Editor’s note (@jeffpaul): These notes were sitting in draft, and while dated do capture prior discussions, decisions, and other updates so I’m publishing this meeting summary (in a condensed format) for transparency purposes.
TLDR; The team met to review progress across the core AI initiatives, primarily focusing on the integration of the Abilities API into WordPress core, the immediate feature development for the AI Experiments plugin, and the strategic prioritization of the WordPress AI client. Key updates included reaffirming the Abilities API’s presence in the WordPress 6.9 beta, plans to ship an initial 0.1 version of the AI Experiments plugin with core functionality, and a concentrated effort to release a foundational version of the WordPress AI Client to unblock feature development.
Key Highlights
Abilities API in WordPress 6.9 Beta
The server-side Abilities API has successfully landed in the latest WordPress 6.9 Beta 2 release, with the team’s immediate focus shifting to encouraging extensive testing and iteration based on community feedback.
- Development Homing: Future development and iteration of the API will happen within WordPress Core, and the original Abilities API repository is likely to be archived following the 6.9 release.
- Client-Side Move: The JavaScript ability registration (front-end component) did not make the core merge deadline and will be moved to the Gutenberg repository. It will be released as a standalone NPM package to allow developers to easily incorporate it into their projects.
AI Experiments Plugin Progress
The plugin is moving past the scaffolding phase and is nearing its first feature release, which is expected to prompt broader community testing.
- First Feature Release Target: The team plans to ship a 0.1.0 release once the admin settings screen PR and the first experimental feature, title generation, are merged.
- Post-Release Testing: The 0.1.0 release will be accompanied by a call for testing to ensure the plugin’s architecture is sound across varied WordPress environments before more experimental features are built.
- Technical Cleanup: Verbose documentation PRs (some possibly AI-generated) were merged with a plan to simplify them later. GitHub Actions for linting/coding standards and a playground link for PR testing were merged to streamline the development process.
WordPress AI Client Update
The team is focusing development resources on releasing the first version of the WordPress-specific client to support the new features being built.
- PHP AI Client Release: Version 0.2.0 of the core PHP AI client was released about a week and a half ago, including various fixes and enhancements.
- WP AI Client Focus: The priority is now a rapid release of the WordPress AI Client (WP AI client) to prevent it from blocking the AI Experiments plugin development.
- Initial Feature Set (0.1.0): The proposed WP AI client 0.1.0 release will include the WordPress-specific Prompt Builder, the credentials management settings screen, and the WordPress HTTP client/transporter.
- Server-Side Only MVP: The initial WP AI client release will only support LLM querying on the server side. The REST API endpoint, which enables client-side querying, will be deferred to a subsequent release.
MCP Adapter Milestones
Following a major refactor, the focus is on resolving immediate follow-up issues to unblock internal adoption.
- Major Refactor Merged: The large Major Refactor PR was merged, moving the MCP Adapter into its 0.3.0 series.
- Immediate Fixes: Small, subsequent PRs were opened to address remaining technical feedback, as the priority was to merge the large refactor and allow work on smaller, more manageable fixes.
- Release Priority: The team plans to quickly review remaining issues and release version 0.3.0 immediately, as the older version (0.1.0) is now unusable due to changes in the shape of the abilities. The adapter is actively being used on internal Automattic projects, making a quick release essential.