Why Drupal is the perfect CMS for the AI-driven future

By Denis Suharevich, Project manager and AI expert at Attico

For a long time, agencies that work with content management systems built their business on deep platform expertise. Clients came to them for custom features, speed optimization, security fixes, and hosting setups — and that kind of know-how was worth a lot.

But now AI is speeding up the change. It’s starting to shake up even complex, enterprise-level projects, making it faster and easier to do work that used to need big budgets and highly skilled teams.

AI isn’t just changing CMS projects — it’s transforming industries across the board. By the way, in the UK and EU, approximately two-thirds of B2B leaders see ROI from AI in the first year: 19% see ROI in 3 months, 27% in 6-12 months. 

Automation doesn’t replace accountability

As AI takes over more routine work, the actual “doing” becomes easier and cheaper. But human skills start to matter in new ways. When AI produces unexpected results or hallucinates, you still need a human to make the call, sort things out, and handle whatever comes next. After all, when the chips are down, who do you trust — a bot or a person?

For agencies, this means that while AI can generate campaigns, design interfaces, and write code, customers still need a person who’s on the hook for the results and the quality of the strategy.

Think about it: insurance companies use smart software to create quotes, but they’re still responsible for the policies. Drivers remain liable for accidents, even if they were just following GPS directions.

Proprietary platforms vs. open source

Platforms like Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix are proprietary — one company owns the code, controls every update, and sells the product straight to end clients. For them, cutting out agencies isn’t a side effect — it’s the plan. The more they can automate, the more profit they keep. After all, why share the pie if you can keep the whole thing?

Open source platforms are adding AI tools too, but their goals aren’t the same. Drupal doesn’t make money directly from end users. Its strength comes from a healthy community of agencies that improve the platform and keep it competitive.

AI shift: a big chance for Drupal agencies

Suppose agencies wait around for the “perfect” tools, stick to hourly billing for custom work, try to serve every industry, or rely only on knowing a specific platform. In that case, they’ll be left in the dust, fighting old battles and probably losing them.

The winners will be the ones who move early, test new ideas with purpose, and position themselves as the bridge between what AI can do and what clients need.

Right now, this shift might be the biggest chance agencies have had in years to stand out.

For Drupal agencies, there’s an extra edge. Because Drupal is open source, it’s not competing with you — it thrives when agencies thrive. That means you can help shape how AI works in Drupal so it grows your business, instead of replacing it.

Imagine an AI agent plans, executes, and evaluates complex marketing strategies in your CRM, CMS, analytics, and email platform. Imagine it doesn’t need manual management at every step.

A platform can support such a level of orchestration if it exposes business logic, content models, user roles, permissions, configuration data, and state in a machine-readable, structured way. 

That means APIs that let AI read and work with things like entity types, fields, relationships, and workflows — all without breaking anything. AI takes care of all the boring stuff so that the team can focus on the creative strategies that really matter.

How AI is used in CMS

The team can focus on the creative strategies that really matter because AI takes care of all the boring stuff.

• Content creation 

AI can write articles, blog posts, or product descriptions using the user’s existing data. This saves a lot of time and effort that typically go into typing and searching for ideas.

• Personalization for each user

AI keeps an eye on what visitors like and adjusts content to their interests on the fly.

• SEO and site structure 

AI suggests tags, meta descriptions, internal links, and even small changes to the menu to help the site get found in search.

• Site checks 

AI itself finds broken links, form errors, and template problems even before the page is published — no need to spend hours on manual verification.

• Analytics and predictions

AI looks at traffic, conversions, and sales, analyzes the data, and helps predict which changes will bring more results.

But all of this really shines only if the platform itself allows it. With a closed CMS, AI hits a wall and can only handle the basics. But if the platform is open and gives access to its structure, data, and logic, you can hook AI into processes at a deep level — and that’s when the real magic happens. Of course, AI can only fully leverage these capabilities if the platform itself allows it. And that’s where Drupal’s architecture shines.

Drupal is AI-ready thanks to its architecture

Most platforms weren’t built for that kind of access. But Drupal has been heading that way for over 10 years. 

Since Drupal 7, the community has put a lot of work into modernizing the platform. It brought in a unified Entity API, switched to a service container with dependency injection, and added broader support for REST, JSON:API, and GraphQL. Drupal also built a strong configuration management system, made testing easier, and gave workflows more power with detailed revision control and reliable rollbacks. Plus, Drupal’s API docs are top-notch. Who wouldn’t want a platform that’s this flexible?

All of this made Drupal not just easier to program, but also easier to “read” from the inside. AI can now explore Drupal’s structure, see how different entities connect, and make smart decisions using both content and settings.

Conclusion

AI makes getting started easier by turning tricky setup tasks into simple prompts and conversations. Done right, it can guide newcomers while still letting experts stay in control.

Some of the toughest challenges Drupal has faced — like making the platform easier to use or keeping documentation up to date — could finally get easier. AI can help lower the barriers to publishing online, make Drupal more accessible, and support a stronger, more inclusive Open Web.

AI is shaking up the way digital work gets done. Some platforms can now create entire websites, marketing campaigns, or content plans in just minutes. For simple tasks, that might be enough.

But real client needs are often more complicated. Agencies bring the context, strategy, and accountability that ready-made tools can’t provide, helping clients cut through the noise. The future for Drupal is shaping up as one where AI doesn’t replace agencies, but helps make them stronger.