WooCommerce May Gain Sidekick-Type AI Through Extensions

WooCommerce is approaching a turning level in 2026 because of the Mannequin Context Protocol and the convergence of open supply applied sciences that allow it to perform as a layer any AI system can plug into, serving to retailer homeowners and customers accomplish extra with much less friction. Automattic’s Director Of Engineering AI, James LePage, mentioned what’s potential proper now, what’s coming within the close to future, and why the present limitations are short-term.

WooCommerce

As a result of WooCommerce is constructed on WordPress and is very extensible by means of plugins, APIs, and now MCP, it’s quickly evolving right into a coordination layer the place AI-based methods can plug in and work collectively by means of it. Automattic’s James LePage describes this strategy as one during which WooCommerce suits completely within the middle.

Mannequin Context Protocol

Mannequin Context Protocol is an open customary that permits platforms like WooCommerce to attach their capabilities to AI methods, making AI-powered options potential.

Whereas MCP appears like an API, which allows software program methods to speak, the important thing distinction is that an API handles predefined requests, whereas MCP allows platforms like WooCommerce to help a broader vary of AI interactions with out constructing customized integrations for every one.

WooCommerce Sits In The Center

ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol), developed by OpenAI and Stripe, allows an AI agent to deal with product, discovery, checkout, and funds from a chat interface like ChatGPT.

The UCP (Common Commerce Protocol), an open supply resolution developed by Shopify and Google, offers a method for checkouts to occur by means of a purchase button all through Google’s AI and Search ecosystem in addition to Anthropic’s Claude, no matter whether or not the transaction is going on on a WooCommerce retailer or another purchasing platform. A developer solely has to implement a UCP-compliant MCP Server for WooCommerce.

WooCommerce sits in the midst of these protocols, the place their integrations come collectively.

Enablement Technique For WooCommerce

LePage described a sensible perspective for the way AI suits into the WooCommerce platform by means of MCP. He calls this strategy enablement.

He explains this strategy:

“What’s attention-grabbing about that’s it follows a technique that we’re taking at WooCommerce, which is what I consult with as enablement, the place WooCommerce is that this core software program, this core method that you simply run a digital enterprise on-line.

And we need to be sure that core software program is on the market and all the time in the midst of no matter’s occurring in AI.

So we need to construct AI options for it. We need to make it very easy for others to construct AI options for it. However we completely need to be certain that it would meet you wherever your AI instruments are, wherever one of the best monetary evaluation AI instrument exists, wherever one of the best basic chatbot exists.

So to us, MCP represents a extremely sturdy alternative there.”

As a result of MCP is versatile to no matter AI platform a consumer is on, WooCommerce is ready to stay within the center, no matter which AI system a consumer subscribes to.

Sensible Use Of AI In WooCommerce

LePage introduced consideration to sensible makes use of of AI proper now, the place customers can leverage ChatGPT Connectors and Claude Code from inside WooCommerce so as to have a number of apps and AI talk with one another to perform varied duties.

He explains:

“What’s additionally cool is if you happen to use ChatGPT with connectors, if you happen to use Cloud Code with their MCP help, there’s quite a lot of alternative that you simply get once you add a number of items of software program to at least one session.

So if I take my WooCommerce stuff and I take QuickBooks and I take X, Y, and Z, I can work together with all of them in a conversational method.

And that’s bought me very excited, nevertheless it’s additionally bought all of the retailers actually excited.”

AI Is Developer-Going through Infrastructure

Whereas profound AI implementations are shortly coming collectively for WooCommerce, LePage indicated that, at this second, the present work is foundational, offering the constructing blocks that builders and businesses use to make all of it work slightly than delivering out-of-the-box service provider options at this time.

The query requested within the podcast was:

“…is that the place we’re with WooCommerce and AI in the intervening time is that you simply do want actually a developer to hook all of it up and make it work?”

LePage answered:

“So I’d say sure, if you’d like a extremely sturdy AI implementation that’s constructed and suits like a glove in your retailer and does every thing that you simply ever need, the items are there.”

He later stated that there are plugins that may implement a few of these functionalities.

Sidekick-Sort Performance

LePage provided an thrilling preview of what’s in retailer within the close to future for WooCommerce when requested if WooCommerce will ship with deep native integration of AI much like Shopify’s Sidekick AI assistant.

Shopify Sidekick is an AI assistant that may be invoked at varied factors within the retailer administration workflow, enabling retailer homeowners to carry out inventive duties like remodeling product photographs or creating e mail advertising campaigns to dealing with frequent retailer administration duties.

The query requested was:

“One factor I’d like to know is what’s deliberate for Core, presumably WordPress as an entire, definitely WooCommerce, when it comes to like an interface constructed into Core, like how Shopify has Sidekick the place wherever you might be, you may simply sort what you need and it’ll do it for you.”

LePage answered that this type of AI integration will possible be within the type of an extension, explaining that integrating this type of performance inside core could be good, however doing it with a plugin could be nice. He defined that every one the items for doing this shall be in place inside core in model 7, which shall be launched on April 9, 2026.

He shared that WooCommerce shall be an orchestration layer, the place WooCommerce sits within the center, directing and coordinating a number of providers, instruments, and knowledge sources.

He defined:

“…it would work if we made it a really primary implementation in core, or as even like a really primary plugin, however it is going to be nice once we can plug it into issues like WooCommerce Analytics, once we can plug it into way more advanced orchestration workflows underneath the hood to go and do issues like actually bulk product optimization and catalog stuff and analytics and deep quantity crunching, the entire enjoyable stuff that we’re really engaged on as we communicate.

So you will note AI help when it comes to this Sidekick-type implementation popping out from Automattic on this extension territory. And that extension additionally housing further AI options to make it a way more approachable AI expertise to retailers.”

Client-Going through AI In WooCommerce Shops

One other space mentioned within the podcast was consumer-facing AI implementations that introduce extra personalization and chat interfaces for retrieving order data or product choice.

At this level, the podcast jumps into agentic AI purchasing, which is projected to grow to be a factor between the close to future and 2030.

However on the finish, LePage circles again to affirming WordPress’s position because the orchestration layer meant to help no matter performance and imaginative and prescient emerge.

LePage shared:

“These constructing blocks are meant to make WordPress right into a platform the place a developer can construct any AI resolution.”

WordPress and WooCommerce are very a lot in transition to offering the choice of turning into an orchestration layer. Whereas different content material administration methods are a bit additional down the highway with these sorts of functionalities, WordPress and WooCommerce have an enormous developer ecosystem that’s already innovating new options that can grow to be extra highly effective and helpful within the very close to future.

Watch the Do the Woo podcast with hosts Katie Keith and James Kemp:

AI Meets Woo: the Way forward for Ecommerce is Already Right here

Featured Picture/Screenshot Of Do the Woo Podcast