FAQs
Frequently asked questions about CognitiveCart.
Do I need Stripe to use CognitiveCart?#
No. All core features work without Stripe: the UCP manifest at /.well-known/ucp, the Abilities API (list products, get cart summary, add to cart, update/remove items, apply/remove coupon), GEO Suite, Pulse Concierge, the Intelligence Dashboard, and the Kill-Switch. Stripe is only required for AI-facilitated checkout—when you want agents or chat to create Stripe Checkout sessions and complete payments. Connect Stripe when you’re ready for that.
What is the Retrieval Qualification Score?#
The Retrieval Qualification Score is a 0–100 value that indicates how well your store is prepared for AI discovery. It considers factors such as UCP manifest availability, how many products have Agentic Data (GEO), and other discovery-related signals. You can see it in the Intelligence Dashboard under Discovery & GEO. Improving Agentic Data coverage and keeping the manifest healthy tends to raise the score.
How do AI agents find my store?#
Agents and crawlers that follow the UCP/ACP specs look for a manifest at https://your-domain.com/.well-known/ucp. CognitiveCart serves that URL automatically once the plugin is active and permalinks are flushed. No API keys or registration are required for discovery. Crawlers parse the manifest to get the abilities endpoint and then call your REST API to list products and perform cart/checkout actions.
What is the Kill-Switch?#
The Kill-Switch is an emergency toggle that suspends all autonomous agent activity: AI-facilitated checkout and Pulse Concierge. When it’s on, agents cannot create checkout sessions and Pulse does not run. You can turn it on or off from the Intelligence Dashboard at any time. See Kill-Switch for details.
What are the requirements?#
WordPress 6.0+, WooCommerce 8.0+, and PHP 7.4+. For AI-facilitated checkout you also need Stripe Connect and the CognitiveCart Worker (hosted or your own).