Building Stable WordPress AI Abilities: My Take on Categories

Just last week, I had a client ping me, buzzing about WordPress 6.9 and its shiny new AI capabilities. His immediate concern? “Ahmad, how do we get our custom CRM data integrated? Can the AI just… pull reports for me?” Classic. Everyone sees “AI” and thinks magic. But us devs, we know it’s rarely that simple, especially with a feature like the WordPress AI Abilities API still finding its feet.

The core team is moving fast, and that’s great. But as agency devs building for the long haul, we need to be smart about how we integrate. My first thought, honestly, was to just chuck every custom function we had into an ability registration call and see what stuck. And yeah, that *might* work for a quick demo, but it’s a total nightmare for maintenance and future compatibility. You end up with a huge list of capabilities that the AI can call, most of which are irrelevant to any given task. It’s like giving someone a phone book and telling them to find a specific recipe. Inefficient. Not good.

Why WordPress AI Abilities Categories Are Critical

What the core team quickly realized, and what we should all be paying attention to, is that giving the AI a massive, undifferentiated list of abilities is a dead end. This is where ability categories come in, and trust me on this, they’re going to be critical for any meaningful integration with the WordPress AI Abilities API.

The latest discussions, detailed in the Core-AI Contributor Check-in – Oct 1st, 2025, made it clear: categories are now a *required* part of registering an ability. This isn’t just busywork. It’s about creating an “approachable, discoverable set of abilities” for the AI. Think of it as organizing your tools. You don’t throw all your wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers into one giant bin. You categorize them so you can grab the right tool for the job. The AI needs that same kind of structure to function efficiently and intelligently.

Without categories, your carefully crafted custom abilities will be lost in the noise. The AI won’t know *when* to use them or even *that* it should consider them for a particular context. This means slower responses, irrelevant suggestions, and a generally frustrating user experience. It defeats the purpose of adding AI capabilities in the first place.

Registering an Ability with Categories: The Right Way

So, how do you do it? You register your ability, and crucially, you associate it with a category. Here’s a simplified example of how you might define and register a custom ability for your CRM, making sure it plays nice with the new categorization:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: Bbioon CRM AI Abilities
 * Description: Custom AI abilities for Bbioon CRM.
 * Version: 1.0.0
 * Author: Ahmad Wael - BbioonThemes
 */

// Ensure WordPress AI Abilities API is available.
add_action( 'plugins_loaded', 'bbioon_register_crm_abilities_init' );

function bbioon_register_crm_abilities_init() {
    if ( ! function_exists( 'wp_register_ability' ) ) {
        return; // AI Abilities API not available.
    }

    // First, define your ability category.
    // This is a simplified representation. In reality, it's more complex with descriptions.
    $category_slug = 'bbioon_crm';
    $category_args = array(
        'label'       => __( 'CRM Functions', 'bbioon_crm_abilities' ),
        'description' => __( 'Provides abilities related to managing customer data and interactions.', 'bbioon_crm_abilities' ),
    );

    // Placeholder for category registration.
    // In a real scenario, you'd use a dedicated function if available,
    // or ensure this category is registered via the Abilities API.
    // For now, let's assume the category exists or is handled.

    // Register a specific CRM ability: get_customer_data.
    wp_register_ability(
        'bbioon_get_customer_data',
        array(
            'label'       => __( 'Get Customer Data', 'bbioon_crm_abilities' ),
            'description' => __( 'Retrieves detailed information for a specific customer.', 'bbioon_crm_abilities' ),
            'category'    => $category_slug, // CRITICAL: Assign to a category.
            'callback'    => 'bbioon_ai_get_customer_data_callback',
            'schema'      => array(
                'type'       => 'object',
                'properties' => array(
                    'customer_id' => array(
                        'type'        => 'integer',
                        'description' => __( 'The ID of the customer.', 'bbioon_crm_abilities' ),
                    ),
                ),
                'required'   => array( 'customer_id' ),
            ),
        )
    );
}

function bbioon_ai_get_customer_data_callback( $args ) {
    $customer_id = $args['customer_id'] ?? 0;
    // ... logic to retrieve customer data from your custom CRM ...
    // Example:
    $customer_data = array(
        'id'    => $customer_id,
        'name'  => 'John Doe',
        'email' => 'john.doe@example.com',
        'orders' => 5,
    );
    return wp_json_encode( $customer_data );
}
?>

Notice the 'category' => $category_slug, line. That’s the kicker. Without it, your ability is just floating out there, less likely to be used effectively by the AI. This modular approach, as discussed in the contributor meetings, allows for easier management and prevents the API from becoming a monolithic mess.

So, Why Bother with All This Decoupling?

• Clarity for AI: Categories give the AI context, helping it understand when an ability is relevant.
• Future-Proofing: The core team specifically chose an adapter approach (like the MCP Adapter) to insulate the Abilities API from external protocol changes. Your categorized abilities will seamlessly adapt.
• Developer Experience: It forces you to think about how your custom functionality fits into the larger AI ecosystem, promoting cleaner, more intentional integrations.

Look, this stuff gets complicated fast. If you’re tired of debugging someone else’s mess and just want your site to work, drop my team a line. We’ve probably seen it before.