WordPress.com launches a new AI website builder allowing users to create sites via conversation. It generates text, layouts, and images using native WP blocks. Free trial available, paid plan needed to launch.
Imagine having an idea for a website – a side project, a small business, a personal blog – and instead of grappling with design choices and layout complexities, you simply describe your vision, and the site materializes. WordPress.com, the popular hosting platform, aims to make this scenario a reality with its newly launched AI website builder.
This tool leverages artificial intelligence to construct a complete WordPress website, including text, layouts, and images, based on user input through a chat-style interface. The goal is to simplify the website creation process, making it accessible even to those without technical expertise.
"Creating a website should be simple. And now it’s as simple as having a conversation," the official WordPress.com blog post states. WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg described the launch as "long-anticipated" calling it "an entirely new way to interact with and edit a brand-new or existing WordPress site." He added, "This AI agent will make WordPress accessible to an entirely new generation and class of customers, and it will be a power tool for professionals to do things in minutes that used to take them hours."
The AI website builder is primarily targeted towards individuals and small entities who need a professional-looking web presence quickly:
However, the company notes that the tool is not yet equipped to handle e-commerce sites or those requiring complex integrations, though improvements are planned.
Instead of the traditional process of selecting themes, adjusting colors, adding content, and sourcing images manually, the AI builder streamlines these steps:
Crucially, the builder generates sites using native WordPress blocks and the Gutenberg editor. This means users aren't locked into a proprietary system. "It creates a site using native WordPress blocks," explained James LePage, Automattic’s Director of Engineering, AI, in an interview. "So if a user clicks through and wants to bold a section of text or change a layout, they’re not stuck—they’re already in the editor."
LePage further highlighted the suitability of WordPress's structure for AI: "Block-based themes and Gutenberg are almost perfectly suited for AI. You have predictable structures, defined rules—and that makes it much easier to generate, modify, and extend what’s on the page."
The technology behind the builder involves a mix of self-hosted open-source models and externally hosted large language models, functioning as an AI agent capable of understanding context and executing changes within the site editor.
Getting started with the AI builder is straightforward:
Remember, this feature currently only works for brand-new WordPress.com websites. If you have an existing site, you cannot apply the AI builder to it at this time, although WordPress.com has indicated future support is planned.
While users can experiment with the AI builder for free using up to 30 prompts, launching the resulting website requires a paid hosting plan. WordPress.com specifies that users creating sites with the AI tool must choose either the Premium plan ($96 per year) or the Business plan ($300 per year). These plans offer varying levels of storage, access to premium themes, support, and, importantly, unlimited AI prompts for further site refinement.
The introduction of an AI builder places WordPress.com in more direct competition with platforms like Wix and Squarespace, which already offer AI-driven site creation tools. However, WordPress.com emphasizes the flexibility derived from its foundation in the open-source WordPress ecosystem and the native Gutenberg editor.
"If you compare it with other WordPress site builders, I think it’s the most advanced out there in how it works," LePage told. "It’s also much more conversational... it creates pages using the Gutenberg block editor and lets users interact with their site through natural language."
Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, sees this as an initial step. "It’s kind of the first of a lot more to come," LePage stated, hinting at broader AI integration across the platform. Mullenweg also confirmed that the capability "will work for any WordPress site in the future," suggesting eventual availability beyond the WordPress.com hosting environment or for existing sites.
The development team, including Neel Shivdasani (AI Product Lead) and Derek Smart (Applied AI Team Lead), collaborated with beta testers over the past year to refine the tool. LePage, who joined Automattic following the acquisition of his startup WPAI, also contributed and hinted at upcoming developer-focused AI tools, like the WordPress Features AI API.
The WordPress.com AI Site Builder represents a significant effort to lower the barrier to entry for website creation on the platform. By translating user ideas into functional websites through conversation, it addresses the common "blank page problem" and offers a rapid start for those daunted by traditional web design processes. While limitations exist, particularly regarding complex site functionalities and current restriction to new sites, the tool provides a glimpse into a future where AI assists more deeply in the web creation journey within the WordPress ecosystem. It prompts reflection on how AI can serve not just as a content generator, but as an active partner in the design and development process, potentially altering how individuals and businesses establish their online presence.
Just what the internet needed – more templated, algorithmically generated mediocrity threatening to turn the vibrant chaos of the web into a homogenous strip mall. One can almost picture the legions of near-identical 'artisanal coffee shop' or 'freelance portfolio' sites about to spring forth, each perfectly optimized and utterly soulless. Is the goal to make web creation easier, or just... blander? It's a tool that promises to democratize web design but might inadvertently sterilize it, reducing unique visions to the closest available pattern in its dataset.
However... let's not dismiss the potential just because the initial application seems pedestrian. Forget the standard brochure sites for a moment. Imagine this AI builder evolving into a tool for creating hyper-specific, ephemeral web experiences. Think a bespoke micro-site for a single weekend pop-up restaurant, generated instantly with menu, map, and reservation form, then disappearing automatically. Or consider a political campaign using it to spin up dozens of unique landing pages in minutes, each tailored with AI-generated messaging dynamically adjusted for different voter demographics based on real-time data feeds. This isn't just about building static sites faster; it's about enabling dynamic, context-aware web presence generation at scale.
Where could this really shake things up? The low-to-mid tier web design agency market focused on simple SME websites could face disruption. Why pay thousands for a basic WordPress setup when AI can deliver a functional starting point in minutes for the cost of a hosting plan? Furthermore, consider the events industry: instant, customizable sites for conferences, weddings, or festivals, perhaps with AI-powered features like personalized schedules or interactive maps generated on the fly. Or education: teachers creating interactive project sites for their classes without needing any coding knowledge. The real value isn't just building "a" website, but building the "right" website, for the "right" audience, at the "right" moment, perhaps only "for" that moment.
