Sanity AI Assist not working despite troubleshooting and updates

I understand how frustrating it is when AI Assist stops working suddenly! Since you've already tried the basics (upgrading packages, checking for exceptions), let me walk you through some additional troubleshooting steps specific to AI Assist.

Enable Debug Logs

The first thing to try is enabling detailed debug logs for Sanity packages. In your browser console while in Studio, run:

localStorage.debug = '@sanity/*'

Then refresh the page. This will show detailed logs from all Sanity packages including @sanity/assist. You can narrow it down to just AI Assist with:

localStorage.debug = '@sanity/assist*'

This should reveal what's happening under the hood when you try to run instructions - whether requests are being made, if they're failing, and any error details that aren't surfacing in the UI.

Check API Request IDs in Network Tab

When AI Assist makes requests, they include an x-sanity-request-id header. Open your browser's Network tab (filter by XHR/Fetch), then try running your simple instruction again. Look for any failed requests to Sanity's API. If you see failed requests:

• Note the request ID from the headers
• Check the response details - this can reveal API errors that aren't surfacing in the UI
• Look for 4xx or 5xx status codes

Verify Plan Requirements

AI Assist requires a Growth plan or higher according to the AI Assist documentation. If your plan recently changed, expired, or if there's a billing issue, that could explain why it suddenly stopped working this morning. Double-check your project settings to confirm your plan status.

Check Sanity Status

Since this started this morning and is affecting multiple content types, there could be a platform issue. Check status.sanity.io to see if there are any reported outages or degraded performance for AI services.

Studio Configuration Check

Verify that AI Assist is properly configured in your sanity.config.ts:

import {assist} from '@sanity/assist'

export default defineConfig({
  // ... other config
  plugins: [
    assist(),
    // ... other plugins
  ]
})

If you have any custom configuration options under options.aiAssist for specific fields or document types, temporarily remove those to see if they're causing conflicts.

Field-Level Issues

Since you mentioned trying "many different content types," check if:

• The fields you're targeting are conditionally hidden or read-only
• The field types are supported (AI Assist works with text, arrays, references, and image fields)
• There are any custom input components that might interfere with AI Assist's integration

Version Compatibility

You mentioned upgrading everything, but for reference, ensure you're on:

• sanity CLI v3.88.0 or higher (ideally @latest)
• @sanity/assist latest version
• Node.js 20+ (required for Studio v4)

What to Share with Support

If none of the above helps, when reaching out to Sanity support, include:

• The debug logs from localStorage (copy from console)
• Any x-sanity-request-id values from failed requests in Network tab
• Your current plan level
• Whether this affects all content types or just specific ones
• The exact version numbers of sanity and @sanity/assist you're running

The fact that it "works on some things" but not others is interesting - the debug logs should reveal whether the issue is with specific field types, request failures, or configuration problems. Start with the debug logs and Network tab inspection, as those will give you the most immediate insight into what's failing.