Release version 1.0.0

[jeffpaul]

This issue is for tracking changes for the 1.0.0 release. Target release date: 19 May 2026.

Pre-release steps

• Review and merge [Feature]: AI Request Logging #437
• Review and merge [Feature][PoC]: Issue 325 | Experimental Media Editor | AI Alt Text #446
• Review and merge Connector Approval experiment to limit what plugins can access what connectors #467
• Punt Add C2PA Monitor experiment #459
• Review and merge refactor: rename Review Notes → Editorial Notes, Refine from Notes → Editorial Updates #528
• Review and merge update wporg assets #546
• Review and merge Utilize the new client-side Abilities API #482
• Punt Ensure any sanitize_callback's in our Abilities input schema are executed #481
• Punt Fix AI credentials detection #537
• Close Move alt text generation button next to alt text field #495
• Punt Hide title generation until content exists #479
• Punt Feature: Disable Review notes until minimum content threshold is reached #545
• Review and merge Fix failed comment moderation badge rendering #568
• Review and merge Fix RTL support across AI plugin admin UI #573
• Review and merge Fix: Bug: Missing No-Provider UX Handling for Standalone Media Image Generation #575
• Review and merge Fix featured image no-provider notice #576
• Punt Fix: Content Classification: Make character count locale-aware #577
• Review and merge fix(a11y): improve focus visibility on suggested terms #580
• Punt Fix: locale-aware (words/characters) minimum content length across AI content experiments #581
• Review and merge Fix JS translation loading and make all text translatable #582
• Review and merge fix: make title and term suggestion UI reactive #584
• Review and merge Fix Abilities Explorer page heading #585
• Review and merge Fix global AI enabled option migration #586

Release steps

• Branch: Starting from develop, cut a release branch named release/1.0.0 for your changes.
• Version bump: Bump the version number in ai.php and readme.txt if it does not already reflect the version being released. In ai.php, ensure you're updating the WPAI_VERSION version constant.
• Update @since: Find all new @since x.x.x lines and update those with the new version number in place of x.x.x.
• Changelog: Add/update the changelog in CHANGELOG.md and in readme.txt.
• Props: update CREDITS.md file with any new contributors, confirm maintainers are accurate.
• Readme updates: Make any other readme changes as necessary in README.md and readme.txt.
• New files: Check to be sure any new files/paths that are unnecessary in the production version are included in .gitattributes.
• Merge release PR: Make a non-fast-forward merge from your release branch to develop (or merge the pull request).
• Merge develop to trunk: Do the same for develop into trunk, ensuring you pull the most recent changes into develop first (git checkout develop && git pull origin develop && git checkout trunk && git pull origin trunk && git merge --no-ff develop). trunk now contains the stable development version.
• Push: Push your trunk branch to GitHub (e.g. git push origin trunk).
• Compare: Check that no results show in comparing a merge from develop into trunk as that means the prior steps completed successfully.
• Wait for build: Head to the Actions tab in the repo and wait for it to finish if it hasn't already. If it doesn't succeed, figure out why and start over.
• Check the build: Check out the trunk branch and test for functionality locally.
• Test: Check the end-to-end tests are passing. Only proceed if everything tests successfully.
• Release: Create a new release, naming the tag and the release with the new version number, and targeting the trunk branch. Paste the changelog for the release from CHANGELOG.md into the body of the release and include a link to [View all items closed in the milestone](https://github.com/WordPress/ai/milestone/7?closed=1). The release should now appear under releases.

Post-release steps

• Close milestone: Edit the milestone with release date (in the Due date (optional) field) and link to GitHub release (in the Description field), then close the milestone.
• Punt incomplete items: If any open issues or PRs which were milestoned for 1.0.0 do not make it into the release, update their milestone to 1.1.0 or Future Release.
• Announce: Publish release announcement post on Make/AI, cross-posting to Make/Core and Make/Test (example).
• Profile badges: Grant new contributors the Core AI Contributor profile badge.

[t-hamano]

I fixed an issue where localization was not working correctly in some areas. This might be worth including in the 1.0.0 release.

#582

[jeffpaul]

Tests passed: https://github.com/WordPress/ai/actions/runs/26128146000
Plugin check passed: https://github.com/WordPress/ai/actions/runs/26128146076

[jeffpaul]

Local testing passed.