Hooks, Filters & Now Context: Why MCPs Are the “Hooks” of the AI Era

WordPress's hooks and filters system didn't just make the platform extensible — it created a shared protocol that let an entire ecosystem grow without gatekeeping, permission, or coordination. Tens of thousands of plugins, thousands of themes, competing companies all building on the same open foundation.

The WordPress core AI team is doing exactly this again. The Abilities API, the MCP Adapter, and the WP AI Client — shipping in WordPress 6.9 and 7.0 — are the hooks system for AI. And the open-source culture that made the plugin ecosystem what it is gives WordPress a structural advantage that no closed AI platform can replicate.

This talk, given at WordCamp Asia 2026, explores that parallel and makes the case for why this community is uniquely positioned to lead in the AI era.

Transcript

1. Hooks, Filters & Now Context: Why MCPs Are the “Hooks” of the AI Era Miriam Schwab
2. Once upon a time… we would make updates directly in core 😬
4. 60k+ Plugin Ecosystem 42% Of the Web 20 yrs Battle Tested The Protocol Advantage
5. We’re at that moment again and our history gives us a structural advantage. 
6. What Hooks Actually Did  Open Infrastructure A standard that everyone can rely on without gatekeeping.  Clear Extension Points Structured pathways for external code to interact seamlessly.  Build the Rails, Step Aside No predicting all use cases. Setting the direction and then getting out of the community's way.
7. Connection is the default Growth is the natural outcome
8. What WordPress Core Is Already Building
9. The new “hooks” are here. Abilities API Register what your plugin can do. MCP Adapter Expose it through the shared protocol. WP AI Client One SDK in core, the ecosystem builds on it. Standardizing how AI interact with the WordPress ecosystem.
10. Building the WP “Hooks” System for AI Common Protocols Standardized ways for AI to communicate across different systems. Shared Infrastructure A foundational layer that benefits the entire ecosystem together. Open by Default Transparency and accessibility are baked into the core design. Built the Open-Source Way • Anyone can contribute to the evolution of the platform • Anyone can build on top of this shared foundation • No single entity controls or restricts access to the network
11. Open Source - Ideal Environment for AI WordPress Open Source Model ✓ 60,000+ plugins, each can expose Abilities ✓ Every capability becomes AI-discoverable ✓ Network effects no closed platform can match ✓ No single company’s roadmap limits growth > Proprietary AI Tools ✗ Managed environment, proprietary format ✗ Builders are siloed from each other ✗ Everyone reinvents the same wheel ✗ Wasteful in time, energy, and compute
12. Our real advantage is our culture of sharing. It can’t be manufactured.
13. Without protocol isolated competitors    With MCP connected ecosystem    Collaboration becomes the default
14. So the WP Core AI team is building the rails. The question is what the rest of us build on them. 
15. WordPress is positioned to lead in the AI era - not despite how we’ve always worked, but because of it.
16. Let's build what's next, Together. Miriam Schwab | miriam@elementor.com