Key Takeaways
- WordPress has been buckling down on incorporating more SaaS-like features into its platform, which suggests a larger industry change for content management systems.
- Sara Faatz from software company Progress Software predicts that within just a few years, we’ll be seeing self-optimizing systems that rewrite code in real time run by a layer of AI agents.
- For hosts, it’s another sign of the times, and virtualized and cloud-native setups are naturally better equipped to handle AI workloads.
WordPress recently rolled out its early-access AI Site Builder, which generates logos, layouts, content, and images based on NLP prompts. Like other builders, it’s designed to help users publish new, professional websites in minutes.
Although it’s unclear whether the AI builder will function via API for self-hosted sites (Hostinger, Bluehost, etc.), it does address the big question WordPress is facing: How can it compete with SaaS builders?
The new AI builder is WordPress’s answer to exactly that, putting it in the same arena as Wix and Squarespace, which already leverage real-time AI to create fully custom websites in minutes.
Soon enough, the next wave of AI will pour in. Sara Faatz, Director of Technology Community Relations at Progress Software, predicts that agentic AI will be used for CMS platforms next.
“An AI Agent can make context-aware decisions, adapt to real-time data, and continuously learn from user interactions. Because of this, it has the ability to autonomously generate, refine, and personalize high-quality content at scale,” said Faatz in an exclusive interview with HostingAdvice.
While WordPress is not agentic — meaning it doesn’t yet make autonomous decisions — many site builders and content platforms are already moving in the direction of the digital experience platform (DXP).
DXP is like a CMS, but times 10: While it manages content, it also personalizes and delivers it across multiple channels (web, mobile, email, etc.) based on user behavior, all from one system. And agentic AI plays a big role in that.
Headless platforms like Contentful are blending CMS and DXP features by integrating agentic AI, while enterprise solutions like Sitecore are already using AI to model content and personalize user experiences by automatically adjusting layouts, copy, and interfaces in real time based on individual behavior.
Agentic Platforms Behave Differently
While WordPress isn’t autonomous (yet), it’s clearly laying some groundwork that hints at a DXP transition, suggesting that CMS platforms aren’t staying static.
Faatz told HostingAdvice that autonomous CMSes differ from traditional systems like WordPress in three key areas:
- Integrations: API-first, not plugin-dependent
- Content delivery: Omnichannel-ready for the entire platform
- Decision-making: Autonomously works without human triggers
Agentic AI in a CMS platform could look like round-the-clock security monitoring, caching, content/SEO optimization, plugin updates, or dynamically changing web pages to fit a specific visitor based on things like device, behavior, and location.
“What would have taken a person or team of people days or even weeks to do, now can be done in a matter of minutes,” Faatz said.
For eCommerce, this fundamentally changes how businesses sell online, which, of course, also affects providers’ bottom lines. (If “happy customer, happy host” isn’t a saying yet, it should be.)
But this change means hosting environments traditionally built for predictability must now account for real-time behavior because when an agent is “always on,” resources are always being used.
And since agentic AI makes CMSes/DXPs smarter, faster, and more autonomous, that’s a resource-intensive change web hosts can’t ignore. Basically, the point is traditional tools — like predictive caching — won’t be enough.
What Hosts Should Know
Even if hosts aren’t touching WordPress’s AI builder today, the DXP shift is already reshaping the WordPress ecosystem. Plugins like RankMath, Jetpack AI, and AISEO are introducing autonomous behavior that expands their users’ experience while web-building, and surely, more platforms will follow.
“I think in the next couple of years our systems and operations will be run by a complex network of AI agents. We will have self-optimizing systems that rewrite code in real-time,” Faatz said. “We are witnessing a beautiful collision of technical readiness and organizational eagerness.”
Those who have been in the hosting game know this shift is another sign of the times: In the early 2000s, WordPress went from a blogging platform to a CMS with templates and layouts. From 2010 onward, it exploded with plugins and extensions for better user personalization.
To leave on a note of optimism, it’s as Faatz said: “The role of the human will still be critical. In the coming years, AI agents will handle most operational tasks, allowing humans to focus on innovation, strategy, and creativity.”
