WordPress Isn't Ready for AI Search. The Fix? A Plugin. Obviously.
AI search is changing how people find businesses online. WordPress, as it's typically built, isn't keeping up. Here's why that matters — and why the answer isn't another plugin.
Insights
Mar 13, 2026
WordPress powers 43% of the internet. Which, depending on your job title, is either a triumph of open source software or a slow-moving disaster you spend your Tuesdays fixing.
I'll let you decide which.
What I will tell you is this: the way people find things online is changing fast. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are increasingly the first stop before Google even gets a look in. And when those tools visit your website, they're not impressed by your slider plugin or your 47-photo gallery. They're trying to read your HTML and work out what you actually do.
WordPress, in its current state, makes that genuinely difficult.
Here's the problem. Most WordPress sites aren't running on lean, considered code. They're running on Elementor. Or Divi. Or WPBakery. Page builders that, bless them, produce the kind of bloated HTML that makes AI crawlers close their metaphorical eyes and think of somewhere nicer to be.
That bloated code also slows the site down. Not hypothetically. Actually. Google confirmed page speed as a ranking factor years ago. So when a WordPress site is running WP Rocket to fix the slowness caused by having too many plugins, which were installed to fix other slowness, which came from the page builder chosen because it was the easy option... I'm not saying it's a house of cards. But I am absolutely saying it's a house of cards.
There's also a new file format called llms.txt that's worth knowing about. Think robots.txt, but for AI. It's a plain-text guide that tells tools like ChatGPT exactly what your site is about, which pages matter, and how to describe your business accurately. It doesn't override a rubbish site, but it helps a good one get seen.
Does WordPress generate this automatically? No. Does WordPress have a plugin for it? Of course WordPress has a plugin for it. There are three.
And this is the bit I find genuinely fascinating, in the way you find a recurring nightmare fascinating. Every time the web moves forward, WordPress stands still and waits for the community to bolt something onto it.
SEO: plugin.
Speed: plugin.
Security: plugin.
AI readiness: plugin
…..plugin, and a third plugin whose entire job is to serve AI crawlers a cleaner version of your site's HTML. Because the real HTML is, frankly, embarrassing.
Other platforms don't work like this. Duda auto-generates an llms.txt file every single time you publish. No settings. No plugin. Just done. Webflow outputs clean semantic HTML by default, runs on a global CDN, and handles llms.txt natively in site settings. Framer produces lightweight component code, compresses assets automatically, and loads fast without anyone having to ask it to.
None of this is a dig at WordPress developers. Some of them are brilliant. But the platform has been quietly making their jobs harder for years, and AI search is just the latest thing that's arrived and found WordPress standing there in its dressing gown wondering what decade it is.
If you want to know how your site holds up, I'm happy to take a look. No plugin required.
More to Discover
WordPress Isn't Ready for AI Search. The Fix? A Plugin. Obviously.
AI search is changing how people find businesses online. WordPress, as it's typically built, isn't keeping up. Here's why that matters — and why the answer isn't another plugin.
Insights
Mar 13, 2026
WordPress powers 43% of the internet. Which, depending on your job title, is either a triumph of open source software or a slow-moving disaster you spend your Tuesdays fixing.
I'll let you decide which.
What I will tell you is this: the way people find things online is changing fast. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are increasingly the first stop before Google even gets a look in. And when those tools visit your website, they're not impressed by your slider plugin or your 47-photo gallery. They're trying to read your HTML and work out what you actually do.
WordPress, in its current state, makes that genuinely difficult.
Here's the problem. Most WordPress sites aren't running on lean, considered code. They're running on Elementor. Or Divi. Or WPBakery. Page builders that, bless them, produce the kind of bloated HTML that makes AI crawlers close their metaphorical eyes and think of somewhere nicer to be.
That bloated code also slows the site down. Not hypothetically. Actually. Google confirmed page speed as a ranking factor years ago. So when a WordPress site is running WP Rocket to fix the slowness caused by having too many plugins, which were installed to fix other slowness, which came from the page builder chosen because it was the easy option... I'm not saying it's a house of cards. But I am absolutely saying it's a house of cards.
There's also a new file format called llms.txt that's worth knowing about. Think robots.txt, but for AI. It's a plain-text guide that tells tools like ChatGPT exactly what your site is about, which pages matter, and how to describe your business accurately. It doesn't override a rubbish site, but it helps a good one get seen.
Does WordPress generate this automatically? No. Does WordPress have a plugin for it? Of course WordPress has a plugin for it. There are three.
And this is the bit I find genuinely fascinating, in the way you find a recurring nightmare fascinating. Every time the web moves forward, WordPress stands still and waits for the community to bolt something onto it.
SEO: plugin.
Speed: plugin.
Security: plugin.
AI readiness: plugin
…..plugin, and a third plugin whose entire job is to serve AI crawlers a cleaner version of your site's HTML. Because the real HTML is, frankly, embarrassing.
Other platforms don't work like this. Duda auto-generates an llms.txt file every single time you publish. No settings. No plugin. Just done. Webflow outputs clean semantic HTML by default, runs on a global CDN, and handles llms.txt natively in site settings. Framer produces lightweight component code, compresses assets automatically, and loads fast without anyone having to ask it to.
None of this is a dig at WordPress developers. Some of them are brilliant. But the platform has been quietly making their jobs harder for years, and AI search is just the latest thing that's arrived and found WordPress standing there in its dressing gown wondering what decade it is.
If you want to know how your site holds up, I'm happy to take a look. No plugin required.
More to Discover
WordPress Isn't Ready for AI Search. The Fix? A Plugin. Obviously.
AI search is changing how people find businesses online. WordPress, as it's typically built, isn't keeping up. Here's why that matters — and why the answer isn't another plugin.
Insights
Mar 13, 2026
WordPress powers 43% of the internet. Which, depending on your job title, is either a triumph of open source software or a slow-moving disaster you spend your Tuesdays fixing.
I'll let you decide which.
What I will tell you is this: the way people find things online is changing fast. AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude are increasingly the first stop before Google even gets a look in. And when those tools visit your website, they're not impressed by your slider plugin or your 47-photo gallery. They're trying to read your HTML and work out what you actually do.
WordPress, in its current state, makes that genuinely difficult.
Here's the problem. Most WordPress sites aren't running on lean, considered code. They're running on Elementor. Or Divi. Or WPBakery. Page builders that, bless them, produce the kind of bloated HTML that makes AI crawlers close their metaphorical eyes and think of somewhere nicer to be.
That bloated code also slows the site down. Not hypothetically. Actually. Google confirmed page speed as a ranking factor years ago. So when a WordPress site is running WP Rocket to fix the slowness caused by having too many plugins, which were installed to fix other slowness, which came from the page builder chosen because it was the easy option... I'm not saying it's a house of cards. But I am absolutely saying it's a house of cards.
There's also a new file format called llms.txt that's worth knowing about. Think robots.txt, but for AI. It's a plain-text guide that tells tools like ChatGPT exactly what your site is about, which pages matter, and how to describe your business accurately. It doesn't override a rubbish site, but it helps a good one get seen.
Does WordPress generate this automatically? No. Does WordPress have a plugin for it? Of course WordPress has a plugin for it. There are three.
And this is the bit I find genuinely fascinating, in the way you find a recurring nightmare fascinating. Every time the web moves forward, WordPress stands still and waits for the community to bolt something onto it.
SEO: plugin.
Speed: plugin.
Security: plugin.
AI readiness: plugin
…..plugin, and a third plugin whose entire job is to serve AI crawlers a cleaner version of your site's HTML. Because the real HTML is, frankly, embarrassing.
Other platforms don't work like this. Duda auto-generates an llms.txt file every single time you publish. No settings. No plugin. Just done. Webflow outputs clean semantic HTML by default, runs on a global CDN, and handles llms.txt natively in site settings. Framer produces lightweight component code, compresses assets automatically, and loads fast without anyone having to ask it to.
None of this is a dig at WordPress developers. Some of them are brilliant. But the platform has been quietly making their jobs harder for years, and AI search is just the latest thing that's arrived and found WordPress standing there in its dressing gown wondering what decade it is.
If you want to know how your site holds up, I'm happy to take a look. No plugin required.