Hosting platform WordPress.com on Wednesday launched a new AI website builder that allows anyone to create a functioning website using an AI chat-style interface. The feature, which is being made available to WordPress users for free, is targeted at entrepreneurs, freelancers, bloggers, and others who need a professional online presence, the company says.
At this time, the AI builder is not capable of creating more advanced websites like those needed for e-commerce stores or others with complex integrations.
While AI-powered website builders are no longer new, the addition is designed to help WordPress better compete with companies like Squarespace and Wix, which offer AI builders to speed up site creation and design. But like most of these builders today, more advanced website edits and layouts will still require an understanding of site development and design tools. In time, that could change as the AIs learn from the edits users make to their sites after the initial creation.
To use the new tool, users engage with an AI chatbot in a conversational style to design the website with their own text and images and to configure the site’s layout.
To get started, users first type in a prompt that explains their website idea — like “build a website for my coffee shop.” The company suggests being as specific as possible in this prompt, offering a site name and short description, along with information about what sort of content the site will host.
Users then either sign up for or log in with their WordPress account to watch the AI build their website for them. (The feature is only available for brand-new websites, the company notes.) After the site is created, users can chat with the AI to make changes, or they can adjust things manually if preferred. The AI builder includes 30 free prompts before users will need to choose a hosting plan, all of which include unlimited prompts. This gives people a way to try the AI builder and see if it will meet their needs before committing to hosting on WordPress.com.
The company says the AI is powered by a mix of self-hosted open source models and externally hosted models.
To launch the finalized website to the public, a hosting plan is required. These typically range from $48 per year for a personal site to $300 per year for a business site. WordPress.com says that users who create with the AI builder will need to pick between the Premium ($96/year) and Business plans, however.
The plans include a set amount of storage, a free domain for a year, access to free premium themes, customer support, and more. The AI builder is available alongside these plans at no additional charge.
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
