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Hooks, Filters & Now Context:
Why MCPs Are the “Hooks” of
the AI Era
Miriam Schwab
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Once upon a time…
we would make updates directly in core 😬
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No content
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60k+
Plugin Ecosystem
42%
Of the Web
20 yrs
Battle Tested
The Protocol Advantage
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We’re at that moment again and
our history gives us a structural
advantage.
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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.
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Connection is the default
Growth is the natural outcome
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What WordPress Core
Is Already Building
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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.
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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
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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
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Our real advantage is our culture of sharing.
It can’t be manufactured.
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Without protocol
isolated competitors
With MCP
connected ecosystem
Collaboration becomes the default
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So the WP Core AI team is building the
rails.
The question is what the rest of
us build on them.
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WordPress is positioned to lead in
the AI era - not despite how we’ve
always worked, but because of it.