Connecting ChatGPT to WordPress over MCP comes down to three requirements: a plan that allows custom MCP servers, a site ChatGPT can reach over HTTPS, and a custom MCP server added in ChatGPT, after which you pick your site’s access level on purpose.
This guide covers both sides of the connection: what ChatGPT needs from you and what your WordPress site needs to provide. On the WordPress side, Easy MCP AI is the free plugin that turns a WordPress site into an MCP server with no hosted relay. Easy MCP AI is made by Themeisle, the company behind this blog.
WordPress.com sites on any plan, free included, have a different route: switch on MCP access in the WordPress.com account settings, then add WordPress from ChatGPT’s Plugin Directory and sign in with the WordPress.com account the site is connected to. The same route works for a self-hosted site connected through Jetpack, with no Jetpack plan needed; MCP access there is off by default and is switched on under Jetpack → Jetpack AI. This guide covers the other route: a custom MCP server on a self-hosted site.
New to MCP? Read what MCP means for WordPress, then the companion guide to installing Easy MCP AI and the first connection.
Before you connect anything, check these four things ✅
- Plan: the pricing page lists Developer mode (beta) for Plus and Pro, while OpenAI’s help center documents read/fetch for Pro and write actions for Business, Enterprise and Edu, so check yours first.
- Site: your site needs a public HTTPS address, or Secure MCP Tunnel for a private or local server.
- Form: the connection starts in ChatGPT Plugins, at the plus button, under Add custom MCP server.
- Access: start with a Read-only access level, chosen on your site’s approval page.
First requirement: the right ChatGPT plan
| Plan | Pricing page: Developer mode (beta) | Pricing page: Create & share Plugins | Help center: what MCP can do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | No | No | Not documented |
| Go | No | Yes | Not documented |
| Plus | Yes | Yes | Not documented |
| Pro | Yes | Yes | Read/fetch in developer mode |
| Business | Not on the Individual pricing tab | Not on the Individual pricing tab | Full MCP including write actions (beta) |
| Enterprise/Edu | Not on the Individual pricing tab | Not on the Individual pricing tab | Full MCP including write actions (beta) |
The pricing page[1] lists developer mode for Plus, but the help article[2] never names Plus: it limits full MCP (write actions) to Business, Enterprise and Edu and describes read/fetch for Pro. Check your own account’s Settings before planning around Plus. Free is marked No on both labels. Go shows Yes for Create & share Plugins, but developer mode is marked No and the help article never names it.
Workspaces add a gate: on Business, only admins and owners can enable developer mode and deploy an app; on Enterprise and Edu, admins grant access with role controls and enabled members toggle it under Settings → Apps → Advanced Settings. OpenAI’s FAQ says MCP apps work on the web, not on mobile.
Second requirement: a site ChatGPT can reach
ChatGPT connects only to remote MCP servers, so a private or local server needs a public HTTPS endpoint, Secure MCP Tunnel or another HTTPS forwarding service. The tunnel needs tunnel-client, a customer-run agent that OpenAI publishes on GitHub.[8]
Your site has an HTTPS rule of its own: Easy MCP AI requires HTTPS for OAuth on live sites. On a live site over plain HTTP, Easy MCP AI answers discovery with a 403 “OAuth metadata endpoints require HTTPS.” and registration with a 403 whose message begins “HTTPS is required. This request reached PHP over plain HTTP.” A local-development switch exists; the error text says never to set it on a production site. SSL first, form second. 💡
Third requirement: the Add custom MCP server form
In ChatGPT, go to Plugins, select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.[4] Enter a name and description, under Connection, enter your public MCP URL including the /mcp path, or select Tunnel and choose your tunnel (or enter its tunnel_id) for Secure MCP Tunnel, configure authentication, review the risk warning, select “I understand and want to continue”, then select Create as a plugin. ChatGPT then lists the tools and metadata it discovered; to use them, install the resulting plugin, start a new conversation and type @ to select it.
Older guides that say Connectors or App Directory use earlier names: OpenAI’s release notes show connectors becoming apps on December 18, 2025, and the App Directory becoming the Plugin Directory on July 9, 2026.[5] Labels still differ by account (Settings may show Apps instead of Plugins).
If Add custom MCP server is missing, developer mode is probably off: on Business only admins and owners can turn it on (User Settings → Apps → Advanced settings), on Enterprise and Edu, use the Settings path above once an admin has granted access, and on a personal plan, look for a developer mode switch in Settings.
On the WordPress side, Easy MCP AI’s Dashboard connect card walks the same path. Pick the ChatGPT tile (labeled “One click & paste a URL”) and click Connect to ChatGPT, which opens ChatGPT’s Plugins page. The card’s steps say to click Add (top right), then Add custom MCP server, type a name such as “WordPress” and paste your MCP URL as the Server URL: on a live site it looks like https://your-site.com/wp-json/easy-mcp-ai/v1/mcp. Leave Authentication set to OAuth, tick “I understand and want to continue”, then click Create as a plugin, and approve the connection on your site’s approval page (the button reads Approve & Continue). The card’s third step, Confirm it works, gives you a check prompt to paste into ChatGPT that asks it to read the site with wp_get_site_settings without changing anything, and the card updates when that first call arrives.
What happens on your site when ChatGPT connects
ChatGPT runs the OAuth 2.1 authorization code flow with PKCE (S256), and OpenAI lists three ways it can identify itself to your site: Client ID Metadata Documents (CIMD), dynamic client registration (DCR) or a predefined OAuth client.[6] Easy MCP AI has dynamic client registration on by default, so ChatGPT can register its own OAuth client with the site; Client ID Metadata Documents are also accepted (on by default, advertised once the site’s own background check passes).
Next you land on your own site’s approval page, titled Authorize Application. Sign in as the WordPress user you want ChatGPT to act as before you approve: the page names the client and that account (for example: “Will act on this site as siteadmin (administrator), and never beyond what that account can do.”). The page names the app that asked for access; for an app that signs in with a metadata document, the Client ID line shows the web host that published that document. You pick an access level: Full access (all tools, current and future), Read-only (“The AI can view content, settings and the user list. It cannot create, change or delete anything.”) or Custom, then Deny or Approve & Continue.
You can revoke ChatGPT’s grant at any time under Easy MCP AI → Connections → OAuth, but revoking doesn’t undo changes already made, deletes included. The Audit log under Easy MCP AI → Activity records every MCP tool call, reads included, while it is on (it is on by default).
What ChatGPT is allowed to do: two layers of control
ChatGPT decides when to ask you, and your site decides which tools can be called and, once you switch on its approval setting, can ask you as well. On the ChatGPT side, the permission options are Always ask, Allow read actions, Allow low-risk actions and Allow all actions; availability depends on your account, the app and your workspace.[3] For write or modify actions, ChatGPT may ask for confirmation depending on permissions, context and potential impact; some especially risky actions may be blocked instead.
| Control | Where you set it | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT permission options | ChatGPT Settings → Plugins → Permissions (some accounts show Apps) | When ChatGPT asks before reading or acting |
| Site access level | The site’s approval page | Read-only, Full access or Custom: which tools the grant can call |
| Site tool switches | Easy MCP AI → Settings → Advanced → Disabled tools | Which switchable tools are off for every connection (a set of riskier ones start off on a fresh install) |
| Site approval switch | Easy MCP AI → Settings → Access & safety | “Ask before destructive actions” is off by default; when enabled, a call pauses by default unless its tool declares itself non-destructive or read-only (on a fresh install that covers deletes, comment spam, trash and bulk moderation, restores from Change history and REST API writes, plus abilities that declare no safety annotations, edits to global styles or Additional CSS, and the email tool, which starts off itself). Tools on “Never ask for” skip the pause and tools on “Always ask for” are added to it (“Always ask for” wins over “Never ask for”), the site’s approval filter has the last word, and Unattended API keys never pause (ChatGPT connects over OAuth, and OAuth grants cannot be Unattended). |
A write on a Read-only grant is refused with “Token does not have permission to use this tool”, and the refusal also tells the AI that the app needs one more permission and that it should ask you to reconnect the app and approve it. A Read-only grant’s tool list can still show write tools, because an OAuth grant’s list now includes the tools a fresh approval would unlock; calling one is refused until then. A Full access grant can also call the write tools that are switched on, destructive ones such as deletes, spam and trash included, within what the connected WordPress account can do. The tools also change with the plugin integrations and data providers you enable, with the page layout tools that appear whenever Elementor, WPBakery or Flatsome is active and, on WordPress 6.9+, with the non-destructive abilities a fresh install switches on at first run.
Easy MCP AI marks its tools with safety annotations (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint), and OpenAI notes these help ChatGPT choose confirmation behavior but “do not replace authorization, validation, or confirmation in your server”.[7]
⚠️ The category risk is prompt injection: text the AI reads, such as comments, form entries or product reviews, can carry instructions that steer a model holding write access. OpenAI warns to connect only servers you trust, and OWASP lists prompt injection as the first risk in its LLM Top 10.[9] The practical setup: start Read-only, keep ChatGPT on Always ask or Allow read actions, leave the default-off tools off, and consider switching on Ask before destructive actions.
Keeping tools in sync
If you change tools on your site and connected the server directly in ChatGPT, follow OpenAI’s steps: open the connection at ChatGPT Plugins, select Refresh, confirm the advertised metadata changed, then start a new conversation. A published workspace app works differently: on Business an admin recreates and republishes it, and on Enterprise and Edu an admin refreshes its actions, with new actions arriving disabled.
Troubleshooting
- ChatGPT cannot connect: the site needs a public HTTPS address; a private or local server needs Secure MCP Tunnel or an HTTPS forwarding endpoint. If the registration error says the request reached PHP over plain HTTP even though a proxy or CDN serves your HTTPS, WordPress is not being told about it: set $_SERVER[“HTTPS”] from the forwarded protocol in wp-config.php, as the error text says. Disable other MCP plugins on the site too: multiple OAuth endpoints can confuse AI clients.
- Add custom MCP server is missing: developer mode is probably off or a workspace policy blocks custom servers; check the plan table and the developer mode steps above, or ask your workspace admin.
- Tools are missing or outdated: Refresh the connection at ChatGPT Plugins, then start a new conversation.
- A write is refused: the site’s grant may be Read-only, the tool may be one that a fresh install switches off (user, plugin, theme and site settings changes among them), or your ChatGPT permission or plan may not allow writes. If the refusal says the call needs another OAuth permission, reconnect ChatGPT and approve the wider access on your site’s approval page. A post built with Elementor, WPBakery or Flatsome also refuses an ordinary content edit: the plugin points the AI to its page-layout tool instead.
Wrapping up
Whatever your plan, start with a Read-only grant on your site’s approval page; on Business, Enterprise or Edu, where OpenAI documents write actions, move to Custom or Full access once you trust the setup. Easy MCP AI is free with all tools included, holds 30,000+ active installs and a 98/100 rating from 16 ratings on wordpress.org.
Still choosing a server plugin? The best WordPress MCP server plugins comparison covers the field; for ChatGPT features inside wp-admin, see the ChatGPT WordPress plugins roundup.
Have you connected ChatGPT to your WordPress site yet, or is one of these requirements blocking you? Let us know in the comments section below! 🎉
References
- [1] ChatGPT pricing, plan feature labels.
- [2] Developer mode and MCP apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center.
- [3] Managing app permissions in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center.
- [4] Connect and test your plugin, OpenAI Developers.
- [5] ChatGPT release notes, OpenAI Help Center.
- [6] Authenticate your users, OpenAI Developers.
- [7] Build an MCP server, OpenAI Developers.
- [8] Secure MCP Tunnel client, OpenAI on GitHub.
- [9] LLM01:2025 Prompt Injection, OWASP Gen AI Security Project.
FREE GUIDE
4 Essential Steps to Speed Up Your WordPress Website
Follow the simple steps in our 4-part mini series and reduce your loading times by 50-80%. 🚀
