# What an AI Assistant Can See and Change Would you like to know exactly what a connected AI assistant can see in your store, and what it is allowed to change? Easy Digital Downloads states both on the AI tab rather than leaving you to work it out, and access stays limited to the account you connect with. Changes are off until you turn them on. This guide walks you through the data a connection reaches, the changes it can make, and how to cut off access. **Requirements**: Easy Digital Downloads 3.7.1 or newer, running on WordPress 6.9 or newer. Before you get started, make sure [Easy Digital Downloads is installed and activated](/docs/install-easy-digital-downloads/) on your WordPress site, and that you have [connected your store to an AI assistant](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/docs/connecting-ai-assistant/). - [What a Connection Can Read](#aioseo-what-a-connection-can-read) - [How the Connected Account Limits Access](#aioseo-how-the-connected-account-limits-access) - [Allowing Changes, and What That Covers](#aioseo-allowing-changes-and-what-that-covers) - [Which Actions Ask Before They Run](#aioseo-which-actions-ask-before-they-run) - [Seeing What an Assistant Changed](#aioseo-seeing-what-an-assistant-changed) - [Cutting Off Access](#aioseo-cutting-off-access) - [Frequently Asked Questions](#aioseo-frequently-asked-questions) What a Connection Can Read -------------------------- At the bottom of the AI tab, under **What a Connected Assistant Can See**, your store spells out the data a connection reaches. The text is generated from what your own store exposes, so it grows when you turn on a feature that shares more. ![Explainer of what a Connected Assistant can see: customer names, emails, addresses, order details, IPs, and shared invoice links, limited to the connected account’s permissions.](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/what-connected-ai-can-see-edd-800x191.png)On a typical store that covers four kinds of information: - **Customer records**, including names, email addresses, and mailing addresses. - **Order details**, including the email address on each order. - **File download records**, including the IP address each download came from. - **Email records**, meaning who your store's emails were sent to. One line on that list deserves a second look if you use Invoices. An invoice link carries its own access token, so for an order placed without a customer account, anyone holding the link can open the invoice without signing in. Where the order belongs to a user account, that user still has to sign in. Reading is only half the picture, and the account you connect is what bounds it. How the Connected Account Limits Access --------------------------------------- Your assistant reads your store as the account you connected it with, and sees only what that account can already see in the dashboard. Approving the connection creates a WordPress application password for that account rather than sharing your login, so nothing new is granted beyond what the account already had. That makes the choice of account the most useful control you have. Connecting as an account with narrower permissions narrows what the assistant can reach, for reads as well as changes. An account allowed to view reports but not to edit products, for example, gives an assistant your sales figures and no way to touch your catalog. With that boundary in place, the write toggle decides how much of it is writable. Allowing Changes, and What That Covers -------------------------------------- Out of the box, a connected assistant only looks things up, and nothing in your store changes. When you want more, switch on **Allow AI to Change Store Data** on the AI tab. The setting saves as soon as you switch it. ![Banner of an AI integration setup: 'Run Your Store With Your Favorite AI' with a 'Connected' toggle showing live status and an 'Allow AI to change store data' switch (likely enabled).](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/edd-allow-ai-to-change-store-data-800x283.png)Switched on, it opens up creating and editing orders, customers, products, and discounts, and sending receipts. Two limits stay in place. The account's own permissions still apply to every action, and refunds are never included: they stay on the order screen in your admin. Two more defaults are worth knowing, because they keep new records away from customers until you have looked at them. New products are created as drafts, and new discount codes are created inactive, unless the request specifically asks otherwise. The cards on the same tab list what this covers on your own store, grouped by what each ability acts on. ![AI-powered store dashboard showing five feature tiles: Orders, Customers, Products & Discounts, Reports, Growth (Everything Easy Digital Downloads Can Do With AI)](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/edd-ai-capabilities-800x229.png)For the individual abilities behind those cards, see our [Guide to AI Abilities in Easy Digital Downloads](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/docs/ai-abilities-guide/). Which Actions Ask Before They Run --------------------------------- Three of the changes are labelled destructive, because their results cannot simply be undone. Assistants read that label and prompt you before running them: - **Creating an order**, which records a real order against a customer and sends the receipt unless the request asks for a silent one. - **Changing an order's status**, which fires the same hooks as the admin. Completing an order emails a receipt and grants download access. - **Deleting a discount**, which only applies to a code that has never been used. A code with recorded uses is archived instead. The prompt comes from your assistant rather than from your store, so its exact wording depends on which client you use. What your store controls is the label, and it applies the same way to every client. Seeing What an Assistant Changed -------------------------------- Order and customer changes leave a record on the record itself. Easy Digital Downloads adds a note naming the ability that ran and the account it acted as, alongside your store's own notes. ![Easy Digital Downloads AI assistant note of what changed.](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/edd-ai-order-note-800x323.png)To read them for one order, go to **Downloads** » **Orders** in your WordPress admin sidebar, open the order, and select its **Notes** section. Notes are the record for orders and customers specifically. For a wider view of activity, the email log and file download log on the AI tab's read list cover what your store sent and what customers downloaded. Cutting Off Access ------------------ Access runs through a WordPress application password, which means deactivating the connector plugin does not end it: a connected assistant keeps reaching the store through the WordPress REST API. Cutting off access takes two steps, and both are quick. First, in your WordPress admin sidebar, go to **Users » Profile** and scroll to **Application Passwords**. Beside the entry for your connector, click **Revoke**. ![Option to Revoke Application Password from WPVibe on WordPress site.](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/revoke-application-password.png)Second, remove the site from your connector's own account, so it stops holding a record of the store. For WPVibe that is done from your account at its website, and its plugin screen links straight to both steps. Turning off **Allow AI to Change Store Data** is the lighter-touch option when you only want to stop changes. It leaves reading in place, which is often all you want after a one-off task. That's it! You know what a connection can read, what the write toggle opens up, where the record of each change lives, and how to end access. Next, see our [Guide to AI Abilities in Easy Digital Downloads](https://easydigitaldownloads.com/docs/ai-abilities-guide/) for what each ability does in detail. --- Frequently Asked Questions -------------------------- Below, we've answered some of the most common questions about what a connected assistant can reach. ### Does connecting an assistant share my WordPress password? No. Approving the connection creates a separate application password for the account you connect, and the approval screen shows that password masked rather than printing it. ### Can an assistant see data the account I connected cannot? No. Every ability checks that account against the same permission the matching admin screen uses, so the assistant's reach matches the account's reach. ### Can an assistant issue a refund? No. Refunds stay on the order screen in your admin and are not among the actions an assistant can run. ### Will I be asked before an assistant changes anything? For the three destructive actions, yes: creating an order, changing an order's status, and deleting a discount all carry a label that prompts your assistant to confirm with you first. Other changes run once write access is on. ### Does turning off the write toggle undo changes already made? No. It stops further changes from running. Anything already saved stays as it is, and the notes on each order or customer show what was done. ### Who can see an invoice link an assistant hands out? The link carries its own access token. For an order placed without a customer account, anyone holding the link can open that invoice without signing in. Where the order belongs to a user account, that user has to sign in first. ### Does deactivating the connector plugin disconnect my store? No. The application password stays valid, so assistants keep reaching the store through the WordPress REST API. Revoking the application password and removing the site from your connector account are the two steps that end access.