AI 0.9.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI…” posts (labeled with the #ai-release tag) are posted following every AI 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. release, showcasing new features included in each release.

We’re pleased to announce the release of AI 0.9.0, the latest update to the canonical plugin powering AI-powered features in WordPress. This release introduces two new Experiments focused on content workflows and moderation, adds a new WP-CLIWP-CLI WP-CLI is the Command Line Interface for WordPress, used to do administrative and development tasks in a programmatic way. The project page is http://wp-cli.org/ https://make.wordpress.org/cli/ command for bulk alt text generation, and continues refining the plugin’s administration experience. This release also includes a new Developer Mode model-selection experience, improvements to image generation workflows, updates to the AI settings page 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., and additional developer tooling and documentation enhancements.

What’s new in 0.9.0?

New Experiment: Comment Moderation

AI 0.9.0 introduces a new Comment Moderation Experiment that can automatically evaluate comments using sentiment analysis and toxicity detection. This Experiment is designed to help site owners reduce spam, harassment, and low-quality engagement by using AI-powered moderation signals during the comment review process. The feature can assist moderators by flagging potentially problematic comments before they are published and sending them to moderation for further review.

New Experiment: Content Resizing

This release also adds a new Content Resizing Experiment that allows users to shorten, expand, or rephrase selected content directly within the post editor. The Experiment is intended to support common editorial workflows like:

• Shortening long paragraphs
• Expanding thin content
• Rephrasing copy for clarity or tone
• Iterating on draft content without leaving the post editor

This continues the plugin’s focus on bringing lightweight editorial AI workflows directly into WordPress.

Developer Mode model controls

AI 0.9.0 adds a new Developer Mode settings toggle on the AI settings page that allows developers to configure the desired providerProvider An AI service offering models for generation, embeddings, or other capabilities (e.g., Anthropic, Google, OpenAI). and model on a per-feature basis.

This makes it easier to:

• Compare model behavior between features
• Test different providers during development
• Optimize workflows for cost, speed, or output quality
• Experiment with local and hosted models

The feature is especially useful for developers building or extending AI-powered experiences within WordPress.

AI settings page improvements

AI 0.9.0 includes several refinements to the plugin administration experience. The AI settings page has been updated to use @wordpress/ui components and now features a more compact layout, including moving the global AI toggle into the page headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. alongside an infotip. These updates continue the ongoing effort to align the plugin more closely with modern WordPress administrative UI patterns.

Image generation improvements

This release also includes several updates to image generation workflows. AI-generated images are now saved using descriptive, “slugified” filenames derived from the post title or generation prompt instead of generic timestamp-based filenames. The plugin also now applies image generation guidelines directly within prompts instead of relying on system instructions. Together, these updates improve both media organization and image generation consistency.

WP-CLI support for bulk alt text generation

This release introduces a new WP-CLI command for bulk alt text generation: wp ai alt-text generate. The new command allows developers and site administrators to generate alt text programmatically across larger media libraries and automation workflows.

This is particularly useful for:

• Large existing media libraries
• Batch-processing 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
• CI/CD and migrationMigration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies. workflows
• Editorial automation pipelines

Additional improvements and fixes

Other notable improvements in AI 0.9.0 include:

• Basic styles for the Content 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.
• Updates to the Content Summary Experiment block structure using a Group variation block
• Better RTL support in the 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. schema 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. viewer
• Additional localization coverage for user-facing error strings

These updates improve consistency across AI workflows, refine the administration experience, and continue strengthening the plugin’s developer tooling and reliability.

What’s next in 1.0.0?

Work is already underway on additional Features, Experiments, and infrastructure improvements planned for 1.0.0 and future releases, including:

• Onboarding flows as necessary in support of the “Try AI” callout in WordPress 7.0 (see #183, #428, and #457)
• Updated Experiment: Integrate Refine from Notes with Real-time Collaboration
• New Experiment: Type Ahead Suggestions
• New Experiment: Integrate with Gutenberg’s experimental Media Editor including focus-aware crop suggestions
• New Experiment: AI Request Logging
• New Experiment: Connector Usage Approvals
• New Experiment: Promoted AI Provider Connectors
• New Experiment: AI Playground
• New Experiment: Content Provenance tracking for text and images via C2PA while detecting C2PA manifests on upload

These concepts are still exploratory, but they help test how AI could support real workflows across WordPress.

Thanks to contributors!

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

@dkotter, @jeffpaul, @isotropic, @smrubenstein, @intenzi, @tyb, @gajendrasingh, @raftaar1191, @adamsilverstein, @iamadisingh, @simison, @0mirka00, @dilip2615, @justlevine, @jameskoster, @aduth, @fcoveram, @laurisaarni, @dhrupo, @emptyopssphere, @kishanranawat, @gziolo, @wildworks, @vishnuprajapat, @yusufmudagal, @ekamran, and others involved in review, testing, and 35 commits between 0.8.0 and 0.9.0. Your help and feedback are what make these Features and Experiments possible.

A similar thank you to translators assisting from the Faroese, Japanese, and Spanish locales ensuring language packs are available for users. Translating the AI plugin is a great contribution and others contributing in this manner is very much welcome and appreciated!

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 0.9.0 release today, review open issues and pull requests, and help shape what comes next.

Props to @laurisaarni for reviewing this post, @dkotter for the video and image assets.

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