Drupal Introduces AI Initiative to Advance Drupal CMS

D rupal is determined to accelerate its innovation through AI. Dries Buytaert has officially introduced the Drupal AI Initiative. The initiative is a major effort aligned with Drupal CMS to integrate artificial intelligence into the platform and reshape how digital experiences are created, optimized, and maintained. The initiative was introduced following DrupalCon Atlanta in March 2025, after three months of active coordination among contributors across the ecosystem.

At its core, the initiative reimagines content management as outcome-driven rather than manual. Marketers will upload brand kits, define audience personas, and set campaign goals directly in Drupal CMS. AI agents will then generate brand-consistent landing pages using existing media and messaging. These agents will create components, suggest headlines, build layouts, insert forms, and assemble complete, production-ready content in minutes.

The system will connect to analytics tools using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI to monitor performance and implement overnight updates based on real-time data. Adjustments may include layout changes, copy refinements, or improved calls to action. All changes will be logged and reviewable, allowing users to approve, reject, or revert modifications at any point. Strategic control, tone, and trust remain entirely in human hands.

To support this effort, the initiative is launching with a clear product vision, a leadership team to guide direction and fundraising, and a dedicated delivery team comprising technical leads, UX experts, project managers, and release coordinators. The Drupal AI Initiative is backed by $100,000 in operational funding, contributed by founding organizations.

Founding contributors include:

• Jamie Abrahams (FreelyGive) — Innovation and AI architecture
• Baddý Breidert (1xINTERNET) — Governance, funding, and coordination
• Christoph Breidert (1xINTERNET) — Product direction and roadmap
• Dries Buytaert (Acquia / Drupal) — Strategic oversight
• Dominique De Cooman (Dropsolid) — Fundraising and business alignment
• Marcus Johansson (FreelyGive) — Technical leadership
• Paul Johnson (1xINTERNET) — Marketing and outreach
• Kristen Pol (Salsa Digital) — Cross-team alignment and contributor engagement
• Lauri Timmanee (Acquia) — Experience Builder AI integration
• Frederik Wouters (Dropsolid) — Communications and outreach

Additional early support has come from Amazee.io, which has contributed $20,000 and one full-time engineer, increasing the total operating budget to $120,000.

The initiative builds on a 2024 demonstration that showed how AI tools in Drupal CMS could support marketing tasks such as promoting wine tours. Since then, a growing ecosystem of AI modules and integrations has gained momentum. The Drupal AI Initiative brings structure and shared strategy to these efforts, ensuring faster progress and greater value delivery.

While the initiative is closely aligned with Drupal CMS, it is also designed to support custom solutions built on Drupal Core and other Drupal distributions, expanding its impact across the full spectrum of Drupal users.

The team is working toward a major milestone at DrupalCon Vienna in October 2025. There, they will demo a complete AI-powered workflow: a marketer uploads a brand kit, defines personas, and sets a campaign goal. AI agents generate a live landing page, including on-brand content, layout, and a signup form, in under ten minutes. The system will also show its ability to analyze performance and suggest overnight improvements. Every step will be transparent and fully controllable by the user.

Three coordinated workstreams are already in motion. Smart Content and Page Creation focuses on enabling AI to generate branded content, headlines, layouts, and forms. The Human Control Center ensures users can preview, approve, and override all AI decisions. Performance Intelligence connects the CMS to analytics tools, allowing AI to suggest optimizations and implement approved updates automatically.

All AI functionality used in the demo will be tested, stable, and available in beta. The goal is for 90 percent of generated content to require minimal human editing, providing proof that Drupal CMS can deliver fast, reliable, AI-assisted digital experiences without compromising editorial control.

This marks a turning point not just for Drupal CMS, but for the future of content management. The initiative positions Drupal CMS at the forefront of AI-powered web creation and optimization. Contributors, agencies, developers, and sponsors are encouraged to join the effort by participating in the #ai-initiative channel on Drupal Slack.

For more information and background, visit https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024 and https://dri.es/accelerating-ai-innovation-in-drupal