WordPress.com Changelog: Custom AI Themes and A New Video Player

WordPress.com's AI website builder now generates a fully custom theme on Premium and Business plans, part of the changelog covering August 28 to September 14, 2026. The rollout also adds an Annotate feature that lets users send multiple targeted edits to the WordPress Agent at once, plus a redesigned VideoPress player for Business and Commerce plans with chapter markers, scrub-preview thumbnails, and an end screen offering replay, share, or download.

August 28 – September 14, 2026 Welcome back to the WordPress.com changelog Much of the engineering effort these past two weeks went into some meaningful rollouts: our AI website builder flow got an upgrade and there’s a new VideoPress player. Create a custom theme with AI Our AI website builder https://wordpress.com/ai-website-builder/?ref=blog for creating new sites just got more capable. On Premium and Business plans, it now generates a fully custom theme built around your goals and brand. Once it’s built, we’ve streamlined the AI Editor, where you can keep refining the design by chatting with the WordPress Agent https://wordpress.com/support/ai/wordpress-agent/ , so you always have support and can get your site exactly as you want. A helpful new feature is called Annotate, which allows you to send multiple targeted edits to the agent at one time: A refreshed video player There’s a redesigned VideoPress https://wordpress.com/support/videopress/ player available with some powerful new features for sites on Business and Commerce plans. As a reminder, VideoPress is a lightweight and responsive video player you can use to host and embed videos on your WordPress.com website. The update is built around a cleaner control bar with chapter markers and scrub-preview thumbnails built into the seek bar, an easier way to share a video with separate handling for private ones , and an end screen that offers options to replay, share, or download once a video finishes. The sharing and downloading is in your control as always https://wordpress.com/support/videopress-sharing-settings/ . Fixes and improvements We also: - Improved messaging when canceling a Google Workspace subscription https://wordpress.com/support/add-email/adding-google-workspace-to-your-site/ , so it’s clear exactly when access ends. Github PR https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/pull/113571 - Replaced the dead-end empty cart when a domain can’t be renewed with a clear explanation and a one-click way to search for a new domain. Github PR https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/pull/114220 - Cleaned up the WordPress Agent’s command menu in Telegram https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-agent-bot/ . Github PR https://github.a8c.com/Automattic/wpcom/pull/239531 - Restored the missing Search menu item for Jetpack Search on impacted sites. GitHub PR https://github.a8c.com/Automattic/wpcom/pull/238078 - Refreshed the design of the password reset page for a clearer, more guided flow. GitHub PR https://github.a8c.com/Automattic/wpcom/pull/239103 - Added a “Retired” badge so you can tell at a glance when a theme in your site’s theme list is no longer receiving updates. Github PR https://github.com/Automattic/wp-calypso/pull/114070