Jeffrey Paul 11:09 pm on 12 March 2026
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What’s new in AI Experiments 0.5.0 (12 MAR 2026)?

AI Experiments 0.5.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI Experiments…” posts (labeled with the #aiex-release tag) are posted following every AI Experiments release, showcasing new features included in each release.

What’s New In
AI Experiments 0.5.0?

We’re pleased to announce the release of AI Experiments v0.5.0, the latest update to the canonical pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. powering experimental AI-powered features in WordPress. This release focuses on preparing the plugin for the upcoming WordPress 7.0 release, simplifying dependencies and aligning the plugin with the AI functionality now landing in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. with the Connectors screen.

What’s new in 0.5.0?

Aligning with WordPress 7.0

One of the major goals of this release is aligning the plugin with WordPress 7.0’s built-in AI capabilities, specifically the shift of the WP AI Client from a standalone, canonical Composer package to bundled in WordPress core.

In previous versions, the AI Experiments pluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment. included its own dependencies for AI client functionality. With 0.5.0, those dependencies have been removed and the plugin now relies on WordPress core’s AI infrastructure instead. This helps ensure the experiments remain compatible with the direction of AI development in core and reduces duplication between the plugin and WordPress itself.

As part of this shift, the plugin now sets WordPress 7.0 as its minimum supported version, reflecting the move toward using the AI features provided directly by WordPress which are only available from WordPress 7.0 onward. If you’re using the plugin with WordPress 6.9, then you’ll need to wait for the release of WordPress 7.0 on April 9th to upgrade the plugin (or alternatively can upgrade to a betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process./RCRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. version of WordPress 7.0 to continue testing).

Improved Connector Integration

The plugin has also been updated to better align with the connector-based architecture used in WordPress for connecting AI providers.

Credentials previously stored through the plugin’s AI Credentials screen are now migrated to the Connectors screen, ensuring compatibility with the broader ecosystem of AI provider plugins and the connector APIs in core.

This change makes it easier for experiments to interact with whichever AI providers a site has configured, while keeping providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). management centralized in WordPress.

What’s next in 0.6.0?

Work is already underway on several features and refinements planned for v0.6.0, including:

Several early prototype experiments are also being explored, including type-ahead suggestions, content moderation assistance, extended provider support, AI request logging, and tools like the AI Playground and deeper MCP integration. These concepts are still exploratory, but they help test how AI could support real workflows across WordPress. We encourage users and developers to review and test these ideas and share feedback so the most valuable experiments can mature and land in upcoming releases like 0.6.0.

Thanks to contributors!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this release, including:

@dkotter, @jeffpaul, @isotropic, @flixos90, @juanfra, and others involved in review, testing, and 83 commits between 0.4.0 and 0.5.0.

Your help and feedback are what make these experiments possible.

Get involved

As always, we welcome feedback, testing, and contributions from the community. Whether you are interested in editor UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it., APIs, accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility), performance, or AI ethics and policy, there are many ways to participate.

You can explore the v0.5.0 release today, review open issues and pull requests, and help shape what comes next.

Props to @justlevine for reviewing this post.

#ai-experiments, #aiex-release, #canonical-plugins, #core-ai

neillmcshea 11:16 pm on 11 March 2026
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AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 11 March 2026

This week’s AI contributor meeting focused on final preparations for WordPress 7.0, specifically addressing critical compatibility issues between the AI Experiments pluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment. and coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. The group also discussed a potential rebrand of the experiments pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party., the introduction of “Capital F” features, and initial coordination for the upcoming WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.

AI Experiments Plugin & Rebranding

@jeffpaul shared major updates regarding the roadmap for the experiments plugin as it transitions toward the WordPress 7.0 release.

  • Version 0.5 and 0.6: The upcoming 0.5 release will shift the plugin to leverage the AI client now bundled in WordPress core, raising the minimum supported version to 7.0. This allows the team to remove technical debt by dropping support for 6.9.
  • “Capital F” Features: Following feedback from Matt, the team is identifying “Features” (stable) versus “Experiments” (testing). Image Editing is slated to be the first official “Feature” elevated within the plugin.
  • Rebranding Discussion: With the mix of stable features and experiments, the name “AI Experiments” may no longer fit. Early suggestions include WordPress AI, AI, or AI Labs.
  • Visual Assets: Discussions are ongoing regarding whether the plugin’s callout on the Connectors page should align with the WordPress 7.0 “About” page design treatment to create a fluid user onboarding experience.

WordPress 7.0 Compatibility & Critical Fixes

A significant portion of the meeting addressed a “fatal error” risk for users testing WordPress 7.0 with the current version of the AI Experiments plugin.

  • Fatal Error Alert: @jorgefilipecosta noted that the current plugin release crashes on WordPress 7.0 due to conflicts with the now-core AI Client.
  • Immediate Patching: @darinkotter confirmed the fix is already in develop. The team is working to push version 0.5 immediately to ensure that when the “Try AI” call-out appears in the next WordPress BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process., users land on a functional experience.
  • AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility): Several accessibility issues in GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ related to AI features were identified. @jorgefilipecosta and @raftaar1191 are coordinating to ensure these are patched before the RC1 milestone.

Technical Updates: Core & MCP

  • Kill Switch (Trac 64706): @davidlevine presented a PR for a single switch to disable all LLM-related features in core, providing site owners with high-level control over AI functionality.
  • APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. Key Masking (Trac 64819): Progress continues on validating and masking API keys. While merged in Gutenberg, work remains to ensure it is properly backported to core.
  • MCP AdapterMCP Adapter Translates WordPress abilities into Model Context Protocol format, allowing AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to discover and invoke WordPress capabilities as tools, resources, and prompts.: @neillmcshea reported that the 0.5.0 release of the MCP (Model Context Protocol) adapter is currently in testing and awaiting final feedback.

WordCamp Asia Contributor Day

The team began surfacing needs for the AI table at WordCamp Asia.

  • Onboarding Materials: @raftaar1191 suggested a video overview or a “TL;DR” of the AI team’s progress over the last six months to help new contributors get up to speed.
  • Task Identification: @jeffpaul will work on identifying “Good First Issues” across the PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php AI Client, WordPress Core, and the Experiments plugin to give new attendees clear entry points.
  • Pre-event Communication: The team discussed drafting a Make post or email for registered attendees to provide pre-contributor day “homework” or context.

Next Steps

  • Release AI Experiments 0.5: @jeffpaul and @darinkotter to tag and release the compatibility fix to prevent fatal errors on WP 7.0.
  • Feature Graduation Docs: @jeffpaul to draft a PR outlining the conceptual requirements for an experiment to graduate to a “Feature.”
  • Accessibility Patches: Review and merge accessibility fixes for the connectors interface.
  • WordCamp Asia Planning: @raftaar1191 to draft a welcome message/resource list for Contributor Day.

Upcoming Meetings

  • AI Team Chat (SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/): Thursday, 19 March 2026 at 17:00 UTC.
  • AI Contributor Meeting (Video): Wednesday, 18 March 2026 at 17:00 UTC.

Props to @jeffpaul for pre-publish review.

#core-ai, #meeting

Jeffrey Paul 11:02 pm on 6 March 2026
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What’s new in AI Experiments 0.4.0 (5 MAR 2026)?

AI Experiments 0.4.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI Experiments…” posts (labeled with the #aiex-release tag) are posted following every AI Experiments release, showcasing new features included in each release.

What’s New In
AI Experiments 0.4.0?

We’re pleased to announce the release of AI Experiments v0.4.0, the latest update to the canonical pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. powering experimental AI-powered features in WordPress. This release introduces new editor and admin capabilities focused on content refinement and media generation, while continuing to improve the developer experience and overall UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. polish.

What’s new in 0.4.0?

Generate Images in the Editor

Version 0.4.0 introduces a new Generate Image workflow, allowing authors to create images from prompts directly within the editor. The new modal provides a streamlined creative flow where users can:

  • Generate an image from a prompt
  • Edit the prompt and try again
  • Generate alternative variations
  • Insert the selected image directly into the blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.

This reduces the friction of sourcing or creating visuals and allows authors to stay focused within the writing experience.

Generate Images in the Media Library

Version 0.4.0 also introduces Generate Image support within the Media Library, enabling prompt-based image creation with the WordPress admin and outside the post editor. Using the new Generate Image modal, users can create images from a text prompt and immediately insert them into their site’s media collection. The workflow allows authors to:

  • Generate an image from a prompt
  • Generate additional variations
  • Save the selected image directly to the Media Library

This makes it easier to create visual assets without leaving WordPress, while keeping generated images available for reuse across posts and pages.

Generate Review Notes

A new Generate Review Notes experiment brings AI-assisted editorial review into the block editor. Authors and editors can ask AI to analyze content and generate Notes-based suggestions for improvements. These suggestions appear directly in the editor and may include:

  • AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) improvements (e.g., missing alt text)
  • Readability suggestions
  • Grammar and spelling corrections
  • SEO improvements
  • and in the future alignment with a site’s Content Guidelines

Review Notes can be generated for an entire post or individual blocks, making it easier to refine content iteratively during the editorial process.

UI and Editor Improvements

This release also includes improvements and polish across several areas of the plugin, including refinements to the image generation workflow, editor integration, Abilities Explorer, and internal APIs used by the experiments.

What’s next in 0.5.0?

Work is already underway on several features and refinements planned for v0.5.0, including:

  • Updating the WP AI Client to utilize what’s available in WordPress 7.0
  • Onboarding flows as necessary in support of the “Try AI” callout in WordPress 7.0
  • Refining Experiments to potentially elevated to Feature within the plugin, while renaming the plugin from AI Experiments to WordPress AI
  • Image Editing experiment to erase and replace, expand canvas and fill, and background removal
  • Contextual Tagging experiment that suggests post tags and categories based on post content, title, and excerptExcerpt An excerpt is the description of the blog post or page that will by default show on the blog archive page, in search results (SERPs), and on social media. With an SEO plugin, the excerpt may also be in that plugin’s metabox., helping authors apply consistent, relevant taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. directly in the editor.
  • Refine from Notes experiment to update post content based on editorial feedback

Several early prototype experiments are also being explored, including type-ahead suggestions, content moderation assistance, extended providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). support, AI request logging, and tools like the AI Playground and deeper MCP integration. These concepts are still exploratory, but they help test how AI could support real workflows across WordPress. We encourage users and developers to review and test these ideas and share feedback so the most valuable experiments can mature and land in upcoming releases like 0.5.0.

Thanks to contributors!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this release, including:

@dkotter, @jeffpaul, @justlevine, @karmatosed, @kurtrank, @linawiezkowiak, @rachaelcortellessa, @n1schay, @fabiankaegy, @sapayth, @ryujiyasu, @juanfra, @gziolo, and others involved in review, testing, and 167 commits between 0.3.0 and 0.4.0.

Your help and feedback are what make these experiments possible.

Get involved

As always, we welcome feedback, testing, and contributions from the community. Whether you are interested in editor UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it., APIs, accessibility, performance, or AI ethics and policy, there are many ways to participate.

You can explore the v0.4.0 release today, review open issues and pull requests, and help shape what comes next.

Props to @isotropic, @nilambar, @n1schay for reviewing this post.

#ai-experiments, #aiex-release, #canonical-plugins, #core-ai

Jeffrey Paul 12:13 am on 6 March 2026
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AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 4 March 2026

This week’s AI contributor meeting focused on progress toward WordPress 7.0 BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 3, updates across the AI Experiments pluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment., the WordPress AI Client ecosystem, and next steps for the MCP adapterMCP Adapter Translates WordPress abilities into Model Context Protocol format, allowing AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to discover and invoke WordPress capabilities as tools, resources, and prompts. project. Contributors also discussed upcoming testing needs around the connectors interface and early feedback on “Try AI” onboarding flows.

WordPress 7.0 Timeline

WordPress 7.0 Beta 3 is scheduled for release tomorrow. Contributors noted that the upcoming beta milestone continues to shape priorities across several AI-related efforts, particularly testing and stabilization work tied to the AI Client ecosystem and related plugins.

AI Experiments Plugin

@jeffpaul shared updates on the AI Experiments plugin roadmap:

  • Version 0.4.0 is nearing release, with only a couple of remaining PRs left to finalize. The goal is to publish the release tomorrow.
  • Version 0.5.0 planning has begun and will focus on aligning the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. with the WordPress AI Client version in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress..
  • Planned changes for the next milestone include dropping WordPress 6.9 support, introducing an image editing feature, and adding onboarding flows that guide users toward AI connectors and features after installing or upgrading to WordPress 7.0.

These changes aim to help the plugin evolve from experimentation toward practical demonstrations of AI functionality built on the core client architecture.

PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php AI Client and ProviderProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). Plugins

@flixos90 shared updates on the broader AI Client ecosystem.

  • Three official provider plugins are now available on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ to enable connections to supported AI providers (Anthropic, Google, OpenAI).
  • Work is underway to introduce additional providers beyond the initial set.
  • A new provider plugin for Ollama is being prepared for submission to WordPress.org, providing a local-model alternative to the current hosted providers and enabling additional testing scenarios in the Connectors interface.

The goal is to keep WordPress core provider-agnosticProvider-Agnostic Software design that works with multiple service providers without being tied to one. Recommended for WordPress AI integrations. while allowing provider support to evolve independently through plugins.

MCP Adapter Progress

@neel33 provided an update on the MCP adapter project. The current focus is restarting progress toward the next milestone by:

  1. Completing the outstanding pull requests needed for version 0.5.0
  2. Merging the 0.5.0 milestone into the trunk of the adapter repository
  3. Conducting a dedicated testing phase
  4. Continuing with remaining feature and integration work

Contributors were encouraged to review the open MCP PRs to help move the milestone forward.

Documentation and Community Coordination

Two additional coordination topics were raised during the meeting:

These efforts aim to broaden participation and make AI-related contribution areas easier for new contributors to engage with.

Next Steps

  • Finalize and release AI Experiments 0.4.0.
  • Continue development toward AI Experiments 0.5.0, including onboarding and image editing features.
  • Advance MCP adapter work toward the 0.5.0 milestone through additional reviews and testing.
  • Continue expanding AI provider plugin support on WordPress.org.
  • Gather feedback on connectors testing and the “Try AI” onboarding experience.

Upcoming meetings

Folks are welcome to join on Wednesday’s at 1700 UTC via Google Meet with in-meeting notes captured in a Slack Canvas and then paired with Gemini meeting notes to help generate this meeting summary post. All team meetings are published to https://make.wordpress.org/meetings/#ai.

  • The next bi-weekly AI Team Office Hours SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ discussion is scheduled for 5 March 2026.
  • The next weekly AI Contributor weekly Google Meet video call is scheduled for 11 March 2026.

Props to @neel33 for pre-publish review.

#core-ai, #summary

neillmcshea 3:35 pm on 2 March 2026
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AI Contributor Weekly Summary: 25 February 2026

The AI Contributor Group met on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 23:00 UTC. The meeting focused on the upcoming WordPress 7.0 BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 2 release, the development of the new Connector screen, and initial planning for WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia’s Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.

🚀 WordPress 7.0 & CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. AI Updates

Beta 2 and Abilities APIAbilities API A core WordPress API (introduced in 6.9) that creates a central registry of capabilities, making WordPress functions discoverable and accessible to AI agents, automation tools, and developers. Transforms WordPress from isolated functions into a unified system.

Beta 2 is on track for Feb 26th . The team discussed the status of several core tracks:

  • Nested Namespaces: These are now officially in Beta, resolving previous concerns about track thread inactivity.
  • Abilities on Hold: Work on new core abilities is currently paused as the team shifts focus toward the Connector screen and the AI client to meet RCRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. (Release CandidateRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge.) deadlines.
  • Timeline: While most priority items are on track for 7.0, deeper exploration of abilityAbility A registered, self-documenting unit of WordPress functionality that can be discovered and invoked through multiple contexts (REST API, Command Palette, MCP). Includes authorization and input/output specifications. shapes will likely resume after the current release cycle stabilizes.

The New Connector Screen

@jorgecosta provided a status update on the new UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. requested to simplify AI providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). connections:

  • Scope: The goal is a simplified interface to install and connect the three main providers (Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic/Claude) with a single button and an APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. key.
  • Experimental API: There is ongoing debate regarding how extensibleExtensible This is the ability to add additional functionality to the code. Plugins extend the WordPress core software. this screen should be. For Beta 2, the screen will likely include an experimental API allowing third-party providers to register their own connectors, preventing a fragmented settings experience across the ecosystem.
  • Review: The development is moving quickly in the Gutenberg repository. Contributors are encouraged to test against the latest trunk to ensure no fatal errors occur during provider instantiation.

🧪 AI Experiments PluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment. & Client

@dkotter raised concerns regarding the “double testing” currently required because the Experiments pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. often pulls in older versions of the AI client compared to what is now in Core.

  • Dependency Management: A new PR is up to update the Experiments plugin to the latest WordPress AI client. This serves as a “stop-gap” to maintain compatibility for users on WordPress 6.9 while preparing for 7.0 to become the new minimum version.
  • Image Editing: Current providers in the Experiments plugin do not yet support image editing. Upstream changes to the PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php AI client will be required to enable this “impressive feature” target.
  • Backwards Compatibility: @jasonadams confirmed he is working on a core prompt function update to the AI client to ensure a graceful rollover to 7.0 without breaking existing third-party implementations.

🔗 Model Context Protocol (MCP) Update

  • Progress: @neillmcshea noted that movement on MCP has been slow over the last three weeks due to contributor availability.
  • Milestones: Questions remain regarding the milestones for version 0.5.0. The team will continue to push for clarity on these open requests to ensure MCP remains a priority for upcoming sprints.

🌏 WordCamp Asia Contributor Day

The team began discussing logistics for the AI table at WordCamp Asia (April 9, 2026).

  • Task Identification: The group agreed that the priority should be defining actionable tasks (testing, handbook updates, and adapter development) rather than just badge distribution. @neillmcshea will create an async doc that we can use to begin planning for WC Asia
  • Handbook Updates: An action item was set to create a “Contributor Day” section in the handbook to empower new contributors to get started without high-touch onboarding.
  • Remote Support: @justlevine will provide remote comms support from SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ to assist @deepakgupta and others physically present at the table.

📚 Documentation & Knowledge Sharing

  • Glossary & Lexicon: A proposal is under review to standardize AI terminology within the WordPress ecosystem.
  • Knowledge Base: The team is moving toward a regular “call for experiments” to encourage community members to share what they are building with the new Core primitives.

👥 Team Logistics & Availability

  • Contributor Time: @justlevine announced that starting March 1st, his sponsored contribution time will double from 5 to 10 hours per week.
  • Absences: @jasonadams will be largely unavailable during March due to travel and speaking engagements. @jorgecosta and @gziolo will be the primary points of contact for technical reviews during this period.

📅 Next Steps

Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 23:00 UTC in the #core-ai Slack channel.

#check-in, #meeting, #summary

neillmcshea 9:09 pm on 18 February 2026
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AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 18 February 2026

The AI Contributor group met on February 18, 2026, to discuss the upcoming WordPress 7.0 release, the evolution of the AI Client, and architectural decisions regarding Abilities.

WordPress 7.0 and the AI Client

The meeting opened with a heavy focus on the uncertainty surrounding the inclusion of the AI Client in WordPress 7.0. @isotropic shared insights from a recent conversation with @matt, noting a shift in focus toward how credentials and APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. keys are managed globally in WordPress, rather than just for AI.

  • Credential Management: There is interest from leadership in a unified “Connectors” screen in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. for various services (AI, Google Maps, etc.).
  • Release Timing: With the BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 deadline looming, the team expressed concern that there is insufficient time to implement a complex credential system. If clarity isn’t reached immediately, the AI Client may be pushed to 7.1 or remain a canonical pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. for the time being.
  • Developer Impact: The team discussed the friction of making the AI Client a plugin dependency versus a core feature, noting that core inclusion is vital for widespread developer adoption and a seamless “under-the-hood” experience.

Abilities: Deciding on Nested Namespaces

A significant portion of the technical discussion centered on how Abilities (aka, tools that AI can call) should be named and registered (see #64596).

  • The Decision: The team reached a consensus to support nested namespaces (e.g., core/settings/get or core/post-type/update).
  • Rationale: @justlevine and @jorgefilipecosta argued that nesting is an existing WordPress pattern (similar to REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/) and allows for better progressive disclosure and organization as the number of available abilities grows into the hundreds or thousands.
  • Path Forward: Existing single-level abilities (like get_settings) may be reverted or updated to follow the new nested convention to maintain consistency.

Experiments and MCP Updates

  • AI Experiments PluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment.: Version 0.3.1 was released today with a fix for image generation. Plans for 0.4.0 are underway, though some features (like DataViews) are on hold until the core AI Client direction is finalized.
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP): @neillmcshea will be diving back into MCP support next week to coordinate with ongoing PRs from the community.

Evolution of Bi-Weekly AI Team Chat (aka SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ Meeting)

The nature of the bi-weekly Thursday Slack meetings is shifting toward a more community-centric, interactive format. Moving away from rigid agendas, these sessions will now serve as an “Office Hours” and “Show-and-Tell” space.

The goal is to foster a dynamic environment where:

  • Community Experiments: Developers can highlight local experiments, like the recently mentioned “Abilities Scout” or MCP integrations, to get immediate feedback.
  • Visual Demos: Contributors are encouraged to share videos or screenshots of AI implementations that might otherwise stay hidden on X (formerly Twitter) or private repositories.
  • Low-Barrier Entry: By removing the formal meeting structure, the group aims to make it easier for new contributors to join the conversation, ask questions, and understand the “building blocks” of the project in real-time.

Upcoming Events: WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia and Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/

The team is preparing for WordCamp Asia in March.

  • @raftaar1191 (in-person) and @justlevine (virtually) will lead AI table efforts.
  • The group aims to overhaul the AI Contributor Handbook by the end of March to provide a lower barrier to entry for new contributors.

Next Steps

  • Community Discussion: All contributors are encouraged to share their thoughts on the Merge Proposal for the AI Client to ensure diverse voices are heard by leadership.
  • Bi-Weekly Slack Meeting: Tomorrow’s Slack chat will pivot toward an “Office Hours” format, focusing on community show-and-tell and engagement rather than a formal agenda.
  • Handbook Audit: Volunteers are needed to review and update specific sections of the AI handbook.

Upcoming meetings

Folks are welcome to join on Wednesday’s at 1700 UTC via Google Meet with in-meeting notes captured in a Slack Canvas and then paired with Gemini meeting notes to help generate this meeting summary post. All team meetings are published to https://make.wordpress.org/meetings/#ai.

  • The next bi-weekly AI Team Slack discussion is scheduled for 19 February 2026.
  • The next weekly AI Contributor weekly Google Meet video call is scheduled for 25 February 2026.

Props to @jeffpaul for pre-publish review.

#check-in, #core-ai, #meeting, #summary

Jeffrey Paul 3:57 pm on 12 February 2026
Tags: ,   

AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 11 February 2026

This week’s AI contributor meeting centered on the proposed WP AI Client inclusion for WordPress 7.0, with significant discussion around review velocity, third-party dependencies, and how to build broader confidence within coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. The group also reviewed Abilities progress, discussed a naming question around namespaces, and touched on AI literacy and knowledge sharing across the project.

WP AI Client and WordPress 7.0

A large portion of the meeting focused on feedback from recent core discussions regarding the WP AI Client merge proposal.

Key themes included:

  • Code review and confidence building: Contributors emphasized the need for broad, visible code review to ensure the proposal reflects consensus beyond the immediate AI working group. Building public confidence in maturity and technical rigor was seen as essential.
  • Third-party dependencies: Questions raised in devchat centered on precedent for bundling third-party dependencies in core. Updates to reduce footprint and address CI/CD concerns have already been made, but deeper review of implementation details is still needed.
  • Core vs. pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. debate: Some concerns raised suggested that rapid iteration could continue through a canonical plugin dependency rather than core inclusion. In response, contributors discussed the practical benefits of core inclusion, including accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility), clearer defaults for users, and avoiding long-term maintenance stacks.
  • Timeline pressure: With WordPress 7.0 Beta 1 approaching (Thursday, February 19th), several contributors noted the short review window. While there has not yet been outright rejection of core inclusion, observers are still evaluating the proposal, and more discussion is expected.

Contributors were encouraged to:

  • Test the PR using one of the providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). plugins (Anthropic, Google, OpenAI).
  • Leave concrete, experience-based feedback directly on the PR.
  • Help surface real-world use cases to demonstrate stability and utility.

@jason_the_adams will meet with the 7.0 Release LeadRelease Lead The community member ultimately responsible for the Release., @matveb, to better understand expectations and next steps, and will report back so the team can adjust accordingly.

Abilities Update

@jorgefilipecosta provided an update on Abilities work targeting 7.0:

  • The get settings abilityAbility A registered, self-documenting unit of WordPress functionality that can be discovered and invoked through multiple contexts (REST API, Command Palette, MCP). Includes authorization and input/output specifications. has been merged (though naming may change depending on namespace decisions).
  • The update settings ability is in progress and represents the first write-capable ability, marking a significant milestone.
  • The more complex post ability is still under development. Given its scope and the introduction of new query capabilities beyond what the REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/ currently exposes, contributors agreed it is likely a 7.1 target rather than 7.0.

Ability Namespaces Discussion

A request was raised to revert the current nested namespace approach (e.g., core/settings/get). The discussion centered on:

  • WordPress precedent, which generally avoids nested namespace structures.
  • Discoverability for LLMs and agent-based usage, where nested naming may provide clearer contextual signals.
  • The importance of getting naming right early, as it affects all future abilities.

No final decision was made, but contributors agreed further discussion is needed before renaming existing merged abilities.

AI Experiments PluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment.

@jeffpaul shared a brief update:

  • AI Experiments 0.3.0 has been released, along with an announcement and a Call for Testing post.
  • Development toward 0.4.0 is purposely slowed until after the 7.0 BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 process.
  • Contributors are encouraged to review the Call for Testing post and provide community feedback before roadmap features are pulled into active milestones.

AI Literacy and Shared Practices

The group discussed a broader challenge: how to improve AI literacy across contributors and leadership as the landscape evolves rapidly.

Suggestions included:

  • Blogging experiments and learnings publicly to create durable knowledge.
  • Contributing to a shared handbook or lexicon on Make sites.
  • Adding a lightweight “Show and Tell” section to weekly meetings to share experiments, confusing articles, or lessons learned.
  • Avoiding absolute language when discussing AI capabilities, given the pace of change.

@neel33 volunteered to explore existing handbook structures to identify where shared AI practices could live.

WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Asia Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/

@isotropic will arrive after Contributor Day, so the team requested volunteers to lead the AI table.

@raftaar1191 volunteered to help lead the AI table at WordCamp Asia Contributor Day. Additional volunteers are welcome and encouraged.

Next steps

  • Broader testing and review of the WP AI Client PR to support core discussion ahead of 7.0.
  • Continued discussion on ability naming conventions.
  • Progressing update settings toward merge for 7.0 consideration.
  • Publishing and amplifying learnings through Make posts and handbook contributions.
  • Preparing materials and coordination for the WordCamp Asia AI table.

Upcoming meetings

Folks are welcome to join on Wednesday’s at 1700 UTC via Google Meet with in-meeting notes captured in a Slack Canvas and then paired with Gemini meeting notes to help generate this meeting summary post. All team meetings are published to https://make.wordpress.org/meetings/#ai.

  • The next bi-weekly AI Team Chat SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ discussion is scheduled for 19 February 2026.
  • The next weekly AI Contributor weekly Google Meet video call is scheduled for 18 February 2026.

Props to @jason_the_adams for pre-publish review.

#core-ai, #summary

Jeffrey Paul 5:48 pm on 9 February 2026
Tags: , , ,   

What’s new in AI Experiments 0.3.0 (9 FEB 2026)?

AI Experiments 0.3.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI Experiments…” posts (labeled with the #aiex-release tag) are posted following every AI Experiments release, showcasing new features included in each release.

We’re pleased to announce the release of AI Experiments v0.3.0, the latest update to the canonical pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. powering experimental AI-powered features in WordPress. This release introduces new experiments with real editor UIs, refines settings behavior, and improves documentation and tooling to support both users and developers.

What’s new in 0.3.0?

Content Summarization Experiment

The Content Summarization experiment introduces an editor-integrated way to generate concise summaries of longer posts. Authors can generate a summary directly in the editor and display it via an AI Summary blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience., making it available for use in themes, feeds, and future editorial workflows. This experiment helps explore how AI can assist with content review and clarity without replacing the author’s voice. It also lays groundwork for future features like editorial notes, content quality checks, and automated summaries for distribution channels.

Featured ImageFeatured image A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. Generation Experiment

The Featured Image Generation experiment allows authors to generate featured images directly from the post editor sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme.. Images are created based on prompts derived from post content, with alt text generation (if that experiment is enabled) and clear AI attribution metadata. This experiment explores how AI can assist with visual content creation for sites that may not have dedicated design resources. It also helps test end-to-end workflows that combine multiple abilities, including prompt generation, image generation, and media handling.

Alt Text Generation Experiment

The Alt Text Generation experiment focuses on improving accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) by helping authors generate descriptive alt text for images. AI-generated descriptions are available directly in the Image block and Media Library, making it easier to add meaningful alt text as part of normal editing workflows notably in a human-requested manner and not automated by default. This experiment explores how AI can reduce friction around accessibility best practices while keeping authors in control of final content. It also helps validate how image-related abilities can be reused across multiple features and contexts in WordPress.

Developer-facing improvements

For developers, v0.3.0 improves how the plugin handles missing or invalid asset files, reducing warnings and improving reliability in both the admin and editor. The Abilities Explorer also received missing strict typing for better type safety and consistency.

Quality-of-life and tooling updates

v0.3.0 includes direct action links on the Installed Plugins screen for “Experiments” and “Credentials,” so you can get where you need to go faster. The global “Enable Experiments” checkbox has been replaced with a button that submits automatically, reducing steps when turning experiments on or off.

What’s next in 0.4.0?

Work is already underway on several features and refinements planned for v0.4.0, including:

  • Additional work on image generation to go beyond the new feature image generation and support image generation elsewhere within the post editor and Media Library
  • Contextual Tagging experiment that suggests post tags and categories based on post content, title, and excerptExcerpt An excerpt is the description of the blog post or page that will by default show on the blog archive page, in search results (SERPs), and on social media. With an SEO plugin, the excerpt may also be in that plugin’s metabox., helping authors apply consistent, relevant taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. directly in the editor.
  • A refactor of the Abilities Explorer to TypeScript, leveraging DataViews and DataForms for a more consistent, scalable, and modern WordPress UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing.
  • A refactor of the Settings experience to similarly adopt @wordpress/build tooling and DataForms, aligning it more closely with modern WordPress admin patterns

Several early prototype experiments are also being explored, including type-ahead suggestions, content moderation assistance, Markdown feed workflows, extended providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). support, AI request logging, and tools like the AI Playground and deeper MCP integration. These concepts are still exploratory, but they help test how AI could support real workflows across WordPress. We encourage users and developers to review and test these ideas and share feedback so the most valuable experiments can mature and land in upcoming releases like 0.4.0.

Thanks to contributors!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this release, including:

@dkotter, @jeffpaul, @juanfra, @tinfl, @flixos90, @theaminuldev, @huzaifaalmesbah, @omcodes23, @pbearne, @lwoodmansee, @rachaelcortellessa, @isotropic, @thisisandrewpalmer, @karmatosed, @joedolson, @andreizanik, @linawiezkowiak, @prabinjha, @mokhaled, @webdevmattcrom, @jason_the_adams, @kurtrank, and others involved in review, testing, and 246 commits between 0.2.0 and 0.3.0.

Your help and feedback are what make these experiments possible.

Get involved

As always, we welcome feedback, testing, and contributions from the community. Whether you are interested in editor UXUX UX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it., APIs, accessibility, performance, or AI ethics and policy, there are many ways to participate.

You can explore the v0.3.0 release today, review open issues and pull requests, and help shape what comes next.

Props to @dkotter and @psykro for reviewing this post.

#ai-experiments, #aiex-release, #canonical-plugins, #core-ai

Jeffrey Paul 6:12 pm on 6 February 2026
Tags: ,   

AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 4 February 2026

This week’s AI contributor meeting focused heavily on final preparation for the WordPress AI Client merge proposal, including providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). separation, coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. integration strategy, and controls for disabling AI functionality. The group also reviewed progress across Abilities, MCP, and the AI Experiments pluginAI Experiments Plugin WordPress's AI laboratory bringing all building blocks together. Serves as both a user tool and developer reference implementation. First release (v0.1.0) includes Title Generation experiment., with an eye toward unblocking work ahead of the WordPress 7.0 BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 milestone on February 19.

WP AI Client Merge Proposal

@jason_the_adams shared a detailed update on the WordPress AI Client merge proposal and next steps toward core inclusion.

  • The WordPress AI Client will be fully provider- and model-agnostic when proposed for core.
  • Embedded providers are being removed from the PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php AI Client, with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic providers moving into separate pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. repositories on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/.
  • @jason_the_adams plans to submit the core work as multiple PRs rather than a single all-or-nothing proposal, starting with the PHP AI Client, WordPress AI Client, and prompt builder.
  • Integration of the PHP AI Client into core remains the largest open question due to Composer dependencies and build considerations. The group discussed approaches similar to GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/’s sync/build process, and @jason_the_adams plans to follow up with @youknowriad for guidance.

There was consensus that publishing a technical PR soon is critical to allow meaningful core review before Beta 1.

Disabling and Controlling AI Functionality

The group discussed approaches for disabling or restricting AI usage in WordPress.

  • @jason_the_adams introduced an initial filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output.-based approach that allows site owners to disable AI entirely or restrict usage to certain capabilities.
  • @justlevine raised concerns that filters alone are insufficient, as they can be overridden by plugins, and suggested introducing a constant to represent an explicit site-level decision.
  • @jason_the_adams agreed to add a constant-based control mechanism, while the group aligned that adding UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing.-level “kill switches” would be premature at this stage.

The goal is to make it easy for sites to opt out without introducing unnecessary UI or policy complexity.

AI Experiments Plugin

@jeffpaul shared updates on the AI Experiments plugin and near-term priorities.

  • Work is wrapping up on Featured ImageFeatured image A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. Generation, Content Summarization, and Alt Text Generation in preparation for a 0.3.0 release.
  • Data Views and Data Forms UI work is being deferred until after the 7.0 Beta 1 window to keep focus on the AI Client merge proposal.
  • A Call for Testing post covering several experimental features has been published, and the team will track feedback before deciding whether any of those concepts should be milestone candidates.
  • Markdown-related work will remain in the experiments plugin for now to gather feedback and usage data before considering core or Gutenberg integration.

Abilities Update

@jorgefilipecosta provided a status update on Abilities work:

  • A PR allowing deeper nesting of abilities namespaces has been approved.
  • Updates to settings abilities and a new user abilityAbility A registered, self-documenting unit of WordPress functionality that can be discovered and invoked through multiple contexts (REST API, Command Palette, MCP). Includes authorization and input/output specifications. (without metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. support) are nearing readiness.
  • A revised post-finding ability that works across post types is in progress and may require additional discussion.
  • The group expressed optimism that settings and user abilities could land in WordPress 7.0.

This work also helps reduce immediate pressure around formal versioning by allowing namespacing patterns to evolve organically.WordPress well-positioned for future developments such as embedded models or host-managed AI offerings.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

@jason_the_adams requested review on the final PR in a six-part MCP adapterMCP Adapter Translates WordPress abilities into Model Context Protocol format, allowing AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to discover and invoke WordPress capabilities as tools, resources, and prompts. update.

  • The work introduces a generated PHP schema layer derived directly from the MCP JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. schema.
  • The update decouples component registration from abilities, allowing MCP components that do not need to exist as abilities.
  • @jorgefilipecosta offered to review the remaining PR to help move the adapter forward.

Provider Discovery, Documentation, and Guidelines

Several forward-looking topics were discussed:

  • Provider discovery and validation: The group discussed how AI provider plugins should be discoverable without overwhelming users, including possible use of tags and compatibility checks rather than curated lists.
  • Documentation: Two documentation tracks were identified as necessary—one for plugin developers using the AI Client and prompt builder, and another for provider and host integrations.
  • Guidelines and disclosure: Contributors were encouraged to review @isotropic’s draft disclosure statement for agent skills as early prior art for applying the newly published AI Guidelines.

Next steps

  • @jason_the_adams will submit core PRs for the PHP AI Client and WordPress AI Client and add a constant-based mechanism for disabling AI.
  • @jeffpaul will continue coordinating the AI Experiments 0.3.0 release and track feedback from the testing call.
  • @jorgefilipecosta will review the remaining MCP adapter PR and continue advancing Abilities work.
  • Contributors are encouraged to review the MCP PRs and provide feedback on the agent skills disclosure draft.
  • Follow-up discussions on documentation, WP Bench, and provider discovery will continue in SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.

Upcoming meetings

Folks are welcome to join on Wednesday’s at 1700 UTC via Google Meet with in-meeting notes captured in a Slack Canvas and then paired with Gemini meeting notes to help generate this meeting summary post. All team meetings are published to https://make.wordpress.org/meetings/#ai.

  • The next bi-weekly AI Team Chat Slack discussion is scheduled for 5 February 2026.
  • The next weekly AI Contributor weekly Google Meet video call is scheduled for 11 February 2026.

Props to @psykro for pre-publish review.

#core-ai, #summary

Jeffrey Paul 6:11 pm on 6 February 2026
Tags: ,   

AI Contributor Weekly Summary – 28 January 2026

This week’s AI contributor meeting focused on progress toward a proposed WordPress AI Client merge for WordPress 7.0, contributor capacity ahead of the February 19 BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 milestone, and a live demonstration of an AI-powered GatherPress workflow built on the Abilities APIAbilities API A core WordPress API (introduced in 6.9) that creates a central registry of capabilities, making WordPress functions discoverable and accessible to AI agents, automation tools, and developers. Transforms WordPress from isolated functions into a unified system. and WP AI Client. The group also discussed tradeoffs between different AI integration approaches and where contributors can most effectively help in the coming weeks.

WP AI Client and 7.0 Timeline

The group revisited the status of the WordPress AI Client and the urgency of moving the work forward ahead of the mid-February Beta 1 deadline.

  • @jeffpaul confirmed that the WP AI Client is being proposed for inclusion in WordPress 7.0, with the understanding that LLM providers will live outside of coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. as separate packages or plugins.
  • @justlevine emphasized the importance of shipping a strong technical implementation early to avoid unnecessary scrutiny and technical debt.
  • While a Make/Core proposal draft exists, the group agreed that publishing a concrete technical PR to wordpress-develop is the most important next step.
  • Contributors agreed to check in with @flixos90 and @jason_the_adams in the Core AI channel to identify immediate gaps where help is needed.

There was alignment that, while 7.0 remains the goal, deferring to 7.1 is acceptable if more iteration time is required.

GatherPress AI Assistant Demo

@jmarx75 shared a live demonstration of an AI assistant built into GatherPress, a WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ project intended to replace MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area.-style functionality for WordPress events.

The demo showcased:

  • Creating events and venues using natural language prompts
  • Date calculation handled via a dedicated abilityAbility A registered, self-documenting unit of WordPress functionality that can be discovered and invoked through multiple contexts (REST API, Command Palette, MCP). Includes authorization and input/output specifications.
  • Stateful conversations that allow follow-up updates (e.g., refining event descriptions)
  • Direct use of the Abilities API mapped to PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php functions exposed via REST

@jmarx75 noted that the implementation currently prioritizes functionality over polish and highlighted areas for future improvement, including UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. refinement, link handling, and prompt cost optimization. The group agreed the demo was a strong real-world example of how the Abilities API and WP AI Client can be used to build embedded, task-focused AI experiences within WordPress.

WPAI Client vs. MCP AdapterMCP Adapter Translates WordPress abilities into Model Context Protocol format, allowing AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to discover and invoke WordPress capabilities as tools, resources, and prompts. Discussion

A detailed discussion followed comparing approaches for building AI-powered workflows:

  • @raftaar1191 suggested using the MCP adapter with external AI tools to reduce implementation complexity.
  • @justlevine and others noted that while MCP can be useful in some scenarios, using the WP AI Client and Abilities API offers better control over context, multi-step workflows, and future compatibility with embedded or host-provided models.
  • @jmarx75 clarified that GatherPress requires AI functionality embedded directly in the WordPress admin experience, making the WP AI Client approach the best fit for current goals.

The group agreed there is no single “correct” approach, and that experimentation across both models is valuable as the ecosystem evolves.

Cost, Providers, and Future Flexibility

Cost and accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) considerations were also discussed:

  • @jmarx75 raised concerns about token costs for casual users and the complexity of managing APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. keys.
  • Contributors suggested using smaller or cheaper models where possible and noted that MCP-based approaches may be cost-effective for users on flat-rate subscriptions.
  • @jeffpaul reiterated that providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). integrations will not ship in core and will instead be distributed separately, allowing flexibility without coupling WordPress core to specific vendors, and that open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. and free models are ones he hopes to most strongly advocate for.

There was general agreement that the current direction keeps WordPress well-positioned for future developments such as embedded models or host-managed AI offerings.

Next steps

  • Contributors will ask @flixos90 and @jason_the_adams in the Core AI channel where immediate help is needed on the WP AI Client.
  • @jmarx75 will continue refining the GatherPress AI assistant and address feedback from the demo.
  • Contributors are encouraged to help push the WP AI Client technical PR forward to allow meaningful review ahead of the February 19 Beta 1 deadline.

Upcoming meetings

Folks are welcome to join on Wednesday’s at 1700 UTC via Google Meet with in-meeting notes captured in a Slack Canvas and then paired with Gemini meeting notes to help generate this meeting summary post. All team meetings are published to https://make.wordpress.org/meetings/#ai.

  • The next bi-weekly AI Team Chat SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ discussion is scheduled for 5 February 2026.
  • The next weekly AI Contributor weekly Google Meet video call is scheduled for 4 February 2026.

Props to @psykro for pre-publish review.

#core-ai, #summary