[WCNL] Marcel Tannich - The new reality of WordPress support (20min version)

AI is increasingly handling the routine WordPress support questions. What remains are the complex, ambiguous issues that resist automation and don’t have an obvious answer.

This talk explores in 20min what happens when AI, documentation, and even experienced developers reach their limits, and the unresolved problem lands on a support engineer’s desk. Through real-world examples, we’ll look at how modern support professionals investigate issues, form hypotheses, communicate uncertainty, and work toward solutions when there is no clear path forward. In this longer version we also look at the perspective of the developers.

As AI changes the support landscape, the most valuable skills are no longer knowing the answer, but knowing how to find it.

1. WORDCAMP NETHERLANDS 2026 The new reality of WordPress support. Marcel Tannich NOVEMBER 12 · THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
2. ABOUT ME Marcel Tannich. WordPress Consulting & Stabilisation WordPress.org Plugins Team, sponsored by tannich.com project99.dev CONSULTING SUPPORT TRAINING
3. CONTEXT What is happening? ✓ AI removes routine questions. ✓ The difficult ones still reach humans. ✓ Problem: They arrive now with code examples, confident conclusions and sometimes the wrong problem.
4. CASE A real support request. 1 18 2 9 11 critical production problem months of history modified plugin files requirements for the solution direct questions Where should the support engineer begin?
5. CLIENT The client. ✓ Describe. Show. Reproduce. ✓ When the problem is difficult to describe, record a video. ✓ A screenshot without context is not a bug report.
6. CLIENT Help support observe the problem. Don’t make them inherit your investigation.
7. SUPPORT ENGINEER The support engineer. Observed Assumed Changed Unknown Take the client’s theory seriously. Don’t treat it as fact.
8. SUPPORT ENGINEER Know where to look.
9. INVESTIGATION The tools didn’t change. The starting point did. BROWSER WORDPRESS INFRASTRUCTURE Console Logs Server Network Database Cache Storage WP-CLI External services You don’t need every answer. You need the next place to look.
10. DEVELOPER The developer. ✓ Code is written faster than ever ✓ Support doesn't always know how it works ✓ Documentation bridges the gap
11. DEVELOPER Help others understand. ✓ HTML feature overviews ✓ Markdown documentation ✓ Context for AI agents (AGENTS.md)
12. SUPPORT LEAD The support lead. Fewer tickets do not mean less work.
13. AI RESOLUTION “80% resolved.” What does resolved mean? Questions answered Actions completed Problems resolved INSPIRED BY A LINKEDIN DISCUSSION STARTED BY MAXIME MANSEAU, VP SUPPORT AT BIRDIE
14. METRICS Both may count as resolved. Only one actually was. CLIENT A CLIENT B Correct answer. Problem solved. Wrong answer. Browser closed. Did AI resolve the issue, or did the client give up?
15. SUPPORT LEAD Prepare for the remaining 20%. ✓ Train for investigation. ✓ Protect time for complex cases. ✓ Preserve context during escalation.
16. SUMMARY Observe. Investigate. Prepare. AI can suggest the next answer. A support engineer must decide the next question.
17. Thank you. tannich.com project99.dev @tannich.com CONSULTING SUPPORT TRAINING BLUESKY