This post is about transparency, context, and closing a chapter the right way.
Recently, Bertha was closed on the WordPress repository. This decision followed a review by the WordPress team, who pointed out several code and licensing issues that needed to be tidied up, as well as the fact that the plugin title included “WordPress” — something that, quite rightly, isn’t allowed on the repository.
To be frank, I agree with them.
There are no security issues involved, so users should not be concerned on that front. However, addressing all the required changes — code standards, licensing adjustments, naming, and a handful of smaller compliance items — would take well over 50 hours of work. That’s a serious investment of time for a product that, candidly, has reached a natural stopping point.
It’s also worth noting that this change only affects the WordPress repository listing.
Bertha’s Chrome extension continues to run perfectly, allowing you to use her just like your own personal ChatGPT — but for less.
A Look Back: Bertha’s Origin Story
Vito Peleg and I launched Bertha back in 2019, right around the time ChatGPT initially opened access to its first thousand users. The timing couldn’t have been better.
The launch was phenomenal.
We saw around 20,000 signups in a single weekend.
It was exciting, validating, and a little overwhelming.
Then reality hit.
As you’ll see in the video below with Vito, ChatGPT later decided to give away tokens for free, which had a massive impact on us and many others in the AI space at the time. That shift crushed our momentum almost overnight.
But we didn’t quit.
We adapted, reworked, and pushed forward — and to this day, Bertha still serves around 5,000 active users.
About three months after launch, Vito stepped away to focus on growing Atarim, where Andrew was also an investor. That move turned out to be the right one for everyone involved.
Fast Forward to Today
Today, Andrew now heads up Customer Success and Hosting at Atarim, and Vito has continued to innovate with Atarim in AI and collaboration in his role as CEO and Head of Product.
And Bertha?
Bertha has, in many ways, had her day.
She’s still perfectly capable for general content use, but the AI landscape has evolved rapidly. New tools, new workflows, and more advanced systems have surpassed what Bertha was originally designed to do.
Combined with her exit from the WordPress repository, this feels like the right moment to close the door on WordPress installs. .
What This Means Going Forward
- Existing users are not affected, and we’ll continue to review the product over the next 6 months.
Bertha will continue to operate exactly as she does today — including full access to the Chrome extension. - No forced cancellations
If you wish to cancel, simply log into your account and click the cancel button.
We won’t be manually closing accounts — cancellations are entirely user-driven and automated. - No security concerns
This change has nothing to do with vulnerabilities or safety issues. - Open to acquisition
If someone would like to take Bertha forward, I’m open to discussions for a small financial consideration.
The Bigger Picture
While this chapter is closing, Bertha’s impact lives on.
She played a huge role in shaping the ideas and inspiration behind the AI agents now being used by thousands of Atarim customers today. In many ways, Bertha walked so those systems could run.
If you’re curious about what that evolution looks like, I strongly encourage you to take a look at Atarim. And use this code (THANKSBERTHA) to get a 20% discount on your first year or month of Atarim
Thank you to everyone who supported Bertha, used her, believed in her, and helped us learn along the way. Preparing to end a product is never easy — but sometimes, it’s the most responsible thing to do.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you over at Atarim.
Andrew – Co Founder, Bertha AI
PS – Atarim is also having a party! It’s called the Web Agency Summit and here’s all the details. I am co hosting so, hopefully, I will see you there.
