Tools we actually use

A short list of the WordPress plugins, AI tools, hosts, and SEO services we run on real sites. Some links are affiliates — we only list things we’d recommend without commission, and we say so when we wouldn’t.

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission on some links below at no cost to you. This list is curated by what we use, not by what pays best.

AI writing inside WordPress

• WP AI AutoBlogger — what we ship on this site. Multi-pass writing, 7-wave humanizer, AutoPilot. $19.99 one-time, free Lite on wp.org. (We make this — listed for transparency.)
• AI Engine (Meow Apps) — strong dev ecosystem, good for in-editor drafting and RAG-style chat. Annual pricing.
• GetGenie AI — template-driven, leans toward SEO use cases. Monthly subscription.

SEO plugins & tools

• Rank Math — what we use. Free tier covers most needs, Pro adds analytics and content AI.
• Yoast SEO — older, more conservative, deeper Schema.org coverage. Either works.
• Surfer SEO — SERP-driven content optimization. Pricey but earns its keep on commercial keywords.
• Ahrefs / Semrush — keyword research. Either; rotating annual subscriptions saves money if you can plan ahead.

Hosting that handles WP-Cron

The plugin’s queue runs every 2 minutes via WP-Cron. Cheap shared hosting often blocks or throttles cron, which silently stalls your AutoPilot queue. Hosts we’ve actually run AutoPilot on without queue issues:

• Cloudways — server-level real cron (not pseudo-cron), scales mid-traffic well, no overage charges that aren’t telegraphed.
• Kinsta — premium, opinionated, great support. Real cron, geo-distributed CDN.
• SiteGround — solid mid-tier shared/cloud, but turn off their built-in caching for the AutoBlogger queue page or you’ll see stale states.

Image generation

• DALL·E 3 (OpenAI) — uses your existing OpenAI key. ~$0.04–0.08 per image. Cleanest editorial output for blog headers.
• Unsplash — free, real photography, 50 requests/hour. Best when you want a stock-photo aesthetic.
• Imagine.art (Vyro) — AI illustration, paid plans. Useful for stylized covers.