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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “add agents”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “add agents”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

AI Agent by SiteGround shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 98 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 too low 7 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #19 ↓3 12 too low 8 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #21 ↓1 13 too low 9 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #10 ↓7 1 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #22 ↓4 10 too low 13 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too low 15 WSP MCP – Free MCP Plugin for WordPress: Connect Claude, ChatGPT & AI Agents 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑4 10 too high 16 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too high 17 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too high 19 Add as Preferred Source on Google 800+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 Mescio for Agents 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓2 14 too high 21 Add Tiktok Pixel for Tiktok ads (+Woocommerce) 2K+ · 3.0★ (11) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 M Markdown for AI Agents 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓3 7 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.