WordPress VIP (WPVIP) has deep roots in the publishing world. It’s trusted by iconic media organizations like TIME, News Corp, and Gannett, powering their digital content delivery to massive global audiences [link] [link]. These publishers demand high performance and flexibility, and WPVIP delivers—whether it’s handling traffic spikes of over 100,000 requests per second during TIME’s “Person of the Year” reveal [link] or helping News Corp’s editorial teams publish content 60% faster by streamlining their workflows [link]. With a track record of stability and scale, WPVIP has become a go-to platform for the world’s top news and media sites.
WPVIP’s toolkit is constantly evolving to meet modern newsroom needs. One of the biggest advances in recent years has been the integration of the Parse.ly content analytics platform directly into WPVIP. (Automattic, the company behind WordPress, acquired Parse.ly in 2021 to make its analytics a native part of the VIP ecosystem [link].) Through Parse.ly, WPVIP now offers a suite of new AI-powered tools that supercharge content creation and optimization. Below, we introduce four of these features—Content Intelligence, Engagement Boost, Excerpt Suggestions, and Title Suggestions—and explain how they help editorial teams create better, more engaging content.
Content Intelligence: Real-Time Editorial Insights
Content Intelligence is an AI-driven analytics feature integrated right into the WordPress editor. As you write or edit a post, it provides real-time insights on that piece of content [link]. In practice, this means an editor can immediately see important data without leaving the post screen. For example, Content Intelligence highlights the past performance of similar published posts, shows you which related articles are currently top performers, and even brings Parse.ly analytics into your dashboard and post list view [link]. It’s like having an on-demand research assistant: the moment you start drafting an article, you’re presented with contextual data about what works and what doesn’t.
By bridging the gap between creation and data, Content Intelligence helps teams make more informed decisions. An editor can gauge audience interest in a topic or see which stories have historically kept readers engaged, all while crafting new content. One analysis described this tool as a “built-in content strategist” that surfaces engagement stats and trending topics directly in the CMS, helping editorial teams work smarter. In short, Content Intelligence empowers content creators to optimize articles as they create them – ensuring each story is backed by insights into what truly resonates with readers.
Engagement Boost: AI-Assisted Content Promotion
Engagement Boost is an opt-in AI feature designed to drive more traffic to a specific article (the “target” post). Instead of manually searching your site for places to promote a new piece, Engagement Boost does the heavy lifting. You select a target article, and the tool automatically scans your site for other highly relevant and high-traffic posts that could point readers to the target [link]. It then suggests exactly where within those source posts to insert a link – usually by highlighting a snippet of text that would make a natural anchor text for the link. You can review each suggestion and with one click accept, edit, or reject the link placement.
This AI-driven approach to internal linking helps content teams maximize engagement with minimal effort. By leveraging your site’s existing popular content, Engagement Boost funnels readers toward the pieces you want to highlight. The benefit is twofold: older or top-performing articles get updated with fresh, relevant links (enhancing their value), and the target content enjoys a surge of new readers from those inbound links. In practical terms, this could mean a big boost in page views for a new feature story or an important update, simply by letting the AI uncover the best traffic sources internally. It’s a smart way to increase recirculation and keep readers on your site longer, using the content you already know is successful.
Excerpt Suggestions: Instant Summaries for SEO
Excerpt Suggestions is an AI helper that tackles a small but crucial task in publishing: writing the excerpt or summary for an article. Often, editors spend time crafting a one- or two-sentence summary for the homepage or meta description. This tool streamlines that process by automatically generating a suggested excerpt for your post, directly within the WordPress block editor. With a simple click (a “Generate Excerpt” button right in the editor), Parse.ly’s AI will produce a short summary of the article’s content. The generated excerpt aims to capture the essence of the piece in a catchy, concise way – optimized to grab reader attention and improve SEO.
The benefit of this feature is immediately tangible for content teams. It saves time and effort, allowing writers or editors to focus on the article itself while the AI handles the blurb. The suggested excerpts are designed to be engaging and to include keywords or context that might help with search engine visibility. Editors can always tweak the AI-generated text as they see fit, but even as a starting point it ensures that every post has a polished, informative summary. For publishers, this means more consistent quality in those all-important first lines readers see, whether on the homepage, in newsletters, or on social media shares. A good excerpt can make the difference in whether someone clicks through to read the full story, and Excerpt Suggestions gives your team a head start in making that impression count.
Title Suggestions: Crafting Compelling Headlines
Title Suggestions is like having a brainstorming partner for your headlines. Headlines are critical in attracting readers, and this AI-powered feature helps you test out different options. After you’ve written your article (or even just a draft), you can use Title Suggestions to generate alternative headline ideas. The tool lives in the WordPress editor sidebar under Parse.ly’s panel. What makes it especially useful is that you can guide the AI with a desired tone and persona before generating ideas. For instance, you might choose a tone like “Conversational” or “Provocative,” and a persona such as “Journalist” or “Tech Analyst,” to tailor the style of the suggested titles. This ensures the options align with the voice you want – whether you need something serious and factual or a bit more fun and edgy.
Once configured, you hit “Generate Titles” and the tool will produce a list of three potential headlines for your piece. You can then decide what to do with each suggestion: apply one directly with a click (replacing your current title), pin one for later consideration, or dismiss any that don’t fit. For editors, this is a huge creative boost. It’s not about a robot taking over your writing – it’s about giving you a fresh set of ideas to consider. Maybe the AI comes up with a punchier phrasing, or an angle you hadn’t thought of. At the very least, it sparks inspiration and can help overcome “writer’s block” when it comes to titles. By quickly serving up multiple headline variations, Title Suggestions lets content teams choose the option that best hooks their audience, potentially improving click-through rates and reader engagement from the moment the story goes live.
Key Benefits for Content Teams
- Data-informed decisions: With real-time analytics in the editor (Content Intelligence), teams base their content choices on evidence, not guesswork, leading to content that better matches audience interests.
- Higher reader engagement: Smart internal linking (Engagement Boost) and more compelling headlines (Title Suggestions) help attract and retain readers, increasing pageviews and time on site.
- Greater efficiency: AI-assisted tools eliminate tedious tasks – automating excerpts and suggesting links/titles – so editors and writers can spend more time on high-value creative work.
- Consistent quality: Every article gets a polished title and excerpt, and important posts get extra promotion. This consistency in presentation and cross-linking elevates the overall quality of your publication.
Ready to integrate AI tools into your WordPress publishing workflow? Reach out to us at Developress. As a certified WordPress VIP partner, we can help you seamlessly implement these Parse.ly-powered features and tailor them to your editorial needs. Contact our team today to start supercharging your content strategy with AI-driven insights and automation.
