CartFlows Abilities: Connect AI Assistants to Your Funnels

CartFlows works with the Abilities feature built into WordPress, so AI assistants like Claude, Cursor and VS Code, and other automation tools, can work with your funnels for you. You can ask an assistant to list your funnels, check a funnel’s sales, add an order bump or start an A/B test, all in plain language.

This guide explains how it works, how to connect an AI assistant to your store, and what it can do once it’s connected.

How CartFlows Abilities Work

CartFlows tells WordPress about the tasks an AI assistant is allowed to do, such as “list funnels” or “update checkout products”. These tasks are called abilities.

• You install the free MCP Adapter plugin. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI assistants to connect to apps and websites, and this plugin brings it to your WordPress site.
• You connect your AI assistant to the site using an Application Password from your WordPress profile.
• You ask the assistant for something in plain language. It picks the right CartFlows ability, runs it, and tells you the result.

The assistant uses the same permissions as the WordPress user it signs in as, so it can only do what that user can do in CartFlows.

What You Need

• WordPress 6.9 or later. Abilities are built into WordPress from this version.
• CartFlows. The free plugin includes 46 abilities for funnels, steps, checkout, thank you, optin and settings.
• CartFlows Pro (optional). Adds 42 more abilities for upsells and downsells, order bumps, A/B tests, Instant Checkout and detailed analytics.
• The MCP Adapter plugin. A free plugin from WordPress.org that connects AI assistants to your site.
• An AI assistant that supports MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code.

How to Connect an AI Assistant

Step 1. From the WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add Plugin and search for mcp-adapter.

Step 2. Find MCP Adapter by WordPress.org in the results, then click Install Now and Activate. Other MCP plugins may appear first, so check the author name before you install.

Step 3. Go to Users → Profile and scroll down to Application Passwords.

Step 4. Enter a name you’ll recognize, such as “Claude”, and click Add Application Password.

Step 5. Copy the password that appears. WordPress shows it only once, so keep it somewhere safe.

Step 6. Open the MCP settings in your AI assistant. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Cursor, VS Code and Claude Code each have a similar MCP settings file.

Step 7. Add the following connection, replacing the three values with your own details:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cartflows-store": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@automattic/mcp-wordpress-remote@latest"],
      "env": {
        "WP_API_URL": "https://yourstore.com/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server",
        "WP_API_USERNAME": "your-username",
        "WP_API_PASSWORD": "your-application-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

• WP_API_URL: Your site address followed by /wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server.
• WP_API_USERNAME: The WordPress username you created the Application Password for.
• WP_API_PASSWORD: The Application Password you copied in Step 5.

This connection runs through Node.js, so make sure Node.js is installed on your computer. The MCP Adapter guide has more setup options if your assistant works differently.

Step 8. Save the file and restart your AI assistant.

Step 9. Test the connection by asking your assistant, “What CartFlows abilities can you use on my site?”

Your AI assistant is now connected to CartFlows.

Tip: Try your first changes on a staging site. This lets you see how the assistant works with your funnels before using it on your live store.

Giving Team Members Access

By default, administrators can use every CartFlows ability. To let another team member connect their own AI assistant, give their user role access to CartFlows.

Step 1. Go to CartFlows → Settings → User Role Manager.

Step 2. Set their role to Full Access or Limited Access, then click Save Settings. Both options let the role use every CartFlows ability.

What Your AI Assistant Can Do

Here’s a summary of the tasks available.

With CartFlows

• Funnels and steps: List, view, create, rename, clone, publish, unpublish, export, move to trash and restore funnels. Add, clone, rename and reorder steps, and browse and import funnel templates.
• Checkout: View and update checkout products, layout, place order button and form settings.
• Thank you pages: Update the layout, sections, custom text and redirect.
• Optin and landing pages: Update the optin product, button text and field settings, and view landing page settings.
• Products: See which funnel a product is linked to and change the link.
• Settings and stats: View and update general, permalink and email report settings, view tracking settings and the store checkout, and check a funnel’s stats.

With CartFlows Pro

• Upsells and downsells: Add offer steps, change the offer product, turn offers on or off, set where Yes and No lead, and check supported payment gateways.
• Order bumps: List, view, create, update and turn order bumps on or off.
• Checkout extras: View and update the pre-checkout offer and Instant Checkout settings, and view product options, checkout rules and two-step settings.
• A/B tests: Create tests and variations, set the traffic split, start a test, archive or restore a variation, and declare a winner.
• Orders and analytics: View funnel and offer orders, revenue, conversions, optin and step analytics, and reset a funnel’s analytics.

Built-In Safeguards

CartFlows keeps your store safe while an assistant works with it.

• Same permissions as the user. The assistant can only do what the connected WordPress user is allowed to do in CartFlows.
• Confirmation for big changes. For moving a funnel to trash, declaring an A/B test winner and resetting analytics, CartFlows tells the assistant to check with you first.
• Changes can be undone. Trashed funnels and archived A/B variations can be restored, and resetting analytics hides older data rather than deleting it.
• Only what you ask for changes. When the assistant updates a setting, every other setting stays as it is.

Frequently Asked Questions