Integration vs Standalone mode

What it is

AISA can work in two modes. In Integration mode it detects an active SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, SEOPress) and writes the SEO values directly into that plugin's own fields — no duplicate meta tags, no second canonical. In Standalone mode there is no third-party SEO plugin, so AISA emits the meta itself (title, description, Open Graph, Twitter Card, Organization schema, sitemap with lastmod, robots.txt, redirects). The choice is made automatically based on what is active, and you can override it.

Where to find it

Set during step 1 of the setup wizard, and any time from AI SEO & GEO → Dashboard — the “AI SEO Assistant — SEO” feature card has an Activation selector. The Configuration block on the Dashboard also shows the active SEO plugin and a mode control.

Requirements & tier

No license required — mode selection is core to all tiers. Integration mode requires one of the supported SEO plugins to be active; standalone requires none. With AIOSEO, note that its main SEO data lives in a custom table, not postmeta — AISA reads it correctly.

How to use

Open the Dashboard. The Configuration card shows whether an SEO plugin is active and its name.
On the “AI SEO Assistant — SEO” card, choose Activation: Automatic (recommended) — standalone block in the editor when no SEO plugin is active, floating panel when one is.
Choose Always active (AISA block) to force the standalone editor block on, or Always floating panel (block off) to force integration.
The selection auto-saves and reloads so menus, meta boxes and tabs reflect it.
In integration mode, optimize from the floating AISA panel; in standalone, use the AISA SEO block in the editor.

Questions people ask

Does AISA replace Yoast or Rank Math? No — in integration mode it adds to them and writes into their fields. If you have no SEO plugin, it emits the meta itself.
Will I get duplicate meta tags or two canonicals? No. In integration mode AISA writes into the active plugin and does not output its own head tags.
What happens if I deactivate my SEO plugin? Zero-click migration: AISA keeps serving the same SEO (it reads the residual values and adopts them on the first save). Nothing to migrate by hand.
With Yoast or SEOPress, do values appear live in the editor? Yes. With Rank Math and AIOSEO you press “Save and reload” (a limit of their editors), but the data is written.
Can I migrate from one SEO plugin to another? Yes — do a Backup, switch the SEO plugin, then Restore: values are migrated by logical field with nothing lost.

Troubleshooting

Standalone block not showing in the editor → an SEO plugin is active and the mode is Automatic; the floating panel takes over instead.
Duplicate output suspected → confirm only one SEO plugin is active and the mode is correct (integration when a plugin is present).
AIOSEO title/description look empty in stats → AIOSEO stores data in a custom table; AISA reads it, but verify the values exist in AIOSEO itself.
Changed plugins and counts look wrong → AISA invalidates the SEO Health cache on plugin activate/deactivate; reload the Dashboard.

The setup wizard · The Dashboard and SEO Health score · Enable AISA for post types and taxonomies · Quick start: your first optimization