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

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 analytics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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 #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 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 #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 ↑10 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #4 5 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #20 ↑4 8 too low 13 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 HT Easy GA4 – Google Analytics WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Jotform – AI Chatbot 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.