Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “chatting”

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 “chatting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 157 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 WSP MCP – Free MCP Plugin for WordPress: Connect Claude, ChatGPT & AI Agents 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑11 8 too high 17 AI Popup Builder & Popup Maker by OptiMonk 3K+ · 4.7★ (98) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Chatra Live Chat + ChatBot + Cart Saver 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Group chat for WordPress – Minnit Chat 500+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 EZ Horoscope Professional 300+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Contactus 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Chatlio Live Chat for Slack 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Askly 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.