Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Identify the four building blocks that make up the WordPress AI ecosystem
- Distinguish which building blocks are included in WordPress core and which require separate installation
- Explain how AI providers connect to WordPress and why that matters for your site
- Describe at least three AI-powered tasks available to WordPress sites today
What AI means in WordPress today
WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong” introduced native AI capabilities directly into core. Rather than relying on isolated third-party tools, WordPress now provides a structured framework that connects AI to the site management tasks you already do every day.
This is not a single feature. It is a layered system you can adopt as much or as little of as your site needs. This lesson introduces that system so every feature you encounter in later modules has a clear context behind it.
The four building blocks
Four components make up the WordPress AI ecosystem. Together, they form a layered system that handles everything from generating content to making your site’s capabilities available to external AI tools.
| Building block | What it does | Included in core? |
| AI Client | Sends requests to AI providers and returns responses | Yes, WordPress 7.0+ |
| Abilities API | Registers named site capabilities that AI can discover and invoke | Yes, WordPress 6.9+ |
| AI Plugin | Adds ready-made AI features (alt text, summaries, editorial tools, and more) | No, install separately |
| MCP Adapter | Bridges your site’s Abilities to external AI agents via Model Context Protocol | No, install separately |
The two core building blocks handle infrastructure: sending AI requests and registering your site’s capabilities. The two plugin building blocks add ready-made features and external connectivity on top of that infrastructure.
You do not need all four to get started. Modules 1 through 3 focus on the AI Client and AI plugin. Module 4 covers the Abilities API and MCP Adapter for those who want to go further.
How providers fit in
The AI Client in WordPress core does not generate content itself. It sends your request to an AI provider and returns the response. Think of the AI Client as a messenger and the provider as the one doing the thinking.
Cloud providers connect to services run by other companies. WordPress supports Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), and OpenAI (GPT), among others. These require an API key and may have usage costs depending on volume.
Local providers run AI models directly on your own hardware. Ollama and llama.cpp are both supported. These have no per-request costs, but require a computer or server capable of running a language model.
You configure your provider once in your WordPress admin at Settings > Connectors. Enter your credentials there and every plugin that uses the AI Client, including the AI plugin, can use them automatically.
💡 Why this matters for you:
You are not locked into one provider. If you start with OpenAI and later switch to Anthropic, you update your credentials in Settings > Connectors once and everything continues to work.
What WordPress AI makes possible today
With the AI plugin installed and a provider connected, you can generate alt text for images as you upload them, produce content summaries for longer posts, get title suggestions based on your draft, classify posts into categories automatically, and use Editorial Notes to guide AI-assisted revision, all without leaving the block editor.
For those who want to go deeper, Module 4 covers the Abilities API and MCP Adapter, which let external AI tools like Claude or Cursor interact directly with your WordPress site.
Key terms
| Term | Definition |
| AI provider | An external service or local model that processes AI requests and generates responses |
| AI Client | The WordPress core component (added in WordPress 7.0) that sends requests to an AI provider and handles the response |
| Abilities API | A WordPress core feature (added in WordPress 6.9) that maintains a registry of named site capabilities AI agents can discover and call |
| AI plugin | A separately installed plugin that adds ready-made AI features, including alt text generation, content summarization, and editorial tools |
| MCP Adapter | A separately installed plugin that connects your site’s registered Abilities to external AI agents using the Model Context Protocol |
| Model Context Protocol | An open standard that lets AI assistants discover and interact with external tools and services |
| Connectors page | The Settings > Connectors admin page where you store API keys and credentials for AI providers |
| Building blocks | The four components that form the WordPress AI system: AI Client, Abilities API, AI plugin, and MCP Adapter |
✅ Check your understanding
- Think about your own WordPress site or one you manage. Which of the four building blocks do you think you would use first, and what would you want it to help you do?
- In your own words, what is the difference between an AI provider and the AI Client? Why does WordPress separate them instead of bundling everything together?