WordPress announces a new WordPress AI Team that will coordinate the development of AI functionality within the WordPress open source community. The team will focus on accelerating and streamlining AI projects in line with the community’s core values.
The AI Team will play an important strategic role within WordPress. The focus will be on preventing fragmentation and ensuring the long-term goals of the platform. This will be achieved through a plugin-first approach that enables rapid iteration without relying on core development cycles.
Collaboration and inclusivity at the core
The new team will work closely with existing teams within WordPress, such as the Core, Design, and Accessibility teams. The goal is to ensure strong integration and shared standards. The AI Team will soon publish a public roadmap of all AI initiatives and Canonical Plugins.
The timing of this AI Team is remarkable, as WordPress seemed to be increasingly turning its back on the open source community. WordPress has been in the news a lot in recent months due to its dispute with hosting provider WP Engine. This controversy even led to lawsuits in which a judge had to intervene.
Experienced team leaders
The initial team comprises four members with extensive experience in open source and product development. James LePage from Automattic and Felix Arntz from Google will take on the role of Team Reps. They will support the team organization and communication with other “Make WordPress teams.” Pascal Birchler from Google and Jeff Paul from 10up complete the core team.
The coming period will be crucial for WordPress. With all the recent developments surrounding the takeover of plugins and legal battles, WordPress must prove that the platform remains open and community-driven. The AI Team can play a crucial role in this by demonstrating how innovation can occur openly.
Plugin-first strategy
Like the Performance Team, the AI Team takes a plugin-first approach. Canonical Plugins make it possible to gather feedback and deliver value quickly. This eliminates waiting times caused by core release cycles. As a result, users can benefit from new AI features sooner.
WordPress emphasizes that AI development must be responsible and inclusive. This aligns with the platform’s open philosophy, despite recent tensions within the community. The team must ensure that AI innovation remains accessible to all WordPress users, not just large commercial players.