The WordPress ecosystem is undergoing a transformation, and few are better positioned to witness and shape this change than Adam Warner, Field Marketing Director at GoDaddy. We caught up with Adam in Ibiza during a relaxed yet insightful event, where he shared how GoDaddy is navigating the evolving web landscape – especially with the advent of AI technologies.
WordPress, AI, and the fear of replacement
During our conversation, Adam candidly addressed the industry’s most pressing concern: is AI a threat to web developers?
“On one hand, there’s a bit of fear. If AI makes website creation… will that replace the people who are currently building websites? That’s the big fear,” Adam acknowledged. “But if you’re not integrating AI into your website creation process or your agency business… you will get left behind pretty quickly.”
GoDaddy’s approach isn’t about replacing developers, but empowering them. AI, Adam emphasized, should be viewed as a tool – not a threat. “AI now is enhancing the website creator’s ability to create better insights… We’re in this enhancement mode.”
GoDaddy Airo™
At the heart of GoDaddy’s AI strategy is GoDaddy Airo™, the company’s overarching AI platform. Initially integrated into their revamped website builder, Airo™ is now making its way into WordPress dashboards and the GoDaddy Pro Hub.
“It started with our website builder… now it’s found its way into the WordPress dashboards and into our Pro Hub… It formed the creation of a new tool called Airo™ Site Optimizer.”
Airo™ Site Optimizer is a game-changer for freelancers and agencies, offering AI-powered SEO and accessibility recommendations at the click of a button. This reflects GoDaddy’s vision of AI as a force multiplier, not a replacement.
Beyond content optimization, GoDaddy is also integrating AI into business workflows for agencies. For example, GoDaddy Airo™ can generate full product market research reports tailored to a client’s business and location – “You take that to your client. You impress them, but also you’re educating yourself.”
This tool helps streamline early-stage client discovery and proposal creation – reducing overhead and increasing impact for agencies.
Advocating for the community
Adam’s role at GoDaddy isn’t confined to marketing. He positions himself as a bridge between the company and the web professional community. “My role… is to both engage into the web designer and developer communities… and bring feedback back to various product teams, back to leadership at the company.”. His relationship with tools like Atarim dates back to their earliest versions, and he’s been a vocal advocate internally at GoDaddy – “According to Vito, I’ve been an early advocate for him and helped on his journey with Atarim.”
A community-first approach
What stood out most in our conversation with Adam was GoDaddy’s people-first philosophy. Whether it’s casual meetups or collaborative feedback loops, Adam believes the human element drives success – “We create relationships. We create one-to-one trust with people, which in the long tail translates into partnerships or other kinds of business.”
As the interview wound down, Adam shared his joy over the relaxed event atmosphere and even the evening’s rock show: “The Lords of Uptime Band last night… their set was epic. I’m a huge fan of The Ramones and The Runaways… it was really quite epic for me.”
GoDaddy’s direction under leaders like Adam Warner is clear: empower the WordPress community with smarter tools, listen to their feedback, and stay human amid the tech evolution. With platforms like GoDaddy Airo™ and a strong focus on partnerships, the company is embracing the future of WordPress with open arms and plenty of innovation.