle AI’s picks feel off (say 15% when you wanted 30%), say so directly: “make it 30% instead”. Refinements are fast and free.
If the AI consistently over- or under-shoots, check the adjustments line on the preview — the validator may be clamping your value to a safe range.
The reasoning mentions campaigns I don’t have #
The AI sees your campaign list at the start of the conversation. If you’ve created or deleted campaigns in another tab mid-conversation, the AI’s view may be stale. Start a New Conversation to refresh its context.
The preview looks right but Review & Launch lands on an empty wizard #
This was a known issue prior to v2.0.1 (the wizard session cookie was being dropped before it could reach the browser). Fixed in v2.0.1. If you still see it on a current version:
- Hard-refresh the page (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) and try again
- Confirm cookies are enabled for your admin domain
- Report the issue via Webstepper support with your prompt, the preview screenshot, and the URL the Review & Launch button took you to
Cycle AI took a long time to respond on a complex prompt #
Cycle AI’s HTTP timeouts are aligned with its server-side processing budget (about 90 seconds total). Heavily detailed prompts that combine multiple targeting fields, recurring schedules, and advanced badge customization can take 20–40 seconds to fully generate. Watch the streaming reasoning text — as long as it’s still appearing, the AI is still thinking. If you see a true timeout (“Could not connect to Cycle AI”), wait a few seconds and retry; the proxy or AI service may have been briefly unavailable.
Panel Issues #
The FAB isn’t showing up #
The FAB only appears on Smart Cycle Discounts plugin pages (dashboard, campaigns list). It’s intentionally hidden on other WordPress admin pages. It’s also hidden when the chat panel is open.
If it’s missing from plugin pages:
- Confirm you’re on a Pro license
- Check the browser console for JavaScript errors
- Hard-refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R)
- Temporarily disable other admin-area plugins to rule out conflicts
The panel opens but is blank #
- Check the browser console for errors
- Confirm your site has outbound HTTPS access (the panel fetches suggestions on open)
- Try hard-refreshing the page
The conversation disappeared #
Cycle AI persists conversations in sessionStorage, which is cleared when you:
- Close the browser tab
- Open the site in a new window
- Use private/incognito mode and close it
Conversations do not persist across browser sessions. If you need a reference, screenshot the preview or click Review & Launch to save the draft before closing the tab.
Disabling Cycle AI #
If you want to turn Cycle AI off entirely:
- Open the chat panel via the FAB
- Click the Disable Cycle AI button in the panel header (the icon next to the close button)
- Confirm — this revokes consent and stops any further data from being sent
Disabling hides the FAB. To re-enable, reopen the panel from the campaigns page (the FAB reappears after a brief delay when consent is regranted via the welcome modal).
Privacy and Data Handling #
- Your prompt and store context are sent to Webstepper’s hosted AI service over HTTPS
- Webstepper does not sell or share your data with third parties beyond the AI provider needed to generate responses
- No customer data, order data, or payment information is ever included in the context
- Disabling Cycle AI revokes consent; once revoked, no further data is sent until you opt in again
For the full data list sent to the AI, see What is Cycle AI.
Still Stuck? #
If you’ve tried the above and Cycle AI still isn’t working as expected:
- Capture the exact prompt you sent and the AI’s response (screenshot the panel)
- Note your plugin version and WordPress/WooCommerce versions
- Note any JavaScript console errors
- Contact Webstepper support with the details above
