I’ve been tracking the Core-AI progress for months, and seeing the WordPress Abilities API finally hit the 6.9 Beta 2 release is a significant win for the ecosystem. However, if you’ve been following the repository since its inception, you’ll notice the “final” version landing in Core looks a bit different than the original prototype. Specifically, there is a major architectural pivot regarding the JavaScript registration that every developer needs to understand before they start refactoring their plugins.
Why the WordPress Abilities API in 6.9 Beta is a Half-Step
The server-side component is solid. It’s officially in Core, and the team is already shifting focus to community testing. Consequently, the original standalone repository is likely headed for the archives. This is a standard lifecycle for Core features: you build in a feature plugin, you iterate, and then you merge. Furthermore, the goal here is to provide a machine-readable way for plugins and themes to declare what they “can do”—essentially creating a standardized capability map for AI agents.
But here is the catch: the JavaScript ability registration—the part that actually lets the front-end interact with these definitions—missed the Core merge deadline. Instead of delaying the whole API, the team moved the JS registration to the Gutenberg repository. It will ship as a standalone NPM package. For developers, this means you’ll be pulling in a package rather than relying on a global Core JS variable for the time being.
<?php
/**
* Registering a server-side ability in WordPress 6.9
*/
function bbioon_register_ai_summary_ability() {
if ( ! function_exists( 'register_ability' ) ) {
return;
}
register_ability( 'bbioon/content-summarizer', [
'label' => __( 'Content Summarizer', 'text-domain' ),
'description' => __( 'Generates a 2-sentence summary of any post.', 'text-domain' ),
'category' => 'content',
'capabilities' => [ 'edit_posts' ],
] );
}
add_action( 'init', 'bbioon_register_ai_summary_ability' );The AI Experiments Plugin: Moving Beyond Scaffolding
While Core gets the API, the AI Experiments plugin is where the actual “features” are living. The team is nearing a 0.1.0 release, which will finally include a functional admin settings screen and the first experimental feature: title generation. If you’ve been frustrated by the lack of a standardized UI for LLM credentials in WordPress, this is the project to watch.
I’ve seen plenty of “AI plugins” that just hardcode an OpenAI key into a settings field. In contrast, the AI Experiments plugin is trying to build a sound architecture that works across varied environments. They even merged a Playground link for PR testing—a move I wish more plugin developers would adopt to streamline the review process.
WP AI Client: The Server-Side Priority
One technical detail that jumped out at me in the latest check-in is the prioritization of the WordPress AI Client. The team is pushing for a 0.1.0 release that focuses strictly on server-side LLM querying. They are intentionally deferring the REST API endpoints that enable client-side (JS-based) querying. Therefore, you won’t be doing direct browser-to-LLM calls using the official client just yet.
From an architectural standpoint, this makes sense. Handling LLM responses on the server allows for better validation, credential security, and hookable processing before the data ever hits the user’s screen. It prevents the “Wild West” of client-side AI calls that can quickly lead to race conditions or security leaks if not handled with a robust transporter.
Look, if this WordPress Abilities API stuff is eating up your dev hours, let me handle it. I’ve been wrestling with WordPress since the 4.x days.
The MCP Adapter Refactor
Lastly, keep an eye on the MCP Adapter. It just went through a massive 0.3.0 refactor. Specifically, the team noted that version 0.1.0 is now essentially unusable because the “shape” of the abilities has changed. This is the messy reality of early-stage Core development. If you were building on top of the early MCP prototype, it’s time to update your dependencies immediately or risk a complete breakdown of your integration logic.
WordPress is moving toward an AI-first future, and the WordPress Abilities API is the foundation. It’s not just about “adding a chatbot”; it’s about defining a common language so that WordPress knows exactly what your code is capable of performing.
