Help:Extension:AIBatchEditor

The AIBatchEditor extension lets privileged editors run AI-assisted changes across many pages at once, preview every proposed edit as a diff, and save only the changes they approve.

Installation and administrator configuration are documented on Extension:AIBatchEditor.

Who can use it

You need the aibatchedit user right. By default, only administrators (sysops) have this right.

You must also have permission to edit each page you save. The extension does not bypass normal edit restrictions.

Opening the tool

Go to Special:AIBatchEditor on your wiki, or find AI Batch Editor in Special pages.

JavaScript must be enabled. The page does not work without it.

Workflow overview

Select pages — enter titles, pick a category, or search by template transclusion (optionally filtered by title prefix), then click Validate pages.
Choose an operation — wikilinks, spellcheck, formatting, writing style, templates, or custom.
Set options — pick a profile intensity (except for Custom, which uses balanced automatically), add optional AI instructions, and enter an edit summary for the wiki history.
Preview prompt (optional) — inspect the system and user messages before drafting, when enabled by the administrator.
Draft — the server runs the batch; the browser polls for progress until every page is processed.
Review — open diffs on demand, adjust per-page instructions, re-draft individual pages if needed.
Approve and save — check the changes you want, confirm any safety prompts, then save. Only approved pages are edited.

Every saved edit appears in normal page history under your username and is tagged AI Batch Editor. After a successful save, each row links to the new revision and page history.

Step 1: Select pages

By page titles

Choose Page titles as the page source, then enter one title per line or separate titles with |.

Examples:

Main Page
Help:Contents
Project:Sandbox

By category

Choose Category as the page source, then enter the category name without the Category: prefix.

Optionally set a Title prefix to include only members whose titles start with that text (useful for large categories).

Click Validate pages. The tool lists editable pages and reports skipped entries (redirects, missing pages, pages you cannot edit, pages over the size limit, and so on).

If the category has more eligible pages than the wiki's batch limit, only the first portion is loaded and a truncation notice is shown.

By template

Choose Template as the page source, then enter the template name without braces if you prefer (for example Ficha or Template:Plantilla:Ficha).

Optionally set a Title prefix to include only transcluding pages whose titles start with that text.

Click Validate pages. The tool lists editable pages that transclude the template on this wiki.

If more eligible pages transclude the template than the wiki's batch limit, only the first portion is loaded and a truncation notice is shown.

Step 2: Choose an operation

Operation	What it does
Wikilinks	Suggests internal wikilinks for notable terms.
Spellcheck	Fixes misspellings and obvious typos in prose (not grammar rewrites).
Formatting	Improves headings, lists, and paragraph structure.
Writing style	Improves clarity and encyclopedic tone.
Templates	Inserts, upgrades, or clones template transclusions. You must name reference templates; the server may fetch their wikitext from a configured remote wiki (for example es.wikipedia.org).
Custom	Follows your written instructions only. You must provide AI instructions.

Your wiki administrator can disable individual operations.

Templates operation

When you choose Templates, enter one or more template names (for example Plantilla:Ficha or Ficha). The extension fetches reference definitions from the configured source wiki and includes them in the AI prompt.

Optionally override the source wiki with an HTTPS URL allowed by the administrator (default: Spanish Wikipedia). Up to five templates per batch request.

Write clear instructions describing what to insert or change (for example "Add an infobox at the top using the reference template").

Step 3: Profiles and instructions

Profile

The Profile controls how much the AI changes within the operation's scope (intensity only):

Conservative — fewest changes needed
Balanced — all clear cases (default)
Aggressive — thorough changes throughout the page, still within scope

Help text under the profile dropdown comes from $wgAIBatchEditorOperationProfiles (configurable in LocalSettings.php). The same strings are sent to the AI as profile intensity.

For the Custom operation, the profile dropdown is hidden. The tool always uses balanced intensity; control scope and depth with your AI instructions instead.

AI instructions

AI instructions are optional directions sent to the model for every page in the batch (for example, "Add wikilinks only for city names").

This is not the wiki edit summary. It is never shown in page history.

For the Custom operation, AI instructions are required.

Edit summary

The Edit summary is recorded in page history when you save. Describe the batch edit clearly so other editors understand what changed.

An edit summary is required before saving.

Prompt preview (temporary)

When enabled ($wgAIBatchEditorPromptPreview), click Preview prompt to see the exact system and user messages that will be sent to the AI for the first validated page. After drafting, changed pages may also show their prompts in the results panel.

This is a debugging aid. Administrators should disable it in production when no longer needed.

Rate limit notice

Before drafting, the tool compares the number of pages in your batch with your remaining hourly AI quota. If there are not enough requests left, the Draft button stays disabled and a notice explains why.

Step 4: Draft (run the batch)

Click Draft to start AI processing on the server. The browser calls the LLM once per page (via batchadvance) and uses lightweight status polls only for the progress bar. Each page may take up to several minutes on slow models.

Click Cancel batch (next to the progress bar) to stop remaining pages. Finished results are kept; pending pages are marked Cancelled.

Possible statuses:

Status	Meaning
Pending / Processing	Waiting for or receiving an AI response
Changed	The AI proposed a different wikitext
Omitted	The AI returned text identical to the current page (no edit suggested)
Error	The request failed (configuration, rate limit, page too large, network error, and so on)
Skipped	Excluded during validation (not sent to the AI)
Cancelled	Batch was cancelled before this page was processed

If some pages fail, use Retry failed pages to re-run only the errors.

Changed pages may show warning banners when the server detects risky proposals (for example a large deletion, near-empty output, or removed section heading). Read these carefully before approving.

Step 5: Review diffs

For each Changed page:

Click Preview diff to compare current and proposed wikitext. Diffs are not loaded automatically — you must open them.
Click Preview article to open the proposed page rendered with the normal wiki skin in a new tab (with an unsaved-preview banner). This also counts as having reviewed the change for approve/save confirmations.
Optionally enter Page-specific instructions to override the batch instructions for that page only.
Click Re-draft to ask the AI again with the updated instructions.

If the proposed text looks wrong, do not approve it. Re-draft with clearer instructions, or skip that page.

Step 6: Approve and save

Check Approve on each change you want to keep (or use Approve all changes).
Confirm the edit summary is filled in.
Click Save approved changes.

The tool may ask you to confirm when:

You approve or save without having previewed a diff or article preview
A page has proposal warnings (major deletion, near-empty text, and so on)

The tool saves pages one by one. If a page was edited by someone else while you were reviewing, that save fails with an edit-conflict message. Re-draft that page and try again.

After each successful save, the results panel shows links to the new revision and page history for that page.

Tips

Start with a small batch (a handful of pages) until you trust the results.
Use Conservative for sensitive or heavily edited articles.
Write specific AI instructions; vague prompts produce inconsistent results.
Provide factual data in instructions when needed — the AI cannot search the web or read other wiki pages.
The AI edits wikitext source, not the visual rendered page. Complex templates and tables need extra care.
Always preview diffs before approving, especially when warning banners appear.
Saved edits can be reverted like any normal edit (revert, undo, rollback).

Frequently asked questions

Does the AI edit pages automatically?

No. Nothing is saved until you approve changes and click save.

Who is credited for saved edits?

The logged-in user who clicks save. The extension does not create a separate bot account unless you configure one and grant it the aibatchedit right.

Where does the AI run?

On an external service configured by the wiki administrator (by default a Grok-compatible API). Page wikitext is sent to that service when you draft or re-draft. Check your organization's policy before using the tool on confidential content.

Can the AI search the web or look up facts (weather, dates, news)?

No. The tool sends only the current page wikitext, your instructions, and (for templates) reference template text from allowed remote wikis. It cannot browse the internet, query weather APIs, or open other pages on your wiki. If you need external facts, include them in your instructions or wikitext.

Why was a page skipped or rejected?

Common reasons:

The page does not exist or is a redirect
You lack permission to edit it
Its wikitext exceeds the configured size limit
The hourly AI request limit was reached
The AI endpoint is not configured on the wiki

What do the warning banners mean?

The server analyzes each AI proposal and may flag:

Major deletion — most of the page text was removed
Near-empty — the proposed text is very short
Large growth — the proposed text is much longer than the original
Section removed — a heading from the original page is missing in the proposal

These are hints, not hard blocks. You can still approve after confirming you understand the risk.

Can I use this on Wikipedia?

This extension is third-party software. Whether it is installed on a given wiki is up to that site's administrators. Extension:AIBatchEditor documents the software; it does not imply Wikimedia production wikis use it.

What tag appears on saved edits?

Edits saved through this tool are tagged AI Batch Editor (aibatcheditor), visible in history and recent changes where change tags are shown.