We’re excited to announce the first beta release of ACF PRO 6.8.

🚀 ACF PRO v6.8.0-beta1 is now available with Abilities API support.

Integration with the New WordPress Abilities API

This release includes support for the Abilities API, a brand-new API that arrived in WordPress 6.9, designed to bring a unified, secure, and machine-readable way for plugins and themes to expose their capabilities.

The beta provides full exposure of the ACF schema and data via this new mechanism. Crucially, this integration will enable compatible tools, such as Agentic AI and automation platforms, to create, read, and update ACF field groups, custom post types (CPTs), and taxonomies, as well as interact with the data within those items.

This establishes ACF data as an immediate, first-class resource for any tool that integrates with the WordPress Abilities API.

Key Benefits

  • ACF is Future-Proofed for AI: By integrating with the WordPress Core Abilities API, ACF’s structured data becomes instantly discoverable, interoperable, and secure for the next generation of AI and automation tools.
  • Enhanced Interoperability: It lays the groundwork for any other systems built on the new WordPress Core standard.
  • Structured Data, Simplified: ACF’s rich content model is immediately available to these advanced tools, establishing ACF as a foundational component for building the most sophisticated agentic WordPress experiences.

ACF Capabilities

With this release we expose the following capabilities:

Ability Name Description
acf/field-groups Get all ACF field groups that allow AI access
acf/create-field-group Create a new ACF field group with fields, location rules, and settings
acf/custom-post-types Get all ACF registered custom post types that allow AI access
acf/create-custom-post-type Create a new custom post type in ACF with labels, settings, and AI access configuration
acf/{post-type}s Query/list posts of a specific custom post type with pagination and filtering
acf/create-{post-type} Create a new post of a specific custom post type with title, content, and ACF field data
acf/view-{post-type} Get a single post of a specific custom post type by its ID
acf/update-{post-type} Update a post of a specific custom post type by its ID
acf/delete-{post-type} Delete a post of a specific custom post type by its ID
acf/custom-taxonomies Get all ACF registered custom taxonomies that allow AI access
acf/create-custom-taxonomy Create a new custom taxonomy in ACF with labels, hierarchy, and post type associations
acf/{taxonomy}s Query/list terms of a specific custom taxonomy with pagination and filtering
acf/create-{taxonomy} Create a new term in a specific custom taxonomy
acf/view-{taxonomy} Get a single term from a specific custom taxonomy by its ID
acf/update-{taxonomy} Update a term in a specific custom taxonomy by its ID
acf/delete-{taxonomy} Delete a term from a specific custom taxonomy by its ID

This list of abilities is not fully reflective of what will be shipped in ACF 6.8, as some abilities may be added, changed, or removed prior to the official release.

What Does This Enable?

By exposing ACF’s schema and data through the WordPress Abilities API, ACF 6.8 unlocks a range of new workflows powered by AI and automation tools, without bypassing the WordPress security or permission model.

Here are a few examples of what this makes possible:

  • AI-Assisted Content Modeling: Tools can now inspect existing custom post types, taxonomies, and ACF field groups, then create or extend data models based on intent rather than manual configuration. This allows AI to help design and evolve structured content models, not just generate content.

  • Programmatic SEO from Structured Data: Large datasets, such as CSV files of locations, services, or products, can be turned into fully structured WordPress content. AI tools can create the required data model in ACF, validate each entry against field definitions, and safely import content at scale.

  • Controlled Bulk Content Operations: Automation tools can query and update ACF-powered content using officially exposed capabilities. This enables responsible bulk operations – such as normalizing field values or updating metadata- while respecting validation rules and access controls.

  • Rapid Prototyping and Demo Sites: Developers and agencies can generate realistic demo sites in minutes. Tools can create post types, taxonomies, field groups, and seed content automatically, dramatically reducing setup time for prototypes and client demos.

These examples are only the beginning. ACF 6.8 focuses on establishing the foundation that allows compatible tools to safely understand and interact with WordPress content models in a structured, future-proof way.

How Tools Integrate with ACF 6.8

ACF 6.8 does not introduce a new AI tool or workflow of its own. Instead, it exposes ACF’s schema and data through the WordPress Abilities API, allowing compatible external tools to integrate with WordPress in a secure, standardized way.

For example, an agentic development tool such as Claude Code can be connected to a WordPress site running 6.9 using an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. Once connected, the tool can:

  • Discover which ACF field groups, post types, and taxonomies allow AI access
  • Create or modify ACF field groups using official capabilities
  • Query, create, and update content that uses ACF fields
  • Respect WordPress permissions and ACF’s AI access controls

From the tool’s perspective, ACF becomes a structured, machine-readable content model rather than a collection of admin screens.

ACF 6.8 focuses on providing the capabilities layer that makes these integrations possible. Specific setup steps will vary depending on the tool being used.

Testing the Beta

As it is a beta release, we do not recommend using this on production sites, but have released it for the broader ACF community who wish to test on development and staging environments so we can gather feedback for the general release.

This is a PRO only release. To access this release, please log in to your account and navigate to the “Licenses” page. You can then select “6.8.0-beta1″ from the available downloads or click on the ‘Install pre-release version’ tab for full instructions.

Learn more about testing pre-release versions of ACF PRO.

Enabling ACF AI

Once you’ve installed the beta, you will need to opt-in to the new AI features by adding the following filter to your theme’s functions.php or a custom plugin:

add_filter( 'acf/settings/enable_acf_ai', '__return_true' );

This filter enables the abilities and adds a new “ACF AI” tab. For existing field groups, post types, and taxonomies, the AI access setting will be off, requiring a manual opt-in. Any new items created will have the setting enabled by default.

ACF 6.8 AI settings tab

To hear about future pre-release versions as they are released, sign up to our Beta news email list.

For the latest ACF news, follow us on X @wp_acf.

Changelog

  • New – ACF now supports the WordPress Abilities API, with abilities for field groups, post types, and taxonomies