February 2026 was absolutely revolutionary for WordPress security. Austin Ginder runs a hosting company and he was suddenly overwhelmed by new hacking attempts. Austin's response was creative, constructive, and inspiring.

In this episode of the PublishPress Podcast, I talk with Austin about how AI is transforming WordPress security. Austin started as a skeptic but has come to embrace AI tools like Claude Code, which have revolutionized his approach to coding and security. We discuss the increasing sophistication of hackers and their supply chain attacks. But we also discuss the potential for these tools to make WordPress a safer platform.

Check out Austin's work at https://anchor.host and https://wpbeacon.io.

Robbie Adair has run her agency for over 20 years and has navigated many technology shifts. In this episode, Robbie says that we're in the middle of a major shift in the WordPress business. AI means that products are less valuable, but services are more valuable than ever. Customers need experts to help them navigate all the choices and challenges presented by AI. Robbie is incredibly positive about the opportunities in front of us. There are endless opportunities for people in the WordPress community to thrive in this new area.

Find more about Robbie's work at https://mediaateam.com.

Timestamps:
02:00 - Robbie's experience at PressConf and the Arizona heat
03:45 - The vibe of small industry-focused conferences and community building
07:41 - Industry anxiety around AI and the importance of embracing change
09:08 - How agencies are balancing AI adoption with trusted human expertise
11:01 - Decline and resurgence in product versus service models
12:25 - The power of long-term relationships in a changing ecosystem
14:34 - Evolving client needs: from websites to integrated solutions including podcasts
17:28 - How agencies are adjusting to AI-driven content creation
20:10 - Using podcasts and video for better customer engagement and brand storytelling
22:35 - The importance of personal voice and authenticity in AI-generated content
25:17 - The limitations of current AI tools in editing and content refinement
28:58 - Practical AI tools for internal use: Notebook LM, Claude, and privacy considerations
32:22 - Agency experiments with AI tools for website design and content generation
35:23 - The ongoing evolution of AI tools and their impact on agency workflows
38:32 - Robbie’s enthusiasm for the future of AI and agency growth
39:16 - Connecting with Robbie and her new agency-focused podcast

Amber Hines from Equalize Digital has spent years helping publishers to make their websites more accessible and user-friendly for everyone, including those with disabilities.

I ask Amber questions I've heard from publishers. For example, is it helpful to have an audio version of my articles? Should we offer a text-only version of the site? Can we trust automated tests for accessibility?

More about Amber: https://equalizedigital.com/

Check our Amber's plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/accessibility-checker/

We have a lot of guests on the PublishPress podcast who are building paywalls for publishers.

Chris Ward from the Publisher Desk believes we should take a different direction. He argues that paywalls only make sense when you combine them with a strong commitment to advertising. Some users will just never pay for content, but you can still provide value for them and earn revenue from them.

Chris has a long and deep history in the advertising world. He worked in advertising at News Corp and then Undertone, a big ad network. Chris is now the co-founder of The Publisher Desk, a publishing and advertising agency. He also takes his own advice and runs a network of sports content websites.

Find out more about Chris' work: https://www.publisherdesk.com

Brian Coords is a Developer Advocate for WooCommerce. I invited Brian on the podcast after seeing that AI is now listed as an official contributor to WooCommerce. We talk about what comes next for WooCommerce and other open source projects? Is AI going to be building new plugin features? Writing the documentation? Fixing long-standing bugs in our backlogs?

We also discuss how AI will change the shopping experience for WooCommerce customers. Will most of them find our stores via chatbots? Maybe they never even visit our stores and just allow their AI agents to make the purchase?

https://www.briancoords.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCqvxKqiwxupjn9t0Ztvu-A
https://www.youtube.com/@WooCommerce/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianallencoords/
https://webmasters.fm

Malcolm Peralty has been writing with WordPress since before version 1.0!

In this episode we discuss how writing has powered his career, even now in the AI area. Malcolm thinks that storytelling is an essential skill, even for people in technical roles.

We talk about how AI can be an excellent writing companion. Malcolm has just published a book with a ton of help from AI! How do you find the right balance between human creativity and AI to produce better work than you could before?

Links from the show/:

https://peralty.com
https://peralty.com/blog/
https://www.amazon.ca/Second-Class-Supers-David-Peralty/dp/0994940610/
https://pressable.com/
https://acquia.com
https://www.presstitan.com/
https://www.bloggingpro.com/

Google Analytics 4 is not a good platform. It's hard to use. It's not privacy-friendly. You can do better.

Derek Ashauer runs Conversion Bridge which can connect your WordPress site to over 20 different platforms including Plausible, Fathom, User Maven, Pirsch, Microsoft Clarity and others.

In this episode, we consider many of these alternatives to Google Analytics. How can you get conversion analytics that you can easily act on to improve your eCommerce or membership site?

Find out more at https://conversionbridgewp.com.

In this episode of the PublishPress podcast we welcome Birgit Pauli-Haack, a developer advocate for Automattic. She also publishes the Gutenberg Times which is the best place to keep up with everything that's happening with the block editor.

We discuss the recent release of WordPress 6.9, its new features, and the future of WordPress development next year, including the upcoming WordPress 7.0. What new feature are we going to see in WordPress? What's happening with the 4 phases of Gutenberg?

We're excited again about WordPress after a slow year. There's the potential for transformative changes to WordPress in 2026.

Alex Denning has been in the WordPress and SEO communities for years. But for the last few years, he's been seeing those topics through on AI lens. Alex now runs the Ellipsis agency and helps his clients to get recommended by AI chats.

Alex's life was changed when GPT-3 launched, because it radically changed the services he could provide to clients. In this episode we unpack all the changes that have happened to Alex's business in the last 3 years, and hopefully help you navigate this new AI world we're living in.

Alex's agency is at https://getellipsis.com.

• 00:00 The Rise of AI and Its Impact on SEO
• 09:49 Developing Falcon AI: From Concept to Reality
• 14:31 The Evolution of AI Tools and Their Applications
• 20:12 Navigating Changes in Search Behavior and AI Integration
• 28:16 Leveraging AI for Data Analysis
• 31:37 Optimizing Content for AI Responses
• 34:48 Understanding Consumer Behavior Changes
• 38:05 The Value of Personalized Recommendations
• 42:24 Technical Aspects of Content Indexing
• 45:10 Navigating the AI Bubble
• 48.05 The Evolution of SEO to AI Optimization

In this episode of the PublishPress Podcast, Rodolfo Melogli shares his journey from the early days of WooCommerce to the creation of his new Checkout Summit conference.

This new WooCommerce conference will be in Sicily in April 2026. If you work with WooCommerce, you should be there. This is a conference we've been missing in the WordPress space. Rodolfo's aim with this conference is to prioritize great content and valuable networking.

Rodolfo started as a civil engineer building roads in Ireland, before becoming a baker, and then a WooCommerce expert under the "Business Bloomer" brand. He takes us through the ups and downs of putting on a large event for the first time.

Find out more: https://checkoutsummit.com

0:00 Reviving WooCommerce Conferences
03:05 The Checkout Summit: A New Beginning
05:59 Navigating Event Planning and Collaboration
08:56 Choosing the Right Time and Place
11:54 Rodolfo's Journey from Engineering to WooCommerce
14:49 The Bakery Dream: A Shift to Web Development
16:02 The Early Days of WooCommerce
19:08 A Career Built on WooCommerce
24:58 The Spark for Checkout Summit
27:18 Community Over AI: The Need for Human Connection
31:40 Building Trust and Community
35:05 The Road to Checkout Summit
39:07 Investing in Networking Opportunities
41:10 Creating Value Through Content
43:50 Future Plans and Expectations