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

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 activity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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 #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #5 ↓2 4 too high 10 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #13 14 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #6 ↓2 10 too high 17 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #24 ↓6 6 too low 19 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too high 21 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.