The WordPress community gathered for the annual "State of the Word 2025", delivering a comprehensive overview of the platform’s progress, groundbreaking achievements, and cutting-edge initiatives. This year brought a sharper focus on artificial intelligence (AI), collaboration, and global accessibility, all while maintaining WordPress’s foundational commitment to freedom and open-source excellence.
As the platform continues to power over 43% of the web, the event highlighted the milestones reached in 2025, future innovations, and the broader significance of WordPress as a tool for empowering individuals, companies, and communities worldwide.
A Year of Momentum: WordPress 6.9 and Community Contributions
The release of WordPress 6.9 took center stage during the event, marking a significant milestone with its live launch during the presentation. This version exemplifies speed, collaboration, and innovation, encapsulating the platform’s evolution in 2025. With over 900 contributors from around the globe, WordPress 6.9 highlights the strength of its community-driven development model.
Key features of WordPress 6.9 include:
- A faster and more polished editor designed for enhanced collaboration.
- Introduction of block notes, enabling in-editor comments for streamlined teamwork.
- Expanded design tools, including the accordion block for collapsible content sections and stretchy text for dynamic typography.
- Improved developer tools like interactivity APIs and the abilities API, laying the groundwork for future innovations.
The update represents a leap forward in making WordPress more user-friendly, accessible, and collaborative – not just for individuals but also for teams and businesses.
Collaboration Comes to the Forefront
One of the standout features of WordPress 6.9 is its increased focus on real-time collaboration. Similar to tools like Google Docs, the platform now allows multiple contributors to work on the same project simultaneously through features like block notes. This innovation sets the stage for WordPress to become a "multiplayer" experience, empowering teams to co-create content seamlessly.
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The Rise of AI in WordPress: Empowering, Not Replacing
Artificial intelligence emerged as the dominant theme of the event, with WordPress introducing foundational AI tools to augment the user experience and accelerate development. Earlier this year, WordPress officially created a dedicated AI team, which has rapidly delivered an impressive suite of tools and capabilities.
Key AI Innovations in WordPress
- Abilities API: This registry of site functionalities enables both humans and AI agents to understand what can be achieved on a WordPress site. It acts as a bridge between AI systems and WordPress workflows, making automation seamless.
- WordPress AI Client: A unified interface that allows developers to integrate different AI models (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) into WordPress. This ensures flexibility and accessibility, regardless of the AI provider.
- MCP Adapter: A tool that connects WordPress to third-party AI services, enabling AI to interact with WordPress as though it were a human user. This opens doors for AI-driven site management and content creation.
- AI Experiments Plugin: Available as a WordPress plugin, this tool allows users to explore AI features such as content generation, image editing, and accessibility recommendations.
These tools emphasize enabling rather than replacing human creativity. As Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, noted, "Humans and AI working together will unlock so much of what we’ll see in the future."
Real-World Applications of AI
The event showcased examples of how AI is transforming the WordPress ecosystem:
- Hostinger’s Kodee AI Assistant: Generates fully functional WordPress sites in 60 seconds based on user input.
- Elementor’s AI Copilot: Suggests design elements and improves development workflows.
- Jetpack AI: Assists with tone adjustments, comparison tables, and content editing within the Gutenberg editor.
- Yoast SEO: Uses AI for keyword clustering and enhanced SEO optimizations.
Beyond these examples, the potential for AI to contribute to plugin reviews, theme validation, and security enhancements on WordPress is immense.
A Global Community Driving WordPress Forward
WordPress continues to be a global force, with statistics reflecting its widespread adoption:
- 43% of all websites and 60% of CMS-powered sites run on WordPress.
- 56% of WordPress sites are in non-English languages, with Japanese becoming the second most popular language on the platform.
- WordPress now powers 49.4% of the top 1,000 websites worldwide.
The community aspect of WordPress remains its backbone. In 2025, there were 81 WordCamps held in 39 countries, engaging over 100,000 attendees in person. These events have proven instrumental in fostering innovation, collaboration, and education within the WordPress ecosystem.
Investing in the Next Generation
The platform’s educational initiatives are expanding rapidly:
- Learn.WordPress.org served 1.5 million users this year, fostering skill-building and participation.
- Campus Connect partnered with universities to integrate WordPress into academic programs, allowing students to contribute to open-source projects while earning academic credit.
- Youth events, such as Youth Day in Nicaragua, introduced children and teenagers to website creation using WordPress.
By empowering the next generation of web creators, WordPress is laying the foundation for sustained growth.
Challenges and the Road Ahead for WordPress
While the past year has been transformative, several challenges lie ahead:
- Ensuring ethical use of AI and maintaining human agency in a rapidly automated world.
- Navigating changes in how people access content, especially as AI-driven interfaces like chatbots change user behavior.
- Addressing security and quality issues within the vast ecosystem of 60,000+ plugins and 14,000+ themes.
The roadmap for 2026 includes multilingual support, strengthening AI integrations, and expanding capabilities for both individual users and enterprise clients.
Key Takeaways
- WordPress 6.9 Brings Collaboration to the Forefront: New features like block notes and stretchy text empower users to co-create more effectively.
- AI is a Game-Changer for WordPress: Tools like the abilities API and AI experiments plugin enhance website creation without replacing human creativity.
- Global Growth and Localization: WordPress now powers over 43% of the web, with non-English sites making up 56% of its user base.
- Educational Initiatives Expand: Learn.WordPress.org, Campus Connect, and youth programs are equipping the next generation with essential digital skills.
- Commitment to Freedom: WordPress prioritizes user control, open-source principles, and data liberation, ensuring the web remains open and accessible.
- AI-Powered Tools for Developers: The WordPress AI Client and MCP Adapter make integrating AI into plugins and websites easier than ever.
- A Better Future for Plugins: With AI-assisted reviews, WordPress is improving plugin quality and security for millions of users.
Conclusion
The 2025 "State of the Word" reinforced WordPress’s role as a cornerstone of the open web, combining innovation with a commitment to freedom and inclusivity. With groundbreaking advancements in AI, real-time collaboration, and global accessibility, WordPress is not just keeping up with the times – it’s setting the pace for the digital future.
As the platform enters its third decade, its guiding principles of freedom, community, and empowerment remain more relevant than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or a new user, WordPress continues to offer powerful tools and a thriving ecosystem to help you build, create, and connect in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Source: "State of the Word 2025" YouTube, Dec 3, 2025 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_DF4-23C8Q