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.

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