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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ai act”

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 “ai act”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

EU AI Act Ready shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 565 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 ↑5 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #24 ↓2 16 too low 9 SOOZ – AI for SEO – Bulk Generate Focus Keyphrases, Metadata, Alt Text (SEO Autopilot) 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too high 12 AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Rapls AI Chatbot – Self-Hosted RAG & MCP Server 90+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 EU AI Act Ready 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 11 too high 16 Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Angie – Agentic AI 100K+ · 3.3★ (20) wp.org #21 ↓6 4 too low 18 StoreAgent – WooCommerce AI Chatbot, AI Agent & WooCommerce MCP Server 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 LovedByAI – GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) & AI SEO Plugin: AEO, llms.txt 1K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 SEO’n’AI – AI Image check&mark 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Image AI Labels 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Klarvo AI Transparency for EU AI Act 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 YLabs AI Site Manager with ChatGPT and Claude 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Manago AI & Leadoo AI 900+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.