This week’s AI contributor meeting focused on final preparations for WordPress 7.0, specifically addressing critical compatibility issues between the AI Experiments plugin and core. The group also discussed a potential rebrand of the experiments plugin, the introduction of “Capital F” features, and initial coordination for the upcoming WordCamp Asia 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 Beta, users land on a functional experience. - Accessibility: Several accessibility issues in 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.
- API 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 Adapter: @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 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 (Slack): 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.