AI Engine alternative

The AI Engine Alternative, Run For You

You get tools for WordPress core, plus any plugin that registers WordPress Abilities. Access runs on profiles you control. Authentication is OAuth for ChatGPT and Claude, or a WordPress Application Password for editors such as Cursor, and nothing routes through us.

What makes it different

Real OAuth, not a shared key
Profiles decide what agents see
Your server, no middleman
Works with any plugin’s Abilities
One endpoint, every client
Free, with no upgrade path

The short version

What you get here instead of AI Engine

Permission checks inherit the WordPress role you authenticated as. It is free and GPL licensed, and nothing you do passes through our servers.

What you get here

  • Profile-Based Access Control
  • Zero External Dependencies
  • ChatGPT via OAuth 2.0
  • Claude via OAuth 2.0
  • Cursor and Windsurf Support
  • Guided Client Setup
  • OAuth 2.0 with PKCE
  • Encrypted Client Secrets
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What ships in the standard plan here

Everything in this list ships as standard.

  • Profile-Based Access Control
  • Zero External Dependencies
  • ChatGPT via OAuth 2.0
  • Claude via OAuth 2.0
  • Cursor and Windsurf Support
  • Guided Client Setup
  • OAuth 2.0 with PKCE
  • Encrypted Client Secrets
  • Token Expiry and Refresh
  • Capability Checks on Every Call
See WordPress MCP Connector

Where the service earns its keep

The other MCP options for WordPress are developer libraries or thin REST wrappers. This one is a finished WordPress connector with the awkward parts already solved.

Works with any plugin’s Abilities

It covers WordPress core itself, and any plugin that registers WordPress Abilities gets tools here too, each switched off until you turn it on.

One endpoint, every client

One JSON-RPC 2.0 endpoint on your own domain serves every client. ChatGPT and Claude authorize over OAuth 2.0 with your site address alone, while Cursor, Windsurf and other editors connect with a WordPress Application Password.

Free, with no upgrade path

Install it on as many sites as you like.

Real OAuth, not a shared key

Compare that with a static token sitting in a config file forever. An access token here lasts an hour and a refresh token thirty days, and you can revoke the whole connection from WordPress without rotating anything else.

Get started

Who this comparison is for

Agencies running many client sites

Point an agent at one site, have it audit metadata or fix a batch of redirects, then repeat on the next.

Small teams without a developer

Updating a page, fixing a form, working out why an email stopped sending. Describing the problem to an assistant that can actually look at your site beats hunting for a tutorial written for an older version.

Content teams publishing at volume

Drafting, tagging, scheduling, and cleaning up old posts are the tasks that quietly eat editorial time.

four steps to a working connection

On a site you already administer this takes about ten minutes. Install the plugin, decide how much access to grant, then connect your client.

  1. 1

    We assess your current setup

    First we look at how things run today: what you already pay for, what is configured where, and which parts are actually causing you trouble.

  2. 2

    Install and pick a profile

    Open Settings, then MCP Connector, and choose a profile. Start narrow.

  3. 3

    Connect your AI client

    For ChatGPT or Claude, paste your site address into the assistant and sign in. For Cursor, Windsurf or another editor, create a WordPress Application Password and copy the generated config from the Client Setup tab.

  4. 4

    Put it to work

    The agent calls only the tools your profile allows, WordPress checks permissions on every single call, and the work lands as if you had done it by hand.

Get started

What clients say about working with Cascadia

“I’ve always dreaded website management, but Cascadia has done an incredible job with my WordPress site, making it one less thing for me to worry about.”
Alex R.
Cascadia client
“I’ve worked with Cascadia for several years now. They are always ready to help in any way I ask and can implement my ideas with ease. A company that values their clients!”
Liz D.
Cascadia client
“Cascadia has been great to work with! We recently needed some updates, and Cascadia was quick to get them completed! We highly recommend Cascadia Web Services.”
Naomi T.
Cascadia client
“Cascadia is very responsive and we’re happy with them as our primary IT vendor.”
Royle J.
Cascadia client
“They do great work, been using for years. Prompt responses to requests.”
Brian M.
Cascadia client

Ready to make the switch?

Talk to us about your setup

Ask us

AI Engine alternative questions

Straight answers about switching, pricing, and what moves with you.
How is Cascadia different from AI Engine?
The main difference is what it is. This is a finished MCP connector: it covers WordPress core itself, and any plugin that registers WordPress Abilities gets tools here too, each switched off until you turn it on.
WordPress 5.8 or higher and PHP 7.4 or higher. Version 2.2.0 is tested up to WordPress 7.1.2, and tools from other plugins need WordPress 6.9 or later. Application Passwords require your site to be served over HTTPS, which most hosts now do as standard.
Yes. Installation is straightforward, but deciding which profile each connection should get, and which account those connections authenticate as, is worth thinking through on a site that matters. We can configure it as part of a managed plan, or handle it as a one-off. Tell us what you want the agent to be able to do.
The adapter from the WordPress project is a developer library for exposing abilities as MCP tools, which means writing code. This plugin is a finished product you install and configure in the admin, with its own WordPress tools already built, OAuth for ChatGPT and Claude, and access profiles that also cover any plugin’s abilities. They serve different audiences. If you are shipping your own tools, use the adapter.
It is a standard way for an AI assistant to reach a system and do things inside it, rather than only talk about it. Without one, you copy text back and forth by hand. With one, the assistant can read your posts, create a draft, update a product, or check a setting directly. This plugin turns your WordPress site into that kind of server.
Model Context Protocol, usually shortened to MCP, is an open standard published by Anthropic that defines how AI clients connect to outside tools and data. Because it is a shared standard rather than one vendor’s private format, a single server works with many clients. That is why the same plugin serves ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf without a separate integration for each one.
Yes. It is published on the WordPress Plugin Directory under GPL v3, and there is no paid tier, no trial period, and no feature held back behind a license key. Install it on as many sites as you like. If you want us to handle setup and ongoing management, that is a separate service you can choose, not a requirement.
It is as safe as the account you connect with, which is the honest answer. Every tool call runs through the same permission checks WordPress uses in wp-admin, so an agent cannot exceed the role it authenticated as. Credentials are encrypted at rest, tokens expire, and you can revoke access from WordPress at any time. The variable you control is which profile you grant.
ChatGPT and Claude connect over OAuth 2.0. Cursor, Windsurf and other editors connect with WordPress Application Passwords. Any other client that speaks MCP over either of those authentication methods will work, because nothing in the endpoint is written for a specific vendor. Clients that adopt the standard later should work without waiting on a plugin update.
Copy the address shown under Settings, MCP Connector. In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Connectors, and add a custom connector with that address, leaving any Client ID and Secret fields empty. Sign in to WordPress when the window opens and approve the request, then use the Access tab to set what the assistant may do.
Copy the address from Settings, then MCP Connector. In Claude, open Settings, then Connectors, and add a custom connector with that address, leaving any Client ID and Secret fields empty. Sign in to WordPress when the window opens and approve the request, then choose on the Access tab what the assistant may do.
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