Last month, WP Engine invited us to join a small agency event in London. A select group of European agencies came together to talk about the future of AI within the WordPress platform. The focus: what’s already possible, what’s changing, and how it affects the way we work as digital agencies. We didn’t think twice. With much happening around AI, and the questions we’ve been asking in our own projects, it made sense to be part of the conversation. Sven, our Head of Development and the one leading much of our work in this area, went on behalf of Mars.

In this blog, we share why the event mattered to us, what stood out in the sessions, and what we’re taking forward. We believe it’s important to keep our clients and partners informed about where the industry is heading, especially when those shifts start to influence how we collaborate, design and build.

Why we were invited

We’ve been working with WP Engine for years as a WordPress partner. That relationship has always been steady, but over the past year, our focus on AI started to stand out. We’ve been actively applying AI in our work, not just exploring possibilities but using it in our own website and internal workflows. At the same time, we’ve been developing ways to roll it out more broadly within the platforms we build for clients.

Throughout that process, we asked WP Engine questions about how their tools could support what we were building. That ongoing dialogue triggered their interest and led to the invitation.

We were warmly welcomed by our account manager Marcus, who was genuinely pleased we made the trip. Most of the attending agencies were from the UK, with a few from the Nordics. We were the only agency from the Netherlands.

The event brought together different roles from within WP Engine, from product leads to engineers to account teams. What stood out was the strong internal culture. Many of the people we spoke to had been with the company for more than seven years, and that continuity showed in the way they worked and listened. There was real interest in how we’ve been implementing their tools and what kind of use cases we are already seeing in practice.

The day focused on open, in-depth conversations about AI. How it’s already being used, and how platforms like WP Engine can better support that work.

A closer look at the event

The event was split into two tracks: a business track focused on clients and sales, and a technical track, where Sven joined around ten other development leads from different agencies. This technical side was a new addition to the format. Usually, these sessions are held separately, but this time WP Engine brought both groups together to open up the conversation around AI and the evolution of their tools.

The sessions touched on topics like Smart Search, headless WordPress and the future of ACF (development jargon, we know). But it was fun to see as we work already closely with those tools, that it quickly became clear that our implementation level was ahead of many others in the room. That led to meaningful conversations with product managers and engineers. Not just about what’s possible, but about what’s already working in practice.

Later in the day, the focus shifted to the ACF roadmap. This part was more of a dialogue than a presentation. WP Engine was curious to hear what agencies are running into, what matters most in day-to-day use, and where priorities should lie. It was clear that input from agencies plays a real role in how the product develops.

What stood out most was how openly people shared their challenges. One topic kept coming back: turning designs into working components still takes time. Many agencies are exploring how AI might help, but few have taken it beyond the surface. That made the conversations concrete and relevant, and it confirmed that we’re all asking similar questions.

After the sessions, the group moved across the street for a more informal close to the day. We spoke with several people from WP Engine, many of whom have been with the company for years. That continuity came through in how they approached the event. The conversations stayed focused and thoughtful, and we left with the sense that there’s room to keep building on this exchange.

What we’re taking from London

What made the biggest impact was the mix of in-depth sessions and the conversations around them. The content itself was interesting, especially given how closely it connects to what we’re already working on. But it was in the informal talks during breaks and afterwards the sessies you really started to connect.

He spoke with people from across WP Engine, many of whom have been with the company for years and now lead the development of the tools we use in our work. There was a shared recognition of the challenges we all face. From the pace of AI adoption to the complexity of turning strategy into structure, it was clear we’re not alone in the questions we’re asking.

The event confirmed we’re heading in the right direction. But more than that, it opened the door to continue the conversation. In the coming weeks, we’ll speak with WP Engine’s AI team in the US to share our use cases and learn more about where the platform is going next.

What’s next?

Next week, we’ll continue the conversation in a follow-up session with Luke, who leads AI product development at WP Engine from the US. He’s keen to dive deeper into how we approach AI, what we’ve already built, and which use cases we’re starting to see in real projects.

For us, this is not about holding onto insights or moving ahead in isolation. It’s about sharing, challenging, and learning together. Because real progress in AI doesn’t come from gatekeeping, it comes from open exchange and collaboration.

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