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June 16, 2023
April 26, 2021
Sophi.io is a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools developed by The Globe and Mail to help content publishers make important strategic and tactical decisions. The tools range from automated content curation engines to predictive analytics and paywall solutions.
Sophi-driven pages outperform human curated pages by a significant margin and free up publisher resources so that they can focus on finding the next story that matters. Invisible, automated curation of your home and section pages to streamline your team’s workflow. Continuously optimize the performance characteristics of the site based on demand and your brand, so the content is always the right fit.
Note that a Sophi.io account and related credentials are required in order to authorize and authenticate access within the plugin settings.
There are two potential ways to integrate Sophi Site Automation results with your WordPress site. The default approach includes a Sophi Site Automation block that integrates with get_posts by injecting Posts IDs via the posts_pre_query filter that gets fetched later to return the actual Posts. In the same fashion, you can integrate Sophi results with your WP_Query object by setting the sophi_curated_page and sophi_curated_widget query parameters.
More details on each of these two options are described below. If you are not certain on the best integration approach, considering the following:
Reasons to use the Site Automation block:
– No additional development effort needed for initial Sophi integration
– Immediate integration with Sophi Site Automation API and page/widget settings
– Basic block display settings allow for basic configurations (show/hide post excerpt, author name, post date, featured image)
Reasons to use the Query integration:
– Can implement more custom caching and content fallback options
– Can implement support into non-block editor setups
– Likely more flexible for headless setups
– Block editor is not in-use within your WordPress environment
– You need an integration with Category/Taxonomy Pages and cannot integrate using a sidebar widget
You can utilize the Site Automation block by configuring the Site Automation page and widget names and adjusting block content and post meta settings to display Site Automation content on your site.
The Site Automation block comes with a barebone HTML output and styling. It’s made to be filtered using sophi_site_automation_block_output.
add_filter(
'sophi_site_automation_block_output',
function( $output, $curated_posts, $attributes, $content, $block ) {
// ...
return $new_output;
},
10,
5
);
The Site Automation block will automatically add a data-sophi-feature=<widget_name> attribute for the rendered HTML content so Sophi can understand what content section is rendered on your site.
The Site Automation block uses query integration under the hood. You can query for Sophi curated articles by passing sophi_curated_page and sophi_curated_widget to your WP_Query queries.
$the_query = new WP_Query( [
'sophi_curated_page' => 'page-name',
'sophi_curated_widget' => 'widget-name',
] );
Note that you need to add data-sophi-feature=<widget_name> to the wrapper div of your post for Sophi to capture your widget better.
<div class="posts-wrapper" data-sophi-feature="trending">
<!-- Post lists -->
</div>
While the above query integration works just fine, it has been observed on WordPress VIP infrastructure that WP_Query may return latest posts instead of the posts curated by Sophi due to the Advanced Post Cache plugin used by the VIP platform. A workaround for this is to use get_posts() instead and as good practice to add a comment explaining the usage of it so that developers new to it don’t swap it for WP_Query. Also remember to whitelist get_posts by adding the following inline comment so that PHPCS doesn’t throw a warning:
phpcs:ignore WordPressVIPMinimum.Functions.RestrictedFunctions.get_posts_get_posts<h3>Developer Documentation</h3>
Sophi for WordPress has an in-depth documentation site that details the available actions and filters found within the plugin. Visit the developer docs ☞
If you are having difficulties with your Sophi integration, then we recommend utilizing the Debug Bar for Sophi plugin to help triage your Sophi Authentication, Sophi API integration, and CMS publish/update events.
Note that if you are on the WordPress VIP platform that you will not be able to upload a plugin in the WordPress Admin so you will need to follow steps in 1b.
1a Download plugin ZIP file and upload to your site.
You can upload and install the plugin ZIP file via the WordPress dashboard (Plugins > Add New -> Upload Plugin) or manually inside of the wp-content/plugins directory, and activate on the Plugins dashboard.
1b Download or Clone this repo, install dependencies, and build.
– git clone https://github.com/globeandmail/sophi-for-wordpress.git && cd sophi-for-wordpress
– composer install && npm install && npm run build
2 Activate Plugin
Click the Activate link after installing the plugin.
3 Configure plugin settings
Go to Settings > Sophi in the WordPress Admin and enter your Sophi Collector and Site Automation credentials supplied by the Sophi.io team. Click Save Changes button to validate and save your credentials.
Once your credentials are validated and saved, your site is officially supercharged by the Sophi.io Site Automation service. You also have access to Sophi for WordPress’ powerful WP_Query parameters and custom Sophi Site Automation block, which enables you to utilize Site Automation to power the content curation on your site.
The award-winning Sophi suite of solutions was developed by The Globe and Mail to help content publishers make important strategic and tactical decisions that transform their business. It is a suite of ML and NLP-powered tools that includes Sophi Automation for content curation, Sophi for Paywalls, and Sophi Analytics – a decision-support system for publishers.
The Globe and Mail saw a dramatic improvement in the business metrics that matter:
* Click-through rates were up 17% from the homepage.
* The subscriber acquisition rate increased by more than 10%.
* Not a single reader has complained or asked if a computer is curating the website.
You can read more details in The Globe and Mail case study.
The same Privacy & Terms that govern The Globe and Mail cover the Sophi.io service.
phpunit/phpunit from 9.5.25 to 9.5.27 (props @renovate, @jeffpaul via #349, #369).10up-toolkit from 4.3.0.to 4.3.1 (props @renovate, @jeffpaul via #366).loader-utils from 2.0.2 to 2.0.4 (props @dependabot, @jeffpaul via #367).actions/checkout from 3.1.0 to 3.5.3 (props @renovate, @jeffpaul, @iamdharmesh via #370, #375).@wordpress/icons from 9.10.0 to 9.14.0 (props @renovate, @jeffpaul via #344).snowplow/snowplow-tracker from 0.5.0 to 0.6.1 (props @renovate, @jeffpaul, @YMufleh via #372).json5 from 1.0.1 to 1.0.2 (props @renovate, @iamdharmesh via #374).dns-packet from 5.3.1 to 5.6.0 (props @renovate, @iamdharmesh via #385).webpack from 5.72.1 to 5.87.0 (props @renovate, @iamdharmesh via #386).sectionNames field to reflect Primary Category or first Category (props @Sidsector9, @cadic, @jeffpaul, @vjayaseelan90, @dkotter via #350, #363).Note that this version bumps the minimum WordPress version from 5.6 to 6.0 and adds an integration with the Sophi Override feature.
/wp-json/sophi/v1/site-automation WP REST endpoint to Get Posts from Site Automation (props @faisal-alvi, @jeffpaul, @fabiankaegy, @dkotter, @peterwilsoncc via #333)./wp-json/sophi/v1/site-automation-override WP REST endpoint to Override the Posts for Site Automation (props @faisal-alvi, @jeffpaul, @fabiankaegy, @dkotter, @peterwilsoncc via #333).api_version to the block JSON files (props @faisal-alvi via #345).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.29 to 9.5.25 (props @renovate, @Sidsector9, @faisal-alvi via #329, #337, #339).10up-toolkit from 4.1.2 to 4.3.0 (props @renovate, @Sidsector9, @faisal-alvi via #330, #340).actions/checkout action from v2 to v3 and v3.0.2 to v3.1.0 (props @renovate via #334).content_update schema from 2-0-3 to 2-0-5 (props @jeffpaul, @vjayaseelan90, @YMufleh via #323).jsdoc from 3.6.10 to 3.6.11 (props @renovate via #311).terser from 5.13.1 to 5.14.2 (props @dependabot via #312).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.27 to 8.5.29 (props @renovate via #316).sophi-response (props @oscarssanchez, @cadic, @felipeelia via #298.WP_Query with get_posts in details about the Sophi Automation block (props @Sidsector9, @jeffpaul via #300.10up-toolkit from v4.0.0 to v4.1.2 (props @renovate, @Sidsector9 via #299, #303.phpunit/phpunit from v8.5.26 to v8.5.27 (props @renovate via #304.sophi_cache_duration filter (props @Sidsector9, @barryceelen, @jeffpaul via #285).block_categories filter with block_categories_all (props @Sidsector9, @cadic, @jeffpaul via #292).sophi_bypass_curated_posts_cache filter to bypess curated posts cache (props @cadic).allSections field to Sophi (props @oscarssanchez, @jeffpaul, @tott).$result is used instead of $request to store return value of the sophi_request_result filter (props @faisal-alvi, @Sidsector9, @cadic).sophi_request_args filters arguments used in Sophi HTTP request (props @cadic, @iamdharmesh via #257).sophi_request_result filters a Sophi HTTP request immediately after the response is received (props @cadic, @iamdharmesh via #257, #261).sophi_cms_tracking_request_data filters the data used in Sophi track event request (props @cadic, @iamdharmesh, @jeffpaul via #257, #263).sophi_cms_tracking_result fires after tracker sends the request (props @cadic, @iamdharmesh, @jeffpaul via #257, #263).sophi_tracker_emitter_debug allows to enable debug mode in the tracking emitter (props @cadic, @iamdharmesh via #257).WP_Query caveat on WordPress VIP (props @Sidsector9, @jeffpaul, @oscarssanchez via #242, #249, #251).$terms is an array before using count() within get_the_terms() (props @barryceelen, @Sidsector9 via #215).track_event arguments list inside sync WP-CLI command (props @cadic, @Sidsector9 via #250).actions/checkout action to from v2.4.0 to v3.0.2 (props @renovate, @iamdharmesh via #240, #241, #243).actions/setup-node action from v1 to v3 (props @renovate, @iamdharmesh via #244).10up-toolkit from 3.1.2 to 4.0.0 (props @renovate, @cadic via #264).keywords data type from string to array (props @iamdharmesh, @jeffpaul, @oscarssanchez, @YMufleh).node-forge from 1.2.1 to 1.3.0 (props @dependabot).minimist from 1.2.5 to 1.2.6 (props @dependabot).10up-toolkit from 3.0.3 to 3.1.2 (props @renovate).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.25 to 8.5.26 (props @renovate).async from 2.6.3 to 2.6.4 (props @dependabot).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.23 to 8.5.25 (props @renovate).10up-toolkit from 3.0.2 to 3.0.3 (props @renovate).package-lock.json (props @jeffpaul).actions/setup-node action from v2 to v3 (props @renovate).actions/checkout action from v2 to v3 (props @renovate).10up-toolkit from 2.1.1 to 3.0.2 (props @renovate).snowplow/snowplow-tracker from 0.4.0 to 0.5.0 (props @renovate).hostname and path fields to schema (props @Rahmon, @dinhtungdu).sophi_curated_post_list filter to modify the Sophi API response to allow manual posts to be injected previous to returning the filterable value from posts_pre_query (e.g., via a fallback method to inject posts that would be a good fit) (props @oscarssanchez, @barryceelen, @felipeelia).WP_Query default results to a “no results” response (props @oscarssanchez, @barryceelen, @felipeelia).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.21 to 8.5.23 (props @renovate).prop-types from 15.8.0 to 15.8.1 (props @renovate).10up-toolkit from 1.0.13 to 2.1.1 (props @renovate, @oscarssanchez, @jeffpaul).marked from 2.1.3 to 4.0.10 (props @renovate).jsdoc from 3.6.8 to 3.6.10 (props @renovate).dealerdirect/phpcodesniffer-composer-installer from 0.7.1 to 0.7.2 (props @renovate).auth_url and audience parameters to get respective Staging and Development environment access tokens (props @Rahmon, @felipeelia).prop-types from 15.7.2 to 15.8.0 (props @renovate).Note: this was a hotfix release to fix an issue with deploys to WordPress.org.
thumbnailImageUri, embeddedImagesCount, and keywords (props @rahmohn, @felipeelia, @dinhtungdu).appId (props @rahmohn, @felipeelia, @dinhtungdu).sectionNames field (props @rahmohn, @jeffpaul, @felipeelia, @tott).article to section content type (props @rahmohn, @felipeelia, @jeffpaul).audience URL (props @rahmohn, @jeffpaul).10up-toolkit from 1.0.9 to 1.0.13 (props @renovate).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.18 to 8.5.21 (props @renovate).automattic/vipwpcs from 2.3.2 to 2.3.3 (props @renovate).sectionNames (props @dinhtungdu, @dkotter).jsonschema to 2.0.0 (props @dinhtungdu, @dkotter).contentSize to size (props @dinhtungdu).@10up/scripts from 1.3.1 to 1.3.4 (props @renovate).automattic/vipwpcs from 2.3.0 to 2.3.2 (props @renovate).phpunit/phpunit from 8.5.15 to 8.5.18 (props @renovate).actions/setup-node action from v1 to v2 (props @renovate).10up-toolkit from 1.0.9 to 1.0.10 (props @renovate).wp_get_environment_type() (props @barryceelen).false, corrects sync limiting, adds progress bar (props @dinhtungdu, @jeffpaul, @barryceelen).vipwpcs from 2.2.0 to 2.3.0 and php_codesniffer from 3.5.8 to 3.6.0 (props @dinhtungdu, @jeffpaul).noConfigFile setting (props @dinhtungdu).Sophi for WordPress to Sophi (props @jeffpaul).| Version | Download | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1.3.2 | Download | Stable |
| 1.3.1 | Download | Stable |
| 1.3.0 | Download | Stable |
| 1.2.1 | Download | Stable |
| 1.2.0 | Download | Stable |
| 1.1.3 | Download | Stable |
| 1.1.2 | Download | Stable |
| 1.1.1 | Download | Stable |
| 1.1.0 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.13 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.12 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.11 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.10 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.9 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.8 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.7 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.6 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.5 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.4 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.3 | Download | Stable |
| 1.0.2 | Download | Stable |
| Development | Download | Trunk |