‘Telex’ Builds WordPress Blocks With Prompts

WordPress used WordCamp US 2025 in Portland to debut ‘Telex’, an experimental AI tool that turns plain English prompts into downloadable website blocks, making it faster and easier to build custom WordPress features without coding.

What Telex Is And Why It Matters

Telex is a prototype that generates custom Gutenberg blocks (the modular sections that make up WordPress pages) from a typed prompt, then packages the result as a downloadable .zip. The .zip file can then be uploaded as a plugin to a WordPress site or tested in WordPress Playground. In his keynote, WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg described it as “V0 or Lovable, but specifically for WordPress,” referencing the rise of prompt-based “vibe coding” tools (vibe coding is using AI to generate code from natural language prompts). He showed how a developer used it to create a simple marketing animation, underscoring the aim to lower the barrier to building bespoke site elements.

The service is currently available at telex.automattic.ai and is marked as experimental, to show users that it’s still a work in progress. Early testers have reported that there have been projects that failed outright or needed manual fixes before working properly, which is consistent with the current prototype label. “At the core of it, there is a seed of something, which is so enabling,” Mullenweg said, while also acknowledging concerns about the hype cycle around AI.

Who Is Behind It?

Telex follows WordPress’s formation of a formal AI Team in May 2025, which was set up to coordinate AI features across the ecosystem using a plugin-first approach. The initial team includes contributors from Automattic, Google, and 10up, the apparent brief being to “accelerate and coordinate artificial intelligence projects” in line with WordPress values. This is the governance backdrop for Telex and other experiments.

How It Works In Practice

The idea of how Telex is used is simple, i.e. users describe the block they want (for example, a hero section with animated text and a call to action) and Telex generates code that the user can install as a plugin. WordPress Playground, which runs full WordPress instances in the browser, provides a safe place to try outputs without touching a live site. For many users, especially small teams, this should reduce the set-up overhead of traditional development and encourage and speed up layout or interaction ideas.

What’s So Special About Telex (Compared With Other AI Builders)?

There are, of course, plenty of AI website builders that generate whole sites in one go, including Wix’s AI Website Builder and Squarespace’s Blueprint AI. However, Telex is different because it targets WordPress’s modular architecture and outputs discrete Gutenberg blocks that can slot into existing sites, themes, and workflows. For teams invested in WordPress, that is a more natural fit than moving to a closed, hosted builder. Wix and Squarespace are pitching all-in-one creation and hosting, often with paid plans and platform lock-in, whereas Telex sticks to WordPress’s open approach and lets users host sites wherever they choose.

Benefits Businesses Might Notice

If Telex matures, the immediate benefit is likely to be time saved due to speed. For example, routine front-end building blocks such as hero sections, testimonial carousels, or animated counters could be generated in just minutes, then refined by a developer rather than built from scratch. Since the output is a standard plugin zip, teams can check the code, keep track of changes, and remove it easily if needed, which suits organisations that follow strict approval processes.

For non-technical teams that still prefer WordPress, Telex simplifies things. WordPress powers 43.4 percent of all websites (according to W3Techs , so any step that makes customisation easier is likely to have an outsized impact. If prompt-to-block works well, agencies could prototype options live with clients, then hand over code that slots into existing repos and CI pipelines.

Playground is also useful because it allows developers to test Telex-generated blocks in a browser without needing a live site. They can install the plugin, check it works as expected, and export the result as a .zip file when ready.

Where It Fits In The Competitive Landscape

WordPress remains the most widely used content management system. Other platforms such as Wix and Squarespace have recently introduced AI features that build entire sites in minutes, aimed at first-time users and small businesses.

Telex takes a different approach. Instead of generating whole websites, it focuses on creating individual WordPress blocks that can be added to existing themes and layouts. It stays within the open WordPress system and gives users the freedom to host their websites anywhere, which is often a priority for businesses that want more control over their data and setup.

This could help WordPress hold onto small businesses that might otherwise switch to closed, hosted platforms. If Telex proves reliable, it may also speed up work for agencies and internal teams who already build with WordPress.

There may also be knock-on effects across the WordPress ecosystem. If businesses can generate standard blocks themselves, this could reduce demand for some paid plugins and themes. At the same time, it could create new opportunities for agencies to offer reviewed prompt templates, support services, or curated collections of AI-generated blocks for clients in regulated industries.

Key Challenges And Early Criticism

It seems that Telex has already faced some questions about reliability, e.g. there have been reports that several early test projects failed or needed extra work before they could run properly. For now, it’s likely that businesses will still need developers to review, test, and secure any blocks before using them on a live site. How well Telex handles different themes, and whether it supports accessibility and good performance by default, will make a big difference to how useful it becomes.

There’s also the wider legal backdrop. For example, WordPress and Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com and a major contributor to the platform) have spent the past year in a legal dispute with hosting provider WP Engine. That case led to a court-ordered injunction in December 2024 and remains ongoing. Although it has nothing to do with Telex, the dispute has raised concerns about how decisions are made in the WordPress ecosystem and who holds the influence. At WordCamp, Mullenweg said only that the case was moving through the legal system.

Security is another area that will need close attention because like any AI tool that writes code, Telex can produce weak or incomplete results if the prompts are unclear. As WordPress runs in so many different environments, even small errors can lead to problems. WordPress Playground (the browser-based version of WordPress used for safe testing) may help lower the risk during development, but once in production, businesses will still need to carry out proper checks, just as they would with any third-party plugin.

What It Could Mean For WordPress

Telex is part of WordPress’s ongoing move to introduce AI in a way that’s open and easy to test. The AI Team set up in May 2025 has said it will use a plugin-first approach, meaning features like Telex will be released separately at first, not baked into WordPress Core. If Telex becomes more widely used, it could start to shape WordPress development practices, training materials, and support tools.

It could also lead to more conversational features in WordPress itself, such as tools that help users build blocks by describing what they want in plain English. Mullenweg made clear that this ties directly into WordPress’s long-standing goal of making publishing accessible to everyone. “We’ve taken things that were difficult to do, that required knowledge of coding or anything else, and made it accessible to people,” he said.

If AI can continue that trend without lowering code quality or reducing choice, Telex could help keep more creators on the WordPress platform rather than losing them to simpler, hosted services.

What About Business Users of WordPress?

For small and medium-sized UK businesses already using WordPress, Telex could speed up common tasks such as adding new sections to a homepage, updating layouts, or testing different calls to action. Also, marketing teams could test ideas quickly and agencies could deliver small custom features faster and at lower cost. Developers could spend less time writing basic layout code and more time on integrations, security, and performance.

For companies in regulated sectors, the fact that Telex generates installable plugins, not hosted code or external widgets, is also important because it makes it easier to track changes, review code, and remove features if needed, which fits well with internal approval processes.

Hosted platforms like Wix and Squarespace now offer strong AI tools for beginners, but they also limit flexibility and hosting choices. Telex offers an alternative that works within WordPress and still gives users full control over where and how their site is hosted.

For developers, Telex essentially changes the way some work gets done but doesn’t remove the need for human input (it still needs the AI prompts). Early feedback shows that AI-generated blocks often still need testing and refinement and, therefore, agencies with strong technical teams may be best advised to combine effective prompting with proper review, offering clients speed without sacrificing quality.

How To Try It Safely Today

Telex is still experimental, and the safest way to try it is through WordPress Playground (a browser-based version of WordPress for safe testing). This lets developers test blocks directly in the browser, without affecting any live sites. For now, users may want to keep the scope simple, such as generating a hero section or a testimonial layout, and then review the code before installing it on a development site. That will give teams a chance to see how Telex works while keeping control over what goes into production.

Where Things Stand for Now

Telex is still in its early stages, and some outputs may not yet be reliable enough for complex sites. However, the tool sits within a wider AI development effort at WordPress, supported by a new AI Team and a plugin-first approach. For now, therefore, Telex appears to offer a way for developers and businesses to explore how prompt-based tools could be used inside existing WordPress workflows, without relying on external platforms or hosted AI builders.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Telex essentially gives users a faster way to create modular WordPress features using natural language prompts. By generating standard plugin files that can be tested, reviewed, and installed like any other block, it offers a practical route to exploring AI-assisted development without changing platform or setup.

For UK businesses already using WordPress, this could simplify everyday site updates and reduce the time spent on routine layout tasks. It may also allow smaller teams to create and test new features without relying on external developers, provided there is still a review process in place to catch errors or security issues. Larger organisations, especially those in regulated sectors, are likely to value the ability to track changes and control what gets deployed.

Telex also points to wider changes across the WordPress ecosystem. Agencies may begin using it to accelerate early design work, freeing up developer time for more complex builds. At the same time, plugin developers may face new pressure to show the added value of their products if standard blocks become easier to generate on demand.

The real test will be how well Telex performs in production environments, across different themes and hosting setups. Its usefulness will depend not just on speed but on consistency, security, and whether it can meet accessibility standards. For now, it gives WordPress users a way to experiment with AI-driven development using familiar tools, while keeping full control over hosting and site management.