The AI Contributor Group met on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 23:00 UTC. The meeting focused on the upcoming WordPress 7.0 Beta 2 release, the development of the new Connector screen, and initial planning for WordCamp Asia’s Contributor Day.
🚀 WordPress 7.0 & Core AI Updates
Beta 2 and Abilities API
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 RC (Release Candidate) deadlines.
- Timeline: While most priority items are on track for 7.0, deeper exploration of ability shapes will likely resume after the current release cycle stabilizes.
The New Connector Screen
@jorgecosta provided a status update on the new UI requested to simplify AI provider 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 API key.
- Experimental API: There is ongoing debate regarding how extensible 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 Plugin & Client
@dkotter raised concerns regarding the “double testing” currently required because the Experiments plugin 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 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 Slack 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
- Review PRs: Call for help to review the Experiments dependency update and the Gutenberg Connector Screen PR.
- Handbook: Review the proposal for engagement and knowledge sharing (Glossary/Experiments).
- March Schedule: Note that @jasonadams will be largely away during March; @jorgecosta and others will be stepping up to lead technical discussions.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 23:00 UTC in the #core-ai Slack channel.