For years, WordPress page builders have been one of the biggest businesses in the WordPress ecosystem. They made it possible for almost anyone to build a website without writing code. Drag and drop a few elements, change some colors, adjust the spacing, and your website is ready.

That was a big deal.

But things are changing. AI can now generate website layouts, write content, create custom components, and modify existing designs using simple instructions. Instead of spending hours learning a builder, users can describe what they want and let AI do much of the work.

This raises an important question for the WordPress industry: Are traditional page builders becoming less valuable in an AI-driven world?

I do not think page builders will disappear overnight. Some are still growing, and many businesses depend on them. However, I believe their traditional business model is facing a serious challenge.

The biggest threat is not another page builder. It is a completely different way of building websites.

The Old Way of Building Websites Is Changing

Think about how a typical website is built with a page builder.

You choose a theme, install a builder, import a template, drag elements into place, adjust the layout, configure fonts, change colors, and spend hours making everything look right.

Even a simple landing page can require a lot of manual work.

Now imagine telling an AI tool:

“Create a modern website for my digital agency. Use a clean design, blue as the primary color, a strong hero section, service cards, customer testimonials, a portfolio, and a contact form. Make it responsive and keep the design simple.”

AI can generate an initial version of that website. You can then ask it to change the layout, rewrite the content, adjust the colors, or create a completely different design.

You do not need to find the right element in a sidebar. You do not need to understand how a particular builder handles spacing. You do not need to spend hours searching through settings to find an option.

You simply explain what you want.

The first result may not be perfect, but that is not the point. The time and effort required to reach the desired result are what matter.

And this is where AI starts to challenge the traditional page builder experience.

If Customization Is the Biggest Advantage, What Happens Next?

One of the most common arguments in favor of page builders is that they give users the freedom to customize their websites.

That is true. But I think we should look at how people actually use their websites.

Most business owners are not professional designers. They do not want to spend their time adjusting margins, changing column widths, experimenting with fonts, or rebuilding their homepage.

They want a website that looks professional and helps them run their business.

Once the website is finished, many business owners leave the overall design unchanged for years. They might update a headline, replace an image, add a new service, or publish a blog post, but they rarely redesign the entire website every few months.

For many small businesses, the main design stays largely the same for two years or longer.

So, how valuable is unlimited visual customization if the user rarely needs to use it?

This is where the argument becomes interesting.

Imagine that a business owner wants to change their homepage from a traditional agency layout to a more modern design. With a page builder, they may need to open the editor, move sections around, change the layout, adjust responsive settings, and check every element.

With an AI-powered workflow, they could simply ask:

“Redesign my homepage with a more modern layout. Keep my existing brand colors and content, make the services easier to understand, and move the portfolio above the testimonials.”

AI could make those changes directly, show a preview, and let the owner approve them.

The user still gets customization. They simply do not need to perform every step manually.

The real question is no longer how many customization options a builder offers. It is how quickly users can get the result they want.

Page builders made customization accessible by removing the need to write code. AI can take this a step further by removing much of the need to understand the design tool itself.

AI Can Give Users More Freedom, Not Less

Traditional page builders give users a predefined set of elements, controls, templates, and layout options.

These tools can be powerful, but users must work within the system the builder provides.

If the exact layout they want is not available, they may need to combine multiple elements, add custom CSS, install an addon, or find another workaround.

AI changes this relationship.

Instead of choosing from a list of available elements, users can describe the component they need.

For example:

• Create a pricing section with three plans and highlight the recommended plan.
• Build a comparison table that shows how my product differs from competitors.
• Add a product feature section with an interactive demo.
• Change the mobile layout without affecting the desktop version.
• Create a new landing page for a marketing campaign using my existing brand style.
• Redesign the checkout page to make it simpler and easier to use.

These are not necessarily impossible tasks for a traditional builder. The difference is how users request and implement them.

With a builder, users often need to understand the available elements and figure out how to combine them. With AI, they can start by describing the outcome.

This could make website creation more accessible to people who have no interest in learning another interface.

It also creates an opportunity for more personalized websites. Instead of thousands of businesses using nearly identical templates, each website could be shaped around its owner’s actual requirements.

Page Builders Have a Performance Problem, Too

AI is not the only reason to question the traditional page builder model. Performance and maintainability have been concerns for years.

Many page builders introduce additional layers of markup, styling, scripts, and editor-specific functionality. Depending on the builder and how the website is configured, this can increase page size and loading time.

A page may include:

• Deeply nested HTML elements.
• Large CSS files containing styles for many components.
• JavaScript needed for sliders, animations, popups, tabs, and other interactive features.
• Additional requests from addons and third-party integrations.
• Extra frontend assets that are not always necessary for the content being displayed.

Not every builder loads all of these resources on every page, and some have made substantial improvements to performance. A well-optimized builder website can be fast.

However, the underlying trade-off remains. A system designed to provide hundreds of visual features has more code and functionality to manage than a carefully built page that includes only what it needs.

The problem becomes more noticeable when users install several addon packs to achieve a particular design.

A simple business website can gradually turn into a combination of a theme, a page builder, multiple addon plugins, animation libraries, custom CSS, and additional JavaScript.

Now the website owner must manage all of them.

AI could offer a different approach. If it generates a focused implementation for the requested design, the result may contain only the components and resources required for that page.

This is not automatic. AI-generated code can also be inefficient, insecure, or unnecessarily complicated. Generated websites still need performance testing, code review, and maintenance.

But it creates a clear opportunity: What if users could get the design flexibility of a page builder without carrying the entire builder’s frontend overhead?

That is a question worth asking.

Gutenberg Is Already Changing the WordPress Ecosystem

AI is not entering an empty market. WordPress has already been moving toward native block-based editing.

Gutenberg introduced a different approach to building pages. Instead of relying entirely on a separate visual builder, users can create content using blocks that are part of WordPress itself.

With Full Site Editing, block themes, patterns, and reusable components, the native WordPress experience has become much more capable than it was when Gutenberg first launched.

This matters for several reasons.

First, users can build and manage more of their websites without installing a separate page builder.

Second, developers can create custom blocks that integrate with WordPress rather than requiring an entirely separate editing environment.

Third, WordPress itself can continue improving the editing experience without every user needing to depend on a third-party builder for basic functionality.

The 2025 Web Almanac from HTTP Archive documented the strong presence of page builders while also highlighting the trade-offs of complex markup, larger CSS and JavaScript bundles, and long-term maintenance. Its observations also showed changes in the relative adoption of different editing tools between 2024 and 2025.

These findings do not mean that all page builders are declining. They show that the ecosystem is evolving and that the native block editor remains an important alternative.

You can read the HTTP Archive’s 2025 CMS report for more details.

Now imagine combining Gutenberg with AI.

A user could ask AI to create a custom block, generate a page pattern, modify an existing layout, or build a small feature that fits their website. WordPress would provide the underlying platform, while AI would help users create and change what they need.

That could be a much more natural direction for WordPress than requiring every website owner to learn another complex editing system.

What About the Revenue of Page Builder Companies?

This is where we need to separate the business argument from the available evidence.

It is tempting to say that established page builder companies are already losing revenue because of Gutenberg or AI. However, publicly available information does not establish a verified revenue decline for Visual Composer specifically, or for the page builder industry as a whole.

Visual Composer and WPBakery should also not be confused. They are distinct products, despite the historical connection between their names.

Public plugin statistics can help us understand product adoption, but they do not tell us how much money a company earns from premium subscriptions, renewals, theme bundles, agency licenses, or other revenue streams.

Still, there are reasons to examine the business model more closely.

1. Gutenberg reduces the need for a separate builder

When WordPress provides more native layout and design capabilities, some users may no longer need a third-party builder for their basic requirements.

That does not eliminate demand for advanced builders. It does mean that a builder needs to offer clear additional value rather than simply providing visual editing.

2. AI introduces a new competitor

Historically, page builders competed on ease of use, available elements, templates, design flexibility, and performance.

AI introduces a different type of competition. A user might not compare two page builders at all. They might compare a page builder with an AI website generator or an AI coding tool that can create the required website directly.

That changes what customers evaluate before purchasing a product.

3. The value of templates and addons could change

Templates, widgets, and addon libraries have been important parts of the page builder business model.

But if users can generate layouts and components based on their requirements, the perceived value of a large template library may decrease for some customers.

Template libraries will still be useful, especially when they provide tested, professionally designed starting points. However, simply offering more templates may not be enough to stand out.

4. Established customers are not the same as new customers

Older builders have an important advantage: many existing websites already depend on them.

Those customers may continue renewing licenses because migrating a website is expensive and risky.

But someone starting a new website today has more options. They can choose Gutenberg, a traditional page builder, an AI website platform, or a custom development workflow.

The question for a builder company is whether its product remains the obvious choice for new customers, not just whether existing customers continue using it.

5. Product businesses must adapt before the market forces them to

A decline in revenue is not inevitable. A company can respond to changing customer expectations by improving performance, introducing AI features, simplifying its editor, or building tools for professional developers.

The real risk is ignoring the change because the existing product is still popular.

Page builders do not need to disappear for their traditional business model to become less attractive. Even a successful product may need to rethink how it creates value, attracts new customers, and justifies its price.

The Biggest Problem With Page Builders Is the Workflow Itself

I think the deeper problem is that traditional page builders were designed around the process of creating a website, not necessarily around the outcome users want.

Users want a professional website. They want to explain their business, showcase their products, attract customers, and make changes when their needs evolve.

But a traditional builder asks users to learn its interface, understand its components, choose layouts, configure settings, and manually assemble everything.

The tool becomes part of the work.

AI has the potential to reverse this relationship. Instead of learning how to use the tool, users can explain their goals and let the tool figure out the implementation.

Consider a few common requests.

With a traditional builder:

“I want a more modern homepage.”

You open the editor, search for a suitable layout, rearrange sections, adjust spacing, change typography, and check the mobile design.

With an AI-powered workflow:

“I want a more modern homepage. Keep my branding, make the headline stronger, simplify the service section, and improve the mobile layout.”

AI makes the changes, and you review the result.

The second approach is not guaranteed to work perfectly on the first attempt. Complex websites still require technical knowledge, and AI can misunderstand instructions or introduce bugs.

But the direction is clear. The user is moving from manually operating a design tool toward describing the desired result.

That is a significant change in how software can be designed.

Does This Mean Every Website Will Be Built With AI?

No. There will always be situations where traditional tools and manual development make more sense.

Large websites with complex layouts, dynamic data, membership systems, eCommerce functionality, or specialized integrations require more than generating a few pages.

Professional developers also need control over architecture, accessibility, security, performance, and long-term maintainability.

AI-generated websites must meet those requirements, too.

However, not every website needs that level of complexity.

A local business website, a portfolio, a landing page, a small agency website, or a simple company website may not require a powerful visual builder at all.

For these users, the ability to describe a design, generate a working website, and request changes conversationally could be enough.

The opportunity is not necessarily to replace every page builder. It is to make the builder less important to the person using it.

What Should WordPress Page Builder Companies Do Next?

If I were building a page builder business today, I would not focus only on adding more widgets, templates, animations, and design controls.

I would focus on reducing the amount of work users need to do.

Here are five areas worth considering.

1. Make AI the primary interface, not just another feature

AI should be able to create complete pages, modify existing sections, update global styles, and make responsive adjustments. Users should be able to describe a change and review it before publishing.

2. Generate cleaner and more efficient output

Performance should be part of the product architecture, not something users must fix after building their websites. Load only the resources required by the page, reduce unnecessary markup, and avoid shipping large amounts of unused CSS and JavaScript.

3. Work naturally with Gutenberg

Rather than treating the native block editor as a competitor, builders could help users create custom blocks, patterns, and block-based layouts. Integration with WordPress’s existing editing experience could become a competitive advantage.

4. Support real website maintenance

Creating a website is only the beginning. Users also need to update content, add services, improve conversion rates, refresh branding, and maintain compatibility.

An AI-powered product that helps users manage the entire website lifecycle could offer more value than one focused primarily on visual design.

5. Compete on results, not the number of features

Most users do not care whether a builder offers 300 widgets or 500 templates. They care whether they can get a professional website that works well, loads quickly, and meets their needs.

The winning product may not be the one with the most options. It may be the one that requires the least effort to achieve a good result.

The Opportunity for WordPress Developers

For WordPress developers, this shift creates opportunities beyond traditional themes and page builders.

We can build tools that turn natural language into Gutenberg blocks, create custom layouts based on a website’s existing design system, generate components that integrate with WordPress data, or help site owners manage their websites through conversational interfaces.

There is also room for products that combine AI with the strengths of WordPress, including its content management system, plugin ecosystem, user management, and extensibility.

The key is not to add an AI chatbot to an existing product and call it innovation.

The real opportunity is to rethink the workflow itself.

If a user can describe a feature and have a reliable, maintainable implementation created for them, the traditional interface may become less central to the product’s value.

This will require careful engineering. Generated changes need validation, permissions must be respected, and users should be able to preview and undo changes. But those are product design and engineering challenges, not reasons to ignore the opportunity.

Final Thoughts: Page Builders Are Not Dead, but Their Old Advantages Are Under Pressure

WordPress page builders solved a real problem. They made website design accessible to people who could not write code, and they helped an entire industry grow.

That achievement should not be dismissed.

But the way people create websites is changing again.

Gutenberg has reduced the need for a separate editing tool for some users. AI is making it possible to generate layouts, components, and code through natural language. Performance and maintenance concerns also give website owners reasons to reconsider how much complexity they actually need.

None of this proves that page builder revenue is declining across the industry. Products such as Elementor remain widely used, and established builders still have significant advantages, including mature ecosystems, existing customers, and familiar workflows.

The question is what happens next.

Will users continue spending hours learning a visual editor when they can describe what they want and have AI build it? Will they pay for hundreds of design options when they only need a few specific changes? Will they accept the additional complexity of a builder if a simpler, AI-assisted workflow can deliver the same result?

We do not know exactly how quickly these changes will happen.

But I believe website creation is moving toward a model where users focus less on how a website is built and more on what they want it to accomplish.

For page builder companies, that means the next big innovation may not be another visual editor or another collection of widgets. It may be a product that makes the traditional editing process largely unnecessary.

The future of website building may not belong to the builder with the most customization options. It may belong to the tool that understands what users want and builds it with the least effort.