If you run out of credits for applying alt text in SmartAlt, contact support so we can manually expand your plan and add more credits.

<h2 data-pm-slice="1 3 []" id="isPasted">Overview</h2>If you run out of credits for applying alt text in SmartAlt, you have two options.<ul><li>Wait for your monthly refresh: Credits refresh monthly, so if you are happy to wait, you will get access to more credits when the 1st of the month arrives.</li><li>Contact support for more credits sooner: If you do not want to wait until next month, contact support and the team can manually add more credits for you.</li></ul>Alt text generation will pause once your available credits have been used up. You can continue again after your credits refresh on the 1st of the month or after support manually adds more credits to your plan.<hr>INFOYou do not always need to contact support. If you are happy to wait, your credits refresh automatically each month on the 1st.<hr><h2 id="how-to-contact-support">How to contact support</h2>If you need more credits before the next monthly refresh, contact the SmartAlt support team.Please note: Requesting more credits be added by the VS Labs team will incur an extra cost per credit. A final price will be given for any credits to be added, so you can sign off on it before the team goes ahead with adding the credits!1. Open the SmartAlt Helpdesk -&#xA0;Go to the SmartAlt Helpdesk.2. Open the support widget -&#xA0;Use the Live Chat Support button in the top-right corner of the page. You can also open the support widget directly from the help page.3. Choose live chat or email -&#xA0;Inside the widget, either start a live chat or send an email. Both options are available in the same place.4. Explain that you need more credits -&#xA0;Let support know that you have run out of credits for applying alt text in SmartAlt and would like more credits added manually.<hr>TIPIf you only need to continue next month, you can simply wait for the automatic refresh on the 1st instead of contacting support.<hr><h2 id="where-this-affects-smartalt">Where this affects SmartAlt</h2>You may notice this while using the following areas of SmartAlt:<ul><li>Generate Alt Text: Used when you select images and run alt text generation manually.</li><li>Usage Reports: Used to review previous requests, images processed, and request status.</li></ul><hr>NOTEIf a request cannot continue because you have used all available credits, check whether you want to wait for the next monthly refresh or contact support to add more credits sooner.<hr><h2 id="faq">FAQ</h2>Q. What should I do if I run out of alt text credits?A. If you run out of credits, you can either wait for your credits to refresh automatically on the 1st of the month or contact support if you need more credits before then.<hr>Q. How do I contact support for more credits?A. Open the SmartAlt Helpdesk and click Live Chat Support in the top-right corner. You can also use the support widget on the page to contact the team by live chat or email.<hr>Q. Do I have to contact support every time I run out of credits?A. No. If you are happy to wait, your credits refresh monthly and you will get access to more credits when the 1st of the month arrives. Contact support only if you need more credits sooner.<hr>Q. What should I tell support?A. Tell the team that you have run out of credits for applying alt text in SmartAlt and need more credits added manually so you can continue before the next monthly refresh.

What do I do if I've run out of credits?

SmartAlt’s dashboard has limited filters. Use Shopify’s Products filters to narrow items first, then send the selection to SmartAlt to generate alt text.

<h2 data-pm-slice="1 1 []" id="isPasted">Overview</h2>If you&#x2019;re trying to organize or narrow down products inside the SmartAlt dashboard, you may notice there aren&#x2019;t many filtering options available there. The recommended workaround is to filter products in Shopify first, then send the filtered selection to SmartAlt using Manage with SmartAlt.<hr>INFOWhat this achieves: you can use Shopify&#x2019;s built-in product filtering (such as Status and Categories) to precisely choose which products SmartAlt will process.<hr><h2 id="walkthrough-filter-in-shopify-then-manage-with-smartalt">Walkthrough: filter in Shopify, then manage with SmartAlt</h2>1. Open your Shopify Products list -&#xA0;In your Shopify admin, go to Products. This is where you can view your full catalog, including columns like Status, Inventory, and Category.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-71ee271a-14d9-4f6a-98ed-c16facaed520-frame_001.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">2. Filter by product status -&#xA0;Use the filter bar to narrow the list. Open the Statuses filter and select the statuses you want (for example: Active, Draft, Archived, or Unlisted).<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-25cc015d-a836-4a84-b4ee-e929f77cad53-frame_002.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr>TIPIf you use the same filters regularly, you can save them using Save as on the right side of the filter bar.<hr>3. Filter by category -&#xA0;Open the Categories filter and tick one or more categories to include. Shopify will update the product list to match your selections.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-8236077d-a535-4131-832a-49cf773a2602-frame_003.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">4. Confirm the filtered results -&#xA0;Review the list and make sure it only shows the products you want SmartAlt to manage. You should see your selected filters (for example, Statuses: Active and Categories) applied above the table.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-e85ac819-e192-41ab-9757-22b1a041164f-frame_004.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">5. Select products and choose &quot;Manage with SmartAlt&quot; -&#xA0;Select the products you want to send to SmartAlt (using the checkboxes). Then open the More actions menu (the &#x2026; menu) and, under Apps, choose Manage with SmartAlt.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-7ab1419e-d755-494b-8e37-7aac504244a2-frame_005.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr>NOTEIf you don&#x2019;t see Manage with SmartAlt, confirm SmartAlt is installed and you&#x2019;re selecting at least one product.<hr>6. Confirm and generate alt text -&#xA0;A confirmation modal opens titled Manage with SmartAlt. Review the message and click Generate Alt Text to start generating alt text for the selected products.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-2b601e4a-0424-4143-a224-ea07ef11a2d4-frame_006.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><hr>WARNINGAlt text generation applies to the products you selected in Shopify. Double-check your selection before clicking Generate Alt Text.<hr>7. Review results in SmartAlt -&#xA0;You&#x2019;ll be taken to SmartAlt&#x2019;s Generate Alt Text screen, where you can review generated results in a list (with an image preview and the Current Alt Text). Use the View button on a row to inspect individual items.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-794a12fe-6235-465a-82e1-1e4933b5ecd6-frame_007.jpg" style="width: 698px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h2 id="why-this-is-the-best-workaround">Why this is the best workaround</h2><ul><li>Shopify filtering is more flexible than SmartAlt&#x2019;s dashboard filters for organizing products.</li><li>You stay in control of exactly which products are included by filtering first and then selecting only what you need.</li><li>It&#x2019;s repeatable&#x2014;save filter views in Shopify for recurring SmartAlt runs (for example, specific categories or statuses).</li></ul>Q. What filters can I use before sending products to SmartAlt?A. Use the filters available on Shopify&#x2019;s Products page. In the walkthrough, the selection is narrowed using Statuses and Categories. You can also use other Shopify product filters available in your store&#x2019;s admin (for example, vendor or tag), then send the resulting selection to SmartAlt via Manage with SmartAlt.Q. Does SmartAlt change my product status or category?A. No. The SmartAlt flow shown here is focused on generating image alt text. Your Shopify product organization (status, category, etc.) remains managed in Shopify.

How to edit with SmartAlt directly from the product catalogue

Set up SmartAlt to pull alt text wording from Shopify metafields so different product types can use different approved terms—without manual edits.

<h2 data-pm-slice="1 3 []" id="isPasted">Overview</h2>At this time, SmartAlt doesn&#x2019;t offer a &#x201C;suppress these words only for certain product types&#x201D; setting (for example, hiding specific terms for mugs but keeping them for hats). The recommended workaround is to control what SmartAlt is allowed to use by providing product-type-specific wording in Shopify metafields, then telling SmartAlt to use those metafields via Specific metafields in Settings.<hr>INFOWhat this achieves: instead of trying to block words after SmartAlt generates them, you provide the approved words per product type&#x2014;so SmartAlt uses only what you&#x2019;ve supplied.<hr><h2 id="1-start-from-the-smartalt-dashboard">1) Start from the SmartAlt Dashboard</h2>In your Shopify admin, open Apps &#x2192; SmartAlt - AI Alt Text. The Dashboard gives a quick overview of your image coverage, including cards like Total Images, Images without Alt Text, and Alt Text Coverage.<img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-18f94b15-66f0-4a0a-8db8-4cbb8256fa34-37e7e3e5-28e7-4da0-af02-2d8030150c1c.png" alt="SmartAlt Dashboard showing Total Images, Images without Alt Text, and Alt Text Coverage" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><h2 id="2-turn-on-specific-metafields-in-settings">2) Turn on &#x201C;Specific metafields&#x201D; in Settings</h2>From the SmartAlt left navigation, click Settings. In Alt Text preferences, enable Specific metafields.When enabled, SmartAlt will look for the metafield key(s) you provide and use that content as an input when generating alt text.1. Open SmartAlt Settings -&#xA0;Go to Apps &#x2192; SmartAlt - AI Alt Text &#x2192; Settings.2. Enable Specific Metafields -&#xA0;Scroll to Alt Text preferences and tick Specific metafields.3. Enter your metafield key -&#xA0;In the metafield key field that appears under Specific metafields, enter the key for the metafield you want SmartAlt to use.<hr>NOTEIn the walkthrough, this is where a metafield key is entered after turning on Specific metafields.<hr>4. Save your changes -&#xA0;Click Save at the top of the Settings page. <img src="https://attachments.gorgias.help/1QNmd2YL9kd69XA0/hc/JWjXVxG3bYBxDvMq/2026091608-980808b2-4168-424b-ad95-52f755171087-80679977-6776-433a-91df-48c078c56733.png" alt="SmartAlt Settings showing Alt Text preferences with Specific metafields enabled" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><hr>TIPIf you also use Include vendor name and/or Include product title, keep your metafield wording short and consistent so the final alt text stays within your Alt text character limit.<hr><h2 id="3-create-metafields-for-each-product-type-shopify">3) Create metafields for each product type (Shopify)</h2>Next, create Shopify metafields so you can store the approved words per product type/category. The workflow used in the workaround is:<ul><li>Create one metafield per product category (or product type),</li><li>Put the words you DO want to appear in that metafield,</li><li>Assign it on the product so SmartAlt can read it.</li></ul><hr>NOTEThe exact location of metafield creation in Shopify can vary depending on your admin version, but you&#x2019;ll be creating metafield definitions for Products and then filling those fields on each product.<hr><h3 id="recommended-naming-approach">Recommended naming approach</h3>Use a clear naming pattern so your keys are easy to manage. For example:<ul><li><code>alt_text_words_baseball_caps</code></li><li><code>alt_text_words_mugs</code></li><li><code>alt_text_words_tshirts</code></li></ul><hr>WARNINGSmartAlt uses the metafield key you enter in Settings. If the key is mistyped (or the metafield isn&#x2019;t assigned to the product), SmartAlt can&#x2019;t use it during generation.<hr><h2 id="4-fill-in-the-metafield-values-on-products">4) Fill in the metafield values on products</h2>Open a product in Shopify and set the metafield value for that product&#x2019;s category/type. This is where you place the approved wording you want SmartAlt to use (for example: &#x201C;stainless steel water bottle&#x201D;, &#x201C;navy branded baseball cap&#x201D;, etc.).<hr>TIPKeep the metafield text focused on what matters for accessibility: what the image shows. Avoid keyword stuffing&#x2014;alt text should be descriptive first.<hr><h2 id="5-generate-alt-text-using-smartalt">5) Generate alt text using SmartAlt</h2>Once Specific metafields is enabled and products have metafield values, generate alt text as you normally would:<ul><li>In SmartAlt, go to Generate Alt Text to run generation and review results.</li><li>Or, from Shopify&#x2019;s Products list, select products and use More actions &#x2192; Apps &#x2192; Manage with SmartAlt, then click Generate Alt Text.</li></ul><h2 id="how-this-suppresses-words-in-practice">How this &#x201C;suppresses&#x201D; words in practice</h2>This approach doesn&#x2019;t remove words from existing alt text automatically. Instead, it prevents unwanted words from being introduced by making the alt text input product-type specific:<ul><li>If a product type should not mention a certain term, simply don&#x2019;t include it in that product type&#x2019;s metafield value.</li><li>If another product type should include it, include it only in that metafield value.</li></ul>Q. What if I want multiple categories to share the same wording?A. You can reuse the same metafield key/value strategy across products. If you don&#x2019;t need different wording per category, use a single metafield definition and populate it consistently across all relevant products.<hr>Q. What if SmartAlt shows &#x201C;No metafield definitions found&#x201D; after enabling Specific metafields?A. This usually means Shopify doesn&#x2019;t yet have a product metafield definition available (or it hasn&#x2019;t been created/assigned in a way SmartAlt can detect). Create the product metafield definition in Shopify first, then return to SmartAlt Settings and try again.<hr>Q. Will this change alt text for collections or other media types?A. The workaround described here is focused on controlling wording for product images by storing approved text on the product via metafields, then letting SmartAlt use it during generation.

FAQs

What do I do if I've run out of credits?

How to edit with SmartAlt directly from the product catalogue

How to control alt text with Metafields