During May and June of 2026, I took part in a microcredential course called “AI Leaders”. Created through a partnership between WordPress, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Louisiana Monroe, and Louisiana Tech, the course taught participants foundational skills in professionalism online, AI knowledge and responsible use, how to create and customize a website in WordPress, and finally skills that are essential for success in the workplace.
The first two sections helped me become more confident in my beliefs and my approach to AI, which had already been in the fledgling stages of being developed. I was nervous about how and when to use AI in my work, because I wanted to be able to claim that I did the work to create the things I worked on. The idea of potentially having a career where I had no real idea how to re-create the things I asked AI to do for me was daunting, but at the same time, not using AI at all was unrealistic and would result in more problems than solutions.
Over the course of the first month, I was able to define how I use AI and why I go about it in the way I do. Maintaining my ability to recreate AI output on my own is vital, and for a while I saw using AI as cheating or as immoral. Reframing its use from cheating to utilizing a tool proved essential, and as time goes on, the importance of that will continue to grow. Not only that, but as AI continues to grow and change, so does the demand for the ability to quickly adapt to continuous development. In order to stay prepared, I find myself actively seeking out new features and improvements to the tools I already use, as well as new products that catch my attention such as WordPress MCP.
Of all of these sections, I found that the WordPress section was both the most difficult and the most enlightening. The learning curve was steeper than expected, and at one point I spent two hours trying to figure out one feature. Even so, the results are undeniable. WordPress offers a multitude of tools that makes creating and running a website easier, with many of the newest releases utilizing AI. Of these tools, three have caught my attention.
The first is the AI Assistant, which can edit your blocks according to your prompts. That could be highlighting specific sections, rewriting a paragraph, or even generating a new paragraph without needing you to leave the editor itself. AltText AI and Jetpack AI are two plug-ins that also caught my attention. While they aren’t initially a part of the editing system like the AI Assistant, when installed, they each offer unique abilities that can make a website easier and faster to create. AltText AI generates descriptions of images you upload, allowing for organic discovery of your website when a related topic is researched. Jetpack AI generates custom images, which removes the need to hunt for stock photos that you can use.
The AI Leadership course gave me all of the tools I needed to use WordPress and the tools it offers successfully and efficiently. Between the new mindset I have, the skills I have grown, and the tools I have learned to use, I’ve found that I’m excited to begin working on new projects, developing new skills, and pushing towards my future career.
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