seo/update-advanced-settings covers permalink and fallback-metadata settings: whether the category base is stripped from category URLs, the category and tag base slugs, the site-wide default SEO title and meta description used when a post sets none, and whether Yoast force-rewrites titles for themes that do not support title-tag.
Changing a base slug changes live URLs.
At a glance
| Ability | seo/update-advanced-settings |
| Toolset | Yoast SEO — toolset/yoast-seo |
| Group | Yoast SEO › Settings |
| Requires | Yoast SEO, active on the site |
| Capability | manage_options |
| Safety | Writes data |
| Repeatable | Idempotent — running it twice leaves the same result |
| Ships in | AcrossAI Abilities Manager 0.0.34 and later |
The URL changes are the dangerous half
Stripping the category base turns /category/guides/ into /guides/. Every category URL on the site changes, every inbound link to the old form breaks, and WordPress does not redirect them.
The same applies to changing a base slug. These are not settings changes in effect — they are site-wide URL migrations, and they need a permalink flush and redirects for the old paths.
Stripping the base also risks collisions: with the base removed, a category slug and a page slug can occupy the same URL, and which one wins is not something you choose.
The fallback title and description are the harmless half. They are used when a post sets nothing and its post type template produces nothing either, which is a narrow case and a useful safety net.
Force-rewriting titles is for themes that hard-code the title tag instead of supporting title-tag. It is a workaround, and on a modern theme it should be off — leaving it on can produce duplicated title tags.
Idempotent.
Input
| Name | Type | Required | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
settings | object | Yes | A map of setting key to new value. Keys outside this area are refused. |
What comes back
| Name | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
updated | array | The keys that changed. |
settings | object | The area after the write. |
success | boolean | Whether the call completed. |
message | string | A one-line summary of what happened, suitable for showing a human. |
error_code | string | Present only on failure — a stable machine-readable reason, such as a missing field, a wrong field type or an unmet confirmation. |
Example
Ask your assistant:
Set a fallback meta description for posts with none.
It resolves to one call:
{
"ability": "seo/update-advanced-settings",
"parameters": {
"settings": { "metadesc-home-wpseo": "What this site is about, in one sentence." }
}
}Worth knowing
- Stripping the category base is a site-wide URL migration. Flush permalinks and redirect.
- With the base stripped, category and page slugs can collide.
- Force-rewriting titles is a workaround for old themes and can duplicate the title tag.
- The fallback metadata is the safe part of this area.
Related abilities
- Update Title And Meta Templates — the templates above these
- Invalidate Sitemap Cache — after any URL change
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AcrossAI Abilities Manager · AcrossAI MCP Manager
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