WPBeginner Buzz: WordPress 6.8 RC1, Next-Gen AI Tools, and March Plugin Highlights

March was a powerhouse month for the WordPress community, delivering feature-packed updates, new AI integrations, and major progress toward the highly anticipated WordPress 6.8 release. From smarter forms to automated store assistants, the ecosystem is seeing a surge of tools designed to simplify, speed up, and supercharge website management.

One of the biggest headlines is the release of WordPress 6.8 RC1, which brings game-changing improvements to speed, security, and content editing. Set for official launch on April 15, 2025, WordPress 6.8 introduces speculative loading to prefetch likely next pages for faster browsing, upgraded password protection using bcrypt encryption, and an enhanced block editor experience. Content creators and developers alike will enjoy the more refined interface and styling controls.

While the core software is gearing up for its next leap, popular plugins are also making waves, especially when it comes to AI.

WPForms now includes an AI-powered calculations feature that lets users generate complex formulas just by describing what they need. No coding, no logic-building, just a plain English request and smart results. Whether it’s tuition quotes, booking forms, or eCommerce pricing, the tool simplifies everything. It joins WPForms’ existing AI suite, which can generate full forms, auto-fill choices, and translate content instantly.

In the WooCommerce space, StoreAgent is changing the game. Instead of traditional chatbots, StoreAgent introduces real AI assistants that can write product descriptions, summarize reviews, recommend tags, and even help manage customer Q&As directly within your dashboard. Created by WordPress veteran Josh Kohlbach, this tool uses a credit-based system and comes with 500 free credits to get started. Shopify support is already in the works.

PushEngage, the leading push notification platform for WordPress, just got smarter, too. New AI message generation helps users create high-converting notifications within seconds. Combined with automated WooCommerce order alerts and abandoned cart recovery campaigns, it’s a winning combo for store owners focused on conversions.

Automation fans will love the latest from Uncanny Automator. New integrations with RSS and Discord now allow users to trigger workflows when a feed updates or send messages directly to Discord channels. Perfect for membership communities, LMS platforms, and busy Woo stores, these additions enhance real-time engagement without needing any code.

Meanwhile, All in One SEO (AIOSEO) continues to refine how search engines interact with your site. A new Crawl Cleanup tool helps prevent duplicate content and wasted crawl budget by shortening search URLs, removing spam terms, and adding disallow rules to your robots.txt file. It even lets you block AI crawlers directly from the plugin, protecting your content from unauthorized scraping. Their improved UTM handling with hashtag fragments ensures SEO cleanliness while preserving tracking.

WP Simple Pay is helping WordPress site owners manage Stripe payments better. New features include in-dashboard alerts for compliance and verification issues, mandatory pricing options for things like setup fees, and new controls to limit the maximum payment amounts. It’s a full suite of Stripe compliance tools without touching code.

MonsterInsights, the go-to analytics plugin for WordPress, rolled out powerful Cart Abandonment reports. Now, store owners can pinpoint exactly which products are being left behind at checkout and identify trends in abandonment over time. With insights broken down by product and day, businesses can fine-tune strategies and boost conversions.

In broader news, WPConsent now supports Google Consent Mode V2, adding features to log and export consent records more efficiently. SeedProd introduced 15 new themes and expanded its carousel block with buttons and headers. WooCommerce developers were advised to hold off on beta testing for the upcoming Product Editor v3, which will align with WordPress Data Views.

Duplicator added auto-log cleanup and one-click deletion tools, while UpdraftPlus acquired Burst Statistics, expanding its analytics offering with a privacy-focused approach. Hostinger entered the no-code builder arena with Horizons, an AI web app creation tool.

HeroThemes launched a Chrome Extension for quick knowledge base access. WPCode added a shortcode finder to help users track snippets across their sites. Formidable Forms introduced a GDPR Consent Field, and Envira Gallery rolled out a Search Addon and vertical-focused layout for image galleries.

Wholesale Suite now lets store owners manage invoices directly in the WooCommerce Payments tab. Smash Balloon added integrations with WPForms and Formidable Forms, allowing for easy review collection. WP Mail SMTP introduced real-time push notifications for email failures, and WPForms added file upload restrictions based on user roles or passwords for added control.

Several new plugins also made their debut. WPConsent offers lightweight compliance tools for GDPR and CCPA. Duplicate Post by AIOSEO adds one-click content duplication with scheduled revisions. ClassifAI is a free plugin using AI for image labeling and content tagging. Remove Empty Shortcodes keeps your post content clean by automatically removing unused shortcodes without database changes.

It’s clear that March delivered more than just updates — it reshaped how WordPress users interact with AI, manage compliance, and build smarter workflows. From AI assistants to privacy-first features, this month’s updates reflect a more powerful, efficient, and intelligent future for WordPress.

As we inch closer to the final release of WordPress 6.8, now is the time for developers, site owners, and digital marketers to dive into these new tools. The future of WordPress is not just open-source — it’s AI-powered, performance-driven, and more user-friendly than ever before.

Stay tuned for more news in next month’s edition, and until then, happy updating.