AI for Advanced Custom Fields and Custom Post Types (ACF)

In this tutorial, we will show you how to use generative AI to create or edit custom posts and custom fields created with the Advanced Custom Fields WordPress plugin.

Let’s put it like this: You created a custom post type with some custom fields using the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin. That’s a great step! But now, you might be wondering how to quickly add content without spending hours doing it manually.

Manually creating and editing content for custom post types is time-consuming. You have to open each post one by one, type the details, and double-check everything. If you manage a large website with many posts, this process can take hours or even days.

That’s where WP Sheet Editor – AI makes a huge difference. Instead of editing posts individually and manually, you can manage all your content in a spreadsheet inside WordPress and use AI to automatically generate titles, descriptions, and custom field content, saving you time and effort.

Let’s see step by step how to use AI to create and update custom post types with custom fields effortlessly.

What you need to create custom posts with AI

Besides the Advanced Custom Fields plugin, you will need these elements:

1- WP Sheet Editor – Post Types

This plugin allows you to view and manage WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types using an intuitive spreadsheet with advanced search, bulk edit, export, and import tools. If you already have it, you can skip this.

2- WP Sheet Editor – AI

This is a WordPress AI assistant service that brings the power of generative AI to every WP Sheet Editor spreadsheet. You can connect with different AI providers and LLMs, and integrate the use of artificial intelligence in all spreadsheets of the WP Sheet Editor suite.

3- External API provider

The AI functionality in WP Sheet Editor relies on an external API like OpenAI, OpenRouter, etc. You’ll need an account with the provider and an API key to connect.

WP Sheet Editor – AI is compatible with these AI providers:

• Open AI for text and images (more info here)
• OpenRouter (more info here)
• Any other provider that uses the same format as OpenAI.

Follow this guide to learn how to set up AI providers in WP Sheet Editor – AI.

Generate a spreadsheet for your ACF custom post type

WP Sheet Editor – Post Types allows you to create an intuitive spreadsheet to bulk manage any custom post type created with Advanced Custom Fields or other plugins.

To generate a spreadsheet for your custom post type, go to WP Sheet Editor > Setup spreadsheet.

Once there, you need to select the custom post type you want to edit using a spreadsheet. In this example, we have created a custom post type named “Stories”, since we’re creating a blog about epic short stories, so we will select that and click on Save.

Next, you can select the fields you want to see displayed in the spreadsheet as columns.

If you want to hide any field, move it to the Disabled side.

If you want to view them, keep them in the Enabled side.

Once you have selected the fields, click on Save.

Once you have generated the spreadsheet, you’ll see your custom posts displayed on it. As you can see, we have displayed our short stories in the spreadsheet.

Now you’re ready to start generating content for custom post types and custom fields using generative AI.

Option 1: Create custom posts and fill custom fields with AI

The first option we want to show you is how to use generative artificial intelligence to create posts for any custom post type added with Advanced Custom Fields from scratch.

Since our ACF custom post type is short stories, let’s generate 3 epic short stories using AI.

To do this, you need to go to hover with the mouse over the Add new tool and select Add rows with AI.

Now, you need to select these values in order to create new custom posts with AI:

• How many rows do you want to add: Add the number of new custom posts you want to create using AI.
• What columns do you want to autofill with the AI: Here you need to select the fields where you want to generate AI content. In this example, we want the AI to generate content for these fields:
  • Title
  • Content
  • SEO Title
  • SEO Description.
  • Note. You can select any other field, including ACF custom fields.
• Prompt: You need to enter the prompt specifying what type of content you want to create and some formatting instructions. In this example, we will use this prompt:

Write epic short stories, set in a world of high stakes, legendary figures, and grand conflict. Open with a compelling moment that immediately grips the reader—whether a prophecy unfolding, the rise or fall of a kingdom, the discovery of an ancient power, or the onset of an unavoidable war. Develop a rich and immersive setting, filled with vivid details that bring the world to life, whether it be a mystical land, a celestial battleground, or a forgotten city shrouded in legend. Introduce a protagonist whose journey is marked by struggle, growth, and defining choices—whether they are a warrior seeking redemption, a ruler facing betrayal, or a scholar unearthing forbidden knowledge. Ensure that the stakes are high, with conflicts that challenge the protagonist both externally and internally, forcing them to make sacrifices or uncover hidden truths that could change everything. Weave in tension, mystery, and moments of breathtaking action or revelation, leading to a climax that is both thrilling and meaningful. Conclude with a resolution that leaves a lasting impact, whether triumphant, tragic, or bittersweet, ensuring the story feels both timeless and unforgettable. Format the content using valid Gutenberg block syntax for WordPress. Avoid using overarching tags like <html> or <body>, as they are not needed. The content should be formatted for direct insertion into WordPress and fully compatible with the Gutenberg editor.

• Note: This prompt is just an example for generating epic short stories. You can test it, customize it, and use it if you want. But you can always write your own prompts for your specific custom post type.
• Do you want to set default values for the other columns: You can set default values for specific fields like status, category, tag, etc. In this example, we will select Enter default values and add the Pending status.
• Once you’ve selected the values, click on Create the rows.

As you can see below, we have created three short stories. You can use the Add new rows with AI tool to add any other custom post type.

Option 2: Generate AI content based on specific fields

The second option is to generate AI content based on specific fields. For example, if you have the titles of your custom posts and you want to generate content for them based on the title, you can do it easily.

For this, you have two options:

First, you can add the full prompt in the cells of the column you want to edit. Just type ai: and add the full prompt next. For example, you can add a prompt like this:

ai:write an epic short story based on the $Title$

Second, you can use a global prompt by typing a simple shortcut like ai:prompt-slug. To do this, you need to first add the global prompt, so let’s see how to do that.

Go to WP Sheet Editor > AI > Settings > Prompts; once there, click on Add new.

In this example, we will create a global prompt for generating post content based on the title.

Now you need to create the global prompt by using these fields:

• Name: Add a prompt name that is easy to remember. The simpler the name of the prompt, the better the prompt slug that will be generated automatically when saving changes, and the easier it will be for you to use the ai:prompt-slug shortcut.
• Prompt: Add the prompt text in this field. You can reference other fields by using $Field/Column Name$. For example, you can reference the Title by adding $Title$. In this example, we will use the prompt we shared in the previous section.
• Click on Save.

As you can see, we have saved our prompt, and now we can view the Auto generated slug (“short-story” in this case).

Now you can go to your custom post spreadsheet and add the shortcut in the spreadsheet cells.

For example, let’s go to the Content column and add the ai:short-story prompt shortcut in a cell.

Once you hit ENTER, the AI will start completing the task, so you’ll see a loading icon in the cell.

As you can see, we have generated our short story based on the post title.

If you click on the Edit button in the content cell, you can see the editor in a popup and make any changes to the AI-generated short story.

If you want to generate content for multiple fields, you can paste the full prompt or prompt shortcut in multiple cells.

The AI will start completing the task in bulk.

As you see, we have generated content for multiple custom posts in bulk.

You can use this method to add content to any field and custom field added by third party plugins using AI.

Option 3: Generate content for different fields in bulk using AI

If you already have specific fields such as titles, and you do not want to generate content in the cells, you can use the Bulk Edit tool, which allows you to edit any field with AI. This is great because you can add AI content or edit existing content using AI.

In this example, we will show you how to generate short story content based on the title in bulk, using artificial intelligence.

To do this, we will first filter the posts missing content, so we need to start by opening the Search tool.

Once there, you need to select these values in order to filter all the custom posts missing content:

• Tick the Enable advanced filters checkbox.
• Field: Content
• Operator: =
• Value: Leave this field empty.
• Click on Run search.

We have filtered all the posts missing content, so we need to open the Bulk Edit tool.

Once there, you need to select these values in order to generate AI content in bulk:

• Select the rows that you want to update: Edit all the rows from my current search.
• What field do you want to edit: Content, in this example.
• Select type of edit: Here you have two options:
  • First option: You can select a pre-saved global prompt. For example, we will select our pre-saved short story prompt, displayed as AI command: Short story. This way, you don’t have to type the prompt.
  • Second option: You can select AI Prompt, and you can paste or type the full prompt.
• AI Provider: If you have configured multiple providers, you can select the one you want to use to complete this task. In this example, we’re using GPT 4o mini.
• You can click on Show preview to see the result before saving the changes.
• Now you can click on Execute Now and the AI will start generating short stories’ content.

Option 4: Edit existing content in spreadsheet cells

If you have already generated content on any standard field or custom field, you an apply changes using AI. For example, you can refine, expand, summarize, translate, and any other change using AI.

For example, we have written a short story with AI, but we don’t like the ending. We like the story, but not the ending, so we need the AI to change the ending to make it more epic. To do this, we will add this short prompt:

ai:Change the ending, I need it to be more epic.

Now the ending has been edited and we will save the changes.

Other prompts you can use:

• ai:summarize in 25 words
• ai:expand the content to add more details
• ai:translate into spanish
• Etc.

Using AI to generate content for any ACF post type and custom field is really simple with WP Sheet Editor – AI.

You can generate new content from scratch, add content to any field based on other fields, optimize existing content in spreadsheet cells, etc.

Here are some related tutorials that you can apply to any custom field added with Advanced Custom Fields:

• How to generate featured images with AI
• How to generate SEO titles and descriptions with AI
• How to generate post excerpts from post content