Practical overview
When it fits
Use it when building or maintaining a Payload CMS project and you want AI actions embedded in its content fields, rather than a separate writing tool.
Who it is for
- Developers extending a Payload CMS installation with AI-assisted editorial actions.
- Teams that want configurable text, translation, image or voice generation within CMS authoring workflows.
Documented uses
- Compose text in Payload text or rich-text fields.
- Translate field content for multilingual workflows.
- Generate images or voice outputs through configured providers.
- Customize AI instructions per field and restrict generation through Payload access controls.
Requirements & limits
- Provider credentials are supplied by the project through environment variables or plugin configuration.
- The README identifies OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, MiniMax and ElevenLabs as supported provider keys.
- Generation requires authentication and the
access.generatepermission; document, collection and field permissions also apply. - Reference images and extracted prompt attachments require an explicit server-side
resolveReferenceImagecallback. - The repository describes the plugin as actively evolving and reports testing with Payload v3.88.0.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Set up AI actions in a Payload rich-text field
Install the plugin, enable its Lexical editor feature and provide credentials for the AI providers you plan to use.
Before you start
- A Payload CMS project with a collection and rich-text field.
- pnpm and API credentials for the provider capabilities you want to enable.
Steps
Install the package with
pnpm add @ai-stack/payloadcms.Import
payloadAiPluginand add it to the plugins array insrc/payload.config.ts, enabling the target collection.Import
PayloadAiPluginLexicalEditorFeatureand add it to the rich-text field's Lexical editor features.Set the relevant provider credentials in environment variables or pass them through plugin configuration, then restart the server.
Expected outcome
The configured rich-text field has the plugin's AI feature available within the Payload CMS project.
Guide limitations
- Generation requires authentication and
access.generatepermission. - Only credentials for intended provider capabilities are needed; available actions depend on provider configuration.
- The README labels proofreading and rephrasing as beta features.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 23 October 2026
- Original website title
- ashbuilds/payload-ai · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

