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Using SEOPress abilities (Free & PRO)

What are SEOPress abilities?

SEOPress 10 registers a set of abilities on the new WordPress Abilities API. An ability is a clearly defined action (for example “read a post’s SEO title” or “create a redirect”) that AI assistants and automation tools can discover and run safely, with your existing WordPress permissions always enforced.

In practice, this lets you connect an AI agent (such as Claude, or any MCP-compatible tool) to your site and let it handle SEO tasks for you, instead of clicking through screens by hand.

Requirements

  • SEOPress (Free) 10.0 or newer for the core abilities.
  • SEOPress PRO 10.0 or newer for the PRO abilities (redirects, structured data, AI generation).
  • WordPress 6.9 or newer (the Abilities API is part of WordPress core from this version).
  • An authentication method for external calls (we recommend Application Passwords).
  • For the AI generation abilities: a configured AI provider or SEOPress AI Credits.

Enable abilities over the REST API

Abilities are off by default. To let an external agent reach them:

  1. Go to SEO > Advanced settings.
  2. Open the Advanced tab.
  3. Turn on Expose abilities via REST API.
  4. Save.

Once enabled, the abilities become reachable under the /wp-abilities/v1/ REST namespace, for any user who is already allowed to perform the underlying action.

The in-editor AI Assistant (SEOPress PRO) uses these abilities internally and does not require this toggle. You only need it to connect an external agent.

Make your site “agent ready” (PRO)

SEOPress PRO can expose discovery signals so AI tools find and understand your content on their own. Enable Agent Readiness (under the Technical features) to publish an MCP server card (/.well-known/mcp.json), an llms.txt file and other /.well-known/ endpoints.

Connect an AI agent (MCP)

  1. Enable Expose abilities via REST API (and, on PRO, Agent Readiness).
  2. Create an Application Password for the WordPress user the agent will act as (Users > Profile > Application Passwords).
  3. In your MCP-compatible client, point it at your site and authenticate with that username and application password.
  4. The client discovers the available abilities automatically and runs them on your behalf.

The agent can only ever do what that user is allowed to do. To limit its scope, connect it as a user with a restricted role.

Available abilities

Free (SEOPress) — category seopress

Ability What it does Capability
seopress/get-post-title-description Read a post’s SEO title and meta description edit_post
seopress/update-post-title-description Set or clear a post’s SEO title and meta description edit_post
seopress/get-post-robots-settings Read indexing directives (noindex, nofollow, canonical…) edit_post
seopress/update-post-robots-settings Update indexing directives edit_post
seopress/get-post-social-settings Read Facebook and X social metadata edit_post
seopress/update-post-social-settings Update social metadata edit_post
seopress/analyze-post-content Run the content analysis (score and checks) edit_post
seopress/get-global-titles-settings Read the site-wide title and meta templates manage_options

SEOPress PRO — same seopress category

Ability What it does Capability
seopress/list-redirections List redirects and detected 404s read_redirection
seopress/get-redirection Get a single redirect by ID read_redirection
seopress/create-redirection Create a redirect (301/302/307/410/451) publish_redirections
seopress/update-redirection Update a redirect edit_redirection
seopress/delete-redirection Delete a redirect delete_redirection
seopress/get-post-schemas Read a post’s structured data (schema) edit_post
seopress/update-post-schemas Replace a post’s structured data edit_post
seopress/update-target-keywords Set the target keywords used for content analysis edit_post
seopress/generate-seo-title Generate an AI-optimized SEO title edit_post
seopress/generate-meta-description Generate an AI-optimized meta description edit_post
seopress/generate-alt-text Generate AI alt text for an image edit_post
seopress/upload-image Download an external image into the Media Library upload_files

The four AI abilities (generate-*) require a configured AI provider or SEOPress AI Credits.

For developers

Three REST routes are available:

  • GET /wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities — list every ability
  • GET /wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/<name> — one ability’s definition
  • …/abilities/<name>/run — execute an ability

WordPress enforces the HTTP method from the ability’s annotations:

  • read-only abilities → GET (pass the input as query parameters)
  • destructive and idempotent abilities (updates, deletes) → DELETE
  • everything else (creation) → POST

The list endpoint returns the exact run URL for each ability, so MCP clients pick the right method automatically.

# List all abilities
curl https://example.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities \
--user "USERNAME:APPLICATION_PASSWORD"

# Read a post's SEO title and meta description (GET, read-only)
curl "https://example.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/seopress/get-post-title-description/run?post_id=123" \
--user "USERNAME:APPLICATION_PASSWORD"

# Create a redirect (POST)
curl -X POST https://example.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/seopress/create-redirection/run \
--user "USERNAME:APPLICATION_PASSWORD" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"origin":"/old-url/","destination":"/new-url/","type":"301"}'

# Delete a redirect (DELETE, destructive + idempotent)
curl -X DELETE https://example.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/seopress/delete-redirection/run \
--user "USERNAME:APPLICATION_PASSWORD" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"id":42}'

Permissions and security

  • Abilities are off by default; you opt in with a single toggle.
  • Every call runs as the authenticated user and re-checks that user’s WordPress capabilities. An agent can never exceed them.
  • Per-post abilities require edit_post on the target post; global settings require manage_options.
  • Use Application Passwords and connect agents as a least-privileged user.

FAQ

Do I need SEOPress PRO? No. The free plugin already exposes 8 abilities. PRO adds redirects, structured data and AI generation.

Will an agent change things without asking? Over REST, an authorized agent runs what it is asked to run. Inside the editor, the AI Assistant proposes changes for your review before applying them.

An ability returns “not found”. Make sure Expose abilities via REST API is enabled and that the connected user can perform the action.