Troubleshooting
Fixes for the most common problems: Search Console permission, CMS errors, QA Needs human, and stopped jobs.
Most problems come from a key, a permission or a setting. Start with the error message: it shows on the ticket, on the Agent activity log, or in a test button result. Find the message below and follow the fix.
Tip: After you change any key, click Save, then the test button on that card. A test runs a real request, so it catches most problems before an agent run does.
AI model key problems
| Message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The AI is not set up yet. | The plan's AI is not ready for this site | Contact support |
| Anthropic API key is not valid. | Wrong, revoked or mistyped key | Copy a fresh key from the Anthropic console |
| Anthropic rate limit reached. Try again later. | Too many requests for your Anthropic tier | Wait, or raise your limit with Anthropic |
| AI provider error 401 / Gemini error 401 | Wrong key for OpenAI, Gemini or an OpenAI-compatible API | Check the provider and key match |
| Set the base URL for the OpenAI-compatible provider. | Missing base URL | Enter the Base URL, for example https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 |
For ChatGPT and Gemini checks, failed runs show error in the Insights table. Hover it to read the message. Messages start with OpenAI: or Gemini:. Check the keys in Settings > AI prompts with Test ChatGPT and Test Gemini.
Warning: "Insufficient quota" or a 402 error means your AI account is out of credit. Add credit with your provider.
Search Console permission
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| Search Console denied access to sc-domain:example.com. Add the service account email as a user on this property. | In Search Console, Settings > Users and permissions > Add user, paste the service account email, choose Restricted |
| Google does not accept this key. The service account or the key may be deleted or disabled. | Create a new JSON key in Google Cloud and upload it |
| The "type" must be "service_account" | Upload a service account key, not an OAuth client file |
| The audit needs Search Console. | Connect Search Console. Audits cannot run without it |
Check the property type. A user added to https://example.com/ (URL-prefix) does not give access to sc-domain:example.com (domain). The Property field must match the property where you added the user. See Search Console.
For Google Analytics 4, "Google Analytics denied access" means the service account is not a Viewer, or the Google Analytics Data API is off. See Analytics.
CMS publishing errors
When publishing fails, the ticket returns to Ready with "Publish failed:" and the reason.
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| Publishing setting "..." is missing. Add it in Settings > Publishing. | Fill in the named field |
| WordPress publish failed (401) or image upload failed (401) | Check the username and application password. Some security plugins block the REST API |
| Ghost Admin API key must look like id:secret | Copy the full Admin API key from your Ghost integration |
| Shopify publish failed (401 or 403) | The access token needs blog write access |
| Webhook failed (500) | Your endpoint returned an error. Check its logs |
| No WordPress post with slug "..." was found to update. | The live post has a different slug. Fix the ticket's URL, or update by hand |
| This URL is a WordPress page, not a post. | Update it by hand or use the Manual flow |
| Refusing to overwrite the home page. | Update the home page by hand |
Images missing on Webflow, Shopify or webhook targets? These targets load images from the app's public address. If it is not reachable, download the images from the ticket and upload them yourself.
QA "Needs human"
A ticket moves to Needs human when QA fails more times than Max rewrites before a human looks allows. The message reads like "QA failed 4 times (last score 28/40). Read the QA report, add a lesson, and retry."
- Open the ticket and read the QA report. Look at Critical fails first.
- Match the fail to a cause:
| Fail | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Product numbers match the approved facts | A price or limit is missing from your facts | Add it to Approved product facts |
| Call to action | No CTA set | Add one in Settings > Conversions |
| Reading level | Topic is technical | Raise Max reading grade a little |
| Privacy and data claims link to your docs | No documentation pages | Add URLs to Documentation pages |
| No overlap with existing pages | A page already targets the keyword | Turn the ticket into a refresh, or change the angle |
| AI editor: outdated fact | Your facts disagree with your live pages | Click Check facts against my website and update facts |
- Click Rewrite and QA again. If you only changed settings, click Run QA again.
Technical tickets from audits start in Needs human on purpose. Fix the issue and click Mark done. See QA gate.
Job stopped or stuck
| What you see | Meaning | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Run shows stopped on Agent activity | Someone clicked Stop. The agent stopped after its current step. Work saved before that is kept | Start the job again |
| Ticket back in To do with an error | The writer or QA hit an error | Read the error, fix the cause, click Write now |
| Agent working... for a long time | Long jobs, such as research, can take several minutes | Open Watch the log. If nothing moves, click Stop and retry |
For screenshot and X errors, see Screenshots and X. Still stuck? Copy the full error from Agent activity and contact support.
Did this page help? Tell us at support@agenticseo.com.