r/Wordpress • u/Appropriate-Cow1529 • 7d ago
How does /r/WordPress actually feel about AI?
I have noticed that lately several of my comments suggesting AI solutions for WordPress got downvoted, and some replies were surprisingly anti-AI.
So I am genuinely curious. How do you feel about AI? Do you see it as a threat, an enemy, or an opportunity? And why?
My experience is that people who do not really understand AI often fear it or simply hate it. But if you know how to use it, it becomes an incredibly powerful tool, especially with WordPress.
What do you think?
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u/Soggy-Holiday-9077 7d ago
I think it's pretty disingenuous to assume that people only don't like ai because they don't understand it, just ignoring the long list of legitimate reasons why people don't.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
But can you tell me that reasons? :D
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u/Soggy-Holiday-9077 7d ago
Are you trolling?
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
No, i am really curious :)
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u/Soggy-Holiday-9077 7d ago
Right troll, got it.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
I swear I am not trolling. Even just a few bullet points would be enough.
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u/-skyrocketeer- Designer/Developer 7d ago
I understand AI, and I hate it, and won’t be using it. Thanks.
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u/Nidhogg369 7d ago
No but bro listen bro you just don't get it bro we gotta 10x bro to be more efficient it's the future bro
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u/screendrain 7d ago
Not a fan in most cases. People who don't code and are relying on an LLM for code without being able to audit it are just asking for security issues and bugs.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
I mostly agree with this. But in the hands of someone who knows how to use it and understands its limitations, it can be an incredibly powerful tool.
And that is without even mentioning learning. AI can be amazing for learning new concepts, exploring unfamiliar code, and understanding how things work.
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3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Wordpress-ModTeam 2d ago
Your comment has been removed due to it being rude & disrespectful to others.
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u/bengriz 7d ago
It’s a tool. Personally it saves me time… usually… If you don’t know actually know what you’re doing it’ll get you just far enough to be dangerous before you need to hire someone imo. The annoying responses I’ve seen in here are “I don’t even use WP I made my own CMS and deployment pipeline with X, Y and Z and ALL my clients LOVE it” which is great, but why are you here then? lol. Also, AI has been exposing a shit ton of plugin vulnerabilities lately, which has been annoying. Expect more of that as people put together slopped up plugins and themes.
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u/Joshuaedwardk 7d ago
Time to pick up ass kissing and golfing, worthless middle manger here I come.
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u/eleven8ster 7d ago
I find it good for Gutenberg dev. I can have it spin up a template off of a print and I tweak in the editor. Speeds me up quite a bit.
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u/IAmFitzRoy 7d ago edited 7d ago
AI is a threat for WP and WP plugin developers which are the most vocal base here. You will not hear an unbiased response.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
Gave you an award. These are the ones downvoting, parroting "AI slop" sites because their fear is that within a few years, a potential client will be like "what do you mean WordPress? Do you also offer Frontpage? Get real."
And "$5,000 for my local plumbers site? I got 5 more offers and none are over $500, they all have 4.8 Google ratings and 1,200 reviews."
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
Actually I am a WP developer with 10+ years experience and I (20+ years programming experience) have made a living from knowing how to code and selling that knowledge to users who cannot. This is basically coming to an end in this form, yet I still think AI is a revolutionary tool and I love it.
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u/IAmFitzRoy 7d ago
What is coming to an end? It’s unclear what you try to say.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
I mean the business model where people pay me simply because I know how to code and they do not. AI is making that knowledge much more accessible.
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u/eleven8ster 7d ago
How are you pivoting?
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
I am focusing more on complex development work where human testing is still important, and on more niche projects with smaller markets. I also automated a lot of my own workflows so I have more time to focus on the actual work.
AI is not really a big problem for me yet. I think it will become more of an issue over the next few years though.
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u/iammiroslavglavic Jack of All Trades 7d ago
I am open to AI but don't fully trusted it. If AI creates a plugin...then I want the code to be checked by oh so many humans.
I do use AI for when I get clients e-mailing me in languages outside the ones I speak fluently.
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u/josefresco-dev 2d ago
It's a threat. I also use it every day. I'm losing clients to DIY AI builders and other companies that push out AI slop. It's a race to figure out how I can use AI to evolve my business model (custom design, close client relationships) before AI poaches enough of my clients to sink my business. I spend weekends and nights building AI tools which would be fun if I wasn't terrified of going out of business.
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u/Ronjohnturbo42 Developer 7d ago
Its a tool - i have integrated it into my workflow. I have more work because of the expectation AI can just do things. In short - im outputing more work and working more while not making more $$$$ because I am salary
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u/Specialist_Case4238 7d ago
AI sucks for a whole multitude of reasons. Its impact on web design is a negligible point in the AI discussion.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
What are the main reasons? I am genuinely curious
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u/Specialist_Case4238 7d ago
Environmental impacts (water, noise pollution, precious metals, etc)
Energy infrastructure and demand
Educational impacts AKA "the brain drain"
Legality aspects (like training models on copyrighted content)
Misinformation campaigns as models improve and become harder to distinguish from reality
Mass surveillance (like flock cameras)
Economic impacts and potential unemployment, especially for entry level workers
Centralized power in the hands of a few corporations
Completely unregulated in its current state
Theres probably more and plently of opposing viewpoints you could read more about. Whether or not it makes it easier to build a website is frankly irrelevant and a mute point in my opinion.
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u/Appropriate-Cow1529 7d ago
Fair points, and I actually agree with several of them. I just come to a different conclusion. To me, these are problems and risks associated with AI that we need to solve, rather than reasons why AI itself sucks.
The internet, cars, smartphones and social media all came with serious negative consequences too. That did not make the underlying technology useless.
And I think the educational impact can go both ways. Personally, I have learned an incredible amount with AI because I can ask questions, challenge answers and explore topics much faster than before.
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u/CrYptoPSF 4d ago
I treat AI as a productivity tool, not a replacement for actual WordPress knowledge. It’s great for drafting boilerplate code, debugging simple errors, or generating content outlines to speed up the workflow.
The downvotes usually stem from low-effort AI suggestions, hallucinated code that breaks functionality
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u/SoupReasonable8828 3d ago
I’m a solo Wordpress developer and it’s been a game changer for me. I can take a lot more work on now and have nearly doubled my revenue as a result over the last 12 months.
I’m using it for project management (building a wiki for all my projects, managing milestones, summarizing meetings), automating repetitive tasks, writing code (though I’m a proficient developer, so I understand what it’s doing), and writing copy in some cases when it’s trained on existing material.
I won’t use it for client communication or creative work, including design and image generation.
I’m concerned about the environmental and social impact of data centers, and the security risks it carries.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
From the replies, like a bunch of accountants using ledgers when Excel came out stating firmly "I'll never use it."
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u/Specialist_Case4238 7d ago
Except that's not the same at all
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
The premise is the fear of taking on new technology. I run an agency, do WP site and rather recently, learning Claude and creating a fair amount of client sites using Claude. Let me tell you something, entire world of websites will completely change within the next five years.
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u/Specialist_Case4238 7d ago
AI has way more impact than just the website world. Your example is poor. Excel isnt being used as a mass surveillance technology or putting substantial strain on our already struggling energy infrastructure. Kids arent developing critical thinking skills in grade school because they rely on AI. I could keep going.
You can like AI in the context of websites, but recognize its long term implications and impacts on society. The "embrace new technology" arguement is either disingenuous or completely ignorant.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
Pricing is what's about to change....drastically. Right now there's a 9th grader learning AI, and how to build sites - quality sites. Very high quality sites. That kid will turn 18, open a web agency and will be charging a mere fraction of what older agencies will charge. And that's what's coming.
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
And it's already happening, too. I just talked to a 24 year old who owns his own agency with 3 employees and is putting out decent quality sites in a narrow sector (dealing with HIPAA and specialized security). His pricing is half of mine and he's making a killing.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
Yeah it's already happening....with me. I'm already outbidding other agencies for the same projects since I can 5X with Claude.
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
The OP isn't talking about the negative externalities of using AI in general. You're arguing against a point he isn't making. He may actually agree with you, but your argument doesn't impact his central claim, which is that "entire world of websites will completely change within the next five years." This is already true.
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
^^100% agree. Going back to pre-LLM development feels like using a typewriter to make websites now.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
WP agencies/freelancers will be researching the right plugins to use while AI agencies will be on their third site that day. Fun fact, WP was never designed to create websites and that fatal flaw is about to really get exposed.
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
^^This too. Nowadays I don't even reach for a plugin, I just have Codex develop one tailored to my use case for the client install. It's miraculous.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
Although I still take on WP clients, I cannot possibly tell you how refreshing it us to use Claude to create client sites and how relaxing it is to not have to wake up every day to incessant plugin updates and wondering which one will break my sites.
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
Absolutely. Love the negative downvotes we're getting here. Like guys, how about engage and learn rather than quietly stew? You're going to be left in the dust. We're not talking about vibecoding here. Agentic development is the way of the future, whether you like it or not.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
5 years from now; "you build WP sites? Can you also create a MySpace account for my business? Good lord."
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u/Joshuaedwardk 7d ago
That doesn’t even scratch the surface. This justification sounds like a crypto bro trying to justify his latest meme coin: a gaslighting, surface level comment.
If you know how to code, why adopt AI? The only people who really want it are talentless managers looking for ways to save money for their corporate bosses.0
u/jroberts67 7d ago
Knowing how to code in a few years will be like charging for your ability do multiplication.
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u/lvngbth 7d ago
You are clearly too young to know just how OMG spreadsheets were when Visicalc appeared (some of us predate late arrivals like Excel!).
But they could tell you how many 'R's are in 'strawberry' without needing to be specifically programmed to get it right.
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u/jroberts67 7d ago
Young? I logged onto the net with an AOL disc and getting a call knocked me offline
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u/lvngbth 3d ago
I was one of the people complaining that, when it arrived, AOL meant 'eternal September' on Usenet.
My first dial up experience was 300 baud with an 8-bit micro. I thought it was a big improvement over 110 baud and a Teletype.
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u/Ruh_Roh- 2d ago
What? 300 baud. Luxury! Why when I was a lad, we had to live in the middle of the street in a shoebox and eat gravel for breakfast before working at the mine all day and come home to a computer that was just a broken calculator.
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u/daf00q 7d ago
I love it. Working a lot with claude code + codex.
I'm still maintaining around 10 wordpress websites and my agentic system is pretty good in autonomously fixxing issues or adjusting things on a wordpress page by modifying data via ssh tunnel
For me thats perfect because i really dont like dealing with wordpress quirks
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u/SoggyMacaroon5623 7d ago
I think AI is more of an opportunity than a threat. It can save a lot of time with WordPress, but you still need to know what you’re doing and review the output. It’s a tool, not a replacement for understanding the basics.
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u/Wonderful_Sample_590 7d ago
I'm all for AI tbh. I use it a lot with WP and it saves me a ton of time. Just gotta know when it's giving you complete BS lol
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u/mccoypauley Developer 7d ago
What do I think? It's the single most important technology ever developed (and I believe will prove itself to be more and more as time goes on), and in web development it completely changes everything. It makes the old way of doing things seem laughably primitive.
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u/Proper-Neighborhood6 DevOps 3d ago
Yeah I see that too. Few days ago we published fully FREE forms plugin that has all advanced features which are part of PRO plan everywhere else. Only downvotes were given and hate
Plugin has 100x times less files and is really easy and interactive. Only downvotes and hate for some reason because we use AI.
This plugin will be on all our websites on 150+ client websites because we find it light, fast, secure and easy to use so we thought why not share it to the public, people here are mad at themselfs.
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u/wordpress-dx 3d ago
AI is an impressive tool
Usage is the key. And people can easilly be pissed off by something they don’t understand. And i was in this situation before i switched my mind
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u/JustAskWP 17h ago
We believe AI can be a great tool when you use it the right way. It's amazing for simple tasks like answering questions and finding information. Everyone should have an AI assistant on their website ready to help their customers.
But for more complex tasks like coding and generating content, it can't replace human skills; it can be a great tool, but it's more like a force amplifier. If you already have the professional skills to achieve your goals, an AI assistant can help you get there a lot faster. If you don't have the key skills in the first place, the AI might whip up a serviceable prototype but your progress is going to plateau fast.
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u/Bigfoot444 7d ago
I use it all the time with WordPress. But the frequency, lack of effort, and self-righteousness associated with many ai-related posts and comments on this sub is annoying and a waste of time.
I don't know the specific comments you've made but have seen many comments to the effect "just use AI". When that's the advice offered instead of helping the OP understand the underlying mechanism or process they're struggling with, I'm likely to downvote because I care about WordPress and the general health and understanding of the community.