AI Experiments 0.4.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI Experiments…” posts (labeled with the #aiex-release tag) are posted following every AI Experiments release, showcasing new features included in each release.
What’s New In
AI Experiments 0.4.0?
We’re pleased to announce the release of AI Experiments v0.4.0, the latest update to the canonical plugin powering experimental AI-powered features in WordPress. This release introduces new editor and admin capabilities focused on content refinement and media generation, while continuing to improve the developer experience and overall UI polish.
What’s new in 0.4.0?
Generate Images in the Editor
Version 0.4.0 introduces a new Generate Image workflow, allowing authors to create images from prompts directly within the editor. The new modal provides a streamlined creative flow where users can:
- Generate an image from a prompt
- Edit the prompt and try again
- Generate alternative variations
- Insert the selected image directly into the block
This reduces the friction of sourcing or creating visuals and allows authors to stay focused within the writing experience.
Generate Images in the Media Library
Version 0.4.0 also introduces Generate Image support within the Media Library, enabling prompt-based image creation with the WordPress admin and outside the post editor. Using the new Generate Image modal, users can create images from a text prompt and immediately insert them into their site’s media collection. The workflow allows authors to:
- Generate an image from a prompt
- Generate additional variations
- Save the selected image directly to the Media Library
This makes it easier to create visual assets without leaving WordPress, while keeping generated images available for reuse across posts and pages.
Generate Review Notes
A new Generate Review Notes experiment brings AI-assisted editorial review into the block editor. Authors and editors can ask AI to analyze content and generate Notes-based suggestions for improvements. These suggestions appear directly in the editor and may include:
- Accessibility improvements (e.g., missing alt text)
- Readability suggestions
- Grammar and spelling corrections
- SEO improvements
- and in the future alignment with a site’s Content Guidelines
Review Notes can be generated for an entire post or individual blocks, making it easier to refine content iteratively during the editorial process.
UI and Editor Improvements
This release also includes improvements and polish across several areas of the plugin, including refinements to the image generation workflow, editor integration, Abilities Explorer, and internal APIs used by the experiments.
What’s next in 0.5.0?
Work is already underway on several features and refinements planned for v0.5.0, including:
- Updating the WP AI Client to utilize what’s available in WordPress 7.0
- Onboarding flows as necessary in support of the “Try AI” callout in WordPress 7.0
- Refining Experiments to potentially elevated to Feature within the plugin, while renaming the plugin from AI Experiments to WordPress AI
- Image Editing experiment to erase and replace, expand canvas and fill, and background removal
- Contextual Tagging experiment that suggests post tags and categories based on post content, title, and excerpt, helping authors apply consistent, relevant taxonomy directly in the editor.
- Refine from Notes experiment to update post content based on editorial feedback
Several early prototype experiments are also being explored, including type-ahead suggestions, content moderation assistance, extended provider support, AI request logging, and tools like the AI Playground and deeper MCP integration. These concepts are still exploratory, but they help test how AI could support real workflows across WordPress. We encourage users and developers to review and test these ideas and share feedback so the most valuable experiments can mature and land in upcoming releases like 0.5.0.
Thanks to contributors!
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this release, including:
@dkotter, @jeffpaul, @justlevine, @karmatosed, @kurtrank, @linawiezkowiak, @rachaelcortellessa, @n1schay, @fabiankaegy, @sapayth, @ryujiyasu, @juanfra, @gziolo, and others involved in review, testing, and 167 commits between 0.3.0 and 0.4.0.
Your help and feedback are what make these experiments possible.
Get involved
As always, we welcome feedback, testing, and contributions from the community. Whether you are interested in editor UX, APIs, accessibility, performance, or AI ethics and policy, there are many ways to participate.
You can explore the v0.4.0 release today, review open issues and pull requests, and help shape what comes next.
Props to @isotropic, @nilambar, @n1schay for reviewing this post.