Core AI Team at WCAsia 2026: Contributor Day

Hey WordPress community! The Core AI Team is excited to be part of Contributor Day at WordCamp Asia 2026, happening on April 9, 2026, at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India.

While WordPress 7.0 will not be released during Contributor Day, this is a valuable opportunity to directly contribute to its development and upcoming release.

⏰ Schedule for the Day

Meet the Core AI Table Leads

Table Leads:

• Deepak Gupta – @raftaar1191
• Aslam Doctor – @aslamdoctor
• Gajendra Singh – @gajendrasingh
• David Levine – @justlevine

How can I best prepare?

To best prepare for Contributor Day, please follow these steps:

1. Purchase Your Ticket and Sign Up:
   • Purchase a WordCamp Asia 2026 ticket (a ticket is required regardless of the type).
   • Sign Up to Attend Contributor Day at WCAsia 2026.
2. Set Up Necessary Accounts:
   • Create your WordPress.org account and username.
   • Create a GitHub Account.
   • Connect your GitHub account to your WordPress profile.
3. Join Slack:
   • Join the Make WordPress Slack instance and the #core-ai team channel.
   • Please note: When registering for Slack, be sure to log in using your username@chat.wordpress.org instead of your normal email address.

Getting Started at the Core AI Table

If you’re new or not sure where to begin, don’t worry — we’ll guide you through it.

When you join the Core AI table, you can expect a simple flow:

• Start with a quick introduction so we can understand your interests and experience level.
• Table leads or experienced contributors will help you pick a task based on your skills.
• You’ll be guided to a relevant project, issue, or testing task to begin with.
• If needed, you can pair with someone or ask questions anytime during the process.

Optional: Prepare in Advance

If you’d like to get a head start before Contributor Day, you can set up a local WordPress environment and use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin to install the latest WordPress 7.0 Beta/RC version. You can then install the AI Plugin to explore its features in advance and identify any feedback or issues you’d like to share during the event.

What do y’all want to be focusing on in person?

• Contribute to WordPress 7.0 and Beyond: Get hands-on with upcoming AI features like the AI Client, Abilities API, and AI Plugin. Help test, refine, and stabilize features for 7.0, while also exploring ideas and contributions for 7.1.
• Help Test and Stabilize WordPress 7.0 AI Features: Dive in and help test upcoming WordPress 7.0 features and explore new AI capabilities, and report any issues you find.
• Onboard New Contributors: Receive guidance and mentorship, and learn how to earn your Core AI Contributor Badge.
• Contribute to Core AI Projects: Explore and contribute to active projects such as AI Plugins, MCP Adapter, WP Bench, Agent Skills and PHP AI Client
• Improve Documentation: Enhance the AI Handbook, contribute to the glossary, or update contributor guides.

Report New Issues: Test bugs or features and report new issues via Core Trac – AI Component or the GitHub repository.

What the Core AI Team is Building

The AI Team has been developing four interconnected Building Blocks, with the first two now in WordPress core:

1. AI Client — Now in WordPress 7.0 ✅
   This is the first version of WordPress with native AI query capabilities built in. It serves as a unified library for interacting with major AI providers (Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, and more) through a single, consistent API.
2. Abilities API — Already in WordPress 6.9
   Transforms WordPress into a unified, discoverable system by creating a central registry of capabilities (CLI commands, REST API endpoints, custom plugin logic).
3. MCP Adapter
   Allows external AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT to connect directly to WordPress by translating the Abilities API into a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.
4. AI Plugin (formerly the WordPress AI Experiment plugin) Brings all three Building Blocks together, serving as a user-facing tool and developer reference. Features include: Excerpt Generation, Alt Text Generation, Image Generation, Content Summarization, Title Generation, Review Notes (for Accessibility, Readability, Grammar, SEO), and the Abilities Explorer.
5. WP Bench
   A benchmarking framework for evaluating AI performance, quality, and reliability across different providers and use cases within WordPress.
6. Agent Skills
   Defines reusable, structured capabilities that AI agents can invoke—enabling more advanced automation and multi-step workflows on top of the Abilities API.
7. PHP AI Client — Core SDK powering AI features in WordPress 7.0+.
   A framework-agnostic PHP library that underpins AI integrations, complementing the WordPress AI Client with broader ecosystem support and lower-level control.

How You Can Contribute Today

There is a meaningful contribution for everyone, whether you are a developer, tester, writer, or simply curious about AI.

For PHP / Backend Developers

• Test AI Client provider integrations and explore the AI_Client::prompt() API
• Explore and improve the Abilities API by registering new WordPress abilities
• Test the MCP Adapter and report edge cases

For JavaScript / Frontend Developers

• Improve generation features in the AI Plugin (Excerpt, Alt Text, Image Generation)
• Contribute to Content Summarization features
• Refine block-level Review Notes (Accessibility, Readability, Grammar, SEO)
• Improve the Abilities Explorer admin interface

For Testers & QA

• Run the AI Plugin on a WordPress 7.0 Beta/RC environment (using the WordPress Beta Tester plugin) and report detailed bugs
• Test the Connectors screen across different AI providers
• Document edge cases for the MCP Adapter

For Writers & Documenters

• Improve developer documentation for the Building Blocks
• Contribute to AI guidelines for WordPress
• Create tutorials and walkthroughs for new AI features

For Everyone

• Join the #core-ai channel on WordPress Slack and introduce yourself
• Share ideas for AI experiments
• Try the AI Plugin and provide feedback

A Good First Task

Install the WordPress Beta Tester plugin to set up a WordPress 7.0 Beta/RC environment, then install the AI Plugin, try every feature, and file one detailed bug report or test result.

Helpful Resources

• Event & Contribution
  • WordPress Slack — #core-ai (Main communication channel.)
  • Core AI Team Trac (Bug tracking and patch submission for AI features in core.)
• Core AI Building Blocks
  • AI Building Blocks for WordPress (Definitive overview of the four building blocks.)
  • AI Client overview (PHP AI API) (Deep-dive into the AI Client merged into WordPress 7.0.)
  • Abilities API overview (How WordPress capabilities become discoverable.)
  • MCP Adapter overview (How WordPress connects to AI assistants via Model Context Protocol.)
• Tools & Benchmarking
  • WordPress Beta Tester plugin (Required to install and test WordPress 7.0 Beta/RC locally.)
  • wp-bench — AI Benchmarking (Benchmark AI models on WordPress-specific tasks.)
  • Agent-skills ( Agent Skills for WordPress )
• Other
  • Core AI Team Handbook
  • WordCamp Contributor Day Guide
  • Core AI Projects Overview
  • Core AI Contributing Badge
  • Contributor Day FAQ from WCAsia 2026 official page

Looking Ahead

As we gear up for this landmark Contributor Day, we’re excited about the incredible energy that will fill the room in Mumbai. Being part of the development and testing phase of WordPress 7.0—and contributing toward what comes next in 7.1—makes this Contributor Day especially meaningful. With AI capabilities coming into core for the first time, your contributions directly help shape the future of WordPress.

Interested in Contributor Day but unsure if Core AI is the right fit for you? Check out Make WordPress’s Find Your Team tool to discover other opportunities.

Props to @aslamdoctor , @gajendrasingh and @justlevine for peer review of this post. 🙌

#core-ai, #wcasia2026