How should we communicate WordPress AI efforts to low-/no-tech site owners?

[jeffpaul]

As part of the broader WordPress AI work, we want to ensure that our communication and education reaches site owners and WordPress users who may not have a technical background. This is especially important as we get closer to the release of WordPress 6.9, where some of these AI features will become available for public testing primarily via the AI Experiments plugin but also via the other constituent AI Building Blocks (Abilities API, MCP Adapter, PHP+WP AI Client SDK).

The challenge: much of our current work is focused on design, development, and infrastructure. But we need to think ahead about how to present this in an approachable, useful way for those who primarily use WordPress to publish and manage content, rather than build plugins or write code. Said differently, this is a very technical topic, but one that non-technical users are interested and excited about so we need to ensure we're targeting and reaching out to them in ways that they'll understand.

A few starting questions:

• What types of content and materials (docs, blog posts, video walkthroughs, marketing/education campaigns) would be most valuable for this audience?
• How do we frame the AI Experiments plugin and related features so that site owners see them as safe, optional, and experimental rather than overwhelming or risky?
• Where should this type of content live? Should it be on WordPress.org (Learn, News, Make blogs), in third-party community spaces, or some mix?
• Are there existing WordPress educational efforts such as Learn WordPress, Outreach (fka FSE Outreach) WP Briefing podcast, or marketing team initiatives that we should connect with?
• How do we time this work so it complements the 6.9 release cycle without getting squeezed in late in the process?

I would love community input on:

• Concrete ideas for low/no-tech-friendly resources we could produce
• Suggestions for messaging and framing that resonates with site owners
• Examples of past WordPress or open source efforts that successfully reached this type of audience

By opening this discussion now, I hope to avoid a scramble in November or December and instead start preparing early to support the full range of WordPress users in understanding and benefiting from the AI work.

[karmatosed]

I am coming to this with the mindset of what has come up over the past few weeks as common themes.

• A need for clarity over what WordPress is (and isn’t) going to do with AI: think of this as a principles of AI within project perhaps.
• Workshops: a way that people can level up and get started. Ideally self starting and not needing high end materials. The work going on with the NOLA workshop might lead to some work here we can use hopefully. I also think the experiments repo should perhaps have some ideas.
• A need for more blog posts and updates on make blog around status of features. We have the handbook, but people are going to and want to read posts. Also getting excited about releases, fuels excitement.

Now, in order to answer your questions:

What types of content and materials (docs, blog posts, video walkthroughs, marketing/education campaigns) would be most valuable for this audience?

I think we respond to the needs outlined above, people have been clearly asking for things and we start there.

How do we frame the AI Experiments plugin and related features so that site owners see them as safe, optional, and experimental rather than overwhelming or risky?

This is a harder question. I almost at this point want a plugin and project repo seperate. My concern and I am going to state it is that this repo becomes a beautiful collection point for everything and confusing as a result. To me it would be clearer just as the experiments. Then having another one that is for the team and has other materials and collaboration issues, project management - that feels better. I say this as also someone that has wondered and stopped myself making an issue on here feeling it might be noisy. Ideally we want this to be a space people come to make bug reports on the experiments eventually also and/or enhancements as they are released. It feels confusing to have project issues also.

Now, that’s not specifically the question you are asking me but it plays a little into the need to keep this as a plugin and related features. It should have consideration what goes here and not become a kitchen sink.

Where should this type of content live? Should it be on WordPress.org (Learn, News, Make blogs), in third-party community spaces, or some mix?

We have a range of options and I think this is where we activate other teams. I would say ‘all the places we can’, but having a central place to hold and form is useful. We need to be sure of the message and updating resources. WP Credits can also be a space for us to feed into as that project grows hopefully.

Are there existing WordPress educational efforts such as Learn WordPress, Outreach (fka FSE Outreach) WP Briefing podcast, or marketing team initiatives that we should connect with?

Again to me it’s all of those. The more we can, by having a central space to form our approach. This to me is a good old fashioned product launch.

How do we time this work so it complements the 6.9 release cycle without getting squeezed in late in the process?

We do it now.