In my keynote at DrupalCon Vienna 2025, I addressed head-on how Drupal is adapting to the AI-driven web through four major product thrusts: AI-enabled visual editing, site templates, autonomous agents, and workflow orchestration.
The web is changing fast. AI now writes content, builds web pages, and answers questions directly — often bypassing traditional websites entirely.
My message was simple: AI is the storm — and it’s also the way through it. Instead of fighting AI, we’re leaning into it.
1. Growing Drupal with Site Templates
One of the most important ways we’re aiming to grow Drupal is by making it easier and faster to build new sites. We began that journey with “Recipes”, a mechanism to quickly add common features to a site. Recipes help people go from idea to website in hours instead of days.
At DrupalCon Vienna I introduced our next step: the first Site Template. Site Templates build on Recipes but include a complete design — layouts, visual style, and sample content. The result: you can go from a fresh Drupal install to a fully-working website in minutes.
Looking ahead, the plan is to introduce more Site Templates and launch a Site Template Marketplace, where anyone can discover, share, and build on templates for different use-cases.
Why this matters:
- Reduces barrier to entry — makes Drupal accessible to non-experts.
- Enables fast time-to-value for agencies and clients.
- Opens a new ecosystem (the marketplace) for templates and services.
- Positions Drupal as not just enterprise-grade, but also lean/start-up friendly.
2. A New Visual Editing Experience
The energy around our new visual editor, Drupal Canvas, at Vienna was high. Some people even joked the conference should be called “CanvasCon”. Sessions were standing-room only, many people excited about what’s coming.
I first showed an early version at DrupalCon Barcelona in September 2024 (under the “Starshot” initiative). The progress since then: remarkable.
We’re targeting Version 1.0 of Drupal Canvas for November 2025. Starting January 2026 it will become the default page builder in Drupal CMS 2.0.
Key benefits:
- Enables visual page building for non-technical editors.
- Supports modern front-end tech (e.g., React), making it easier for developers to contribute.
- Tight integration with Drupal’s architecture ensures you don’t lose the power and flexibility you expect from Drupal.
3. Drupal’s “Accidental” AI Advantage
A decade ago when we rebuilt Drupal (Drupal 8 and onward) we made architectural choices: versioning, structured data, workflows, permissions — features many CMSs skipped in favour of simplicity. It was hard then. Today, it gives Drupal an unexpected advantage: we're already well-positioned for the AI era.
When AI modifies content, you need version control. When AI builds pages, you need structured data, permissions, roles, workflows. Drupal already has those capabilities. What once felt like complexity now makes perfect sense.
Takeaway for site-builders and agencies:
- Don’t see the architectural overhead as a burden — see it as strategic advantage.
- If you build on Drupal now, you’re building on a future-ready stack.
- When AI starts doing more of the heavy lifting (content generation, layout creation, personalization), you’ll be ahead.
4. AI is the Storm — and the Way Through the Storm
As I said in Vienna: “Some days AI terrifies me. An hour later it excites me. By the evening, I’m tired of hearing about it.” Still, we cannot ignore AI.
We first introduced AI as part of the Starshot initiative. Five months ago the “Drupal AI” effort became its own dedicated track. To date, twenty-two agencies have backed it with funding and contributors — together contributing over one million dollars, making this the largest fundraising effort in Drupal’s history.
In the keynote I demoed three new AI capabilities:
- AI-powered page building: Drupal AI can now generate complete, designed pages in minutes using a component-based design system inside Drupal Canvas. What site builders used to build in hours now happens in minutes while maintaining site structure and style.
- Context Control Center: Teams define brand voice, target audiences, key messages from a single UI. All AI agents then draw from this “source of truth.”
- Autonomous agents: When you update a key fact (e.g., product price, company stat) in the Context Control Center, agents automatically find every instance throughout your site and propose updates for review.
These are not futuristic concepts — they are available (or will soon be) for Drupal sites. The future is happening now.
5. Orchestration as a Path to Explore
Beyond page building and templates, we’re embracing orchestration: connecting content platforms, AI agents, CRMs, marketing tools into intelligent, automated workflows. I think of it as the DXP 2.0 moment.
Most organizations have complex marketing stacks: several systems, many manual handoffs, repeated tasks. Integration usually requires custom code and ongoing maintenance. Modern orchestration tools allow you to define workflows (trigger → action) without heavy coding. Example: use events (form submission) to trigger CRM contact creation, email send, team notification — zero manual work. In the keynote I showed how ECA (inside Drupal) and ActivePieces (an open-source automation tool) can work together. This kind of integration positions Drupal not just as a CMS, but as a digital experience platform built for automation and scale.
For agencies, developers and site-builders, consider:
- What could you automate in your current projects?
- How many manual steps could be replaced with a workflow?
- How can you position yourself as the “integration expert” around Drupal + AI + orchestration?
6. Building the Future Together
At DrupalCon Vienna I felt something shift. Sessions were packed. People were excited about Site Templates, the Marketplace. Drupal Canvas drew huge crowds. More agencies signed up for Drupal AI initiative. On contribution day, more people than usual came ready to help.
That energy reflects something bigger: AI is changing how people use the web and how we build for it. It can feel threatening — and full of opportunity. What became clear in Vienna is this: Drupal is well-positioned at this inflection point, with both momentum and direction.
What makes this moment special is how the community is responding—with focus and collaboration. We approach this as a coordinated effort, while still preserving experimentation, creativity and open-source spirit. Vienna showed me the community is ready to take it on together. I’ve been part of Drupal for a long time, but this time there is a boldness and unity I have not seen in years. That is how we go through the storm.
I want to extend my gratitude to everyone who contributed to making my presentation and demos a success. A special thank-you to:
Adam G-H, Aidan Foster, ASH Sullivan, Bálint Kléri, Cristina Chumillas, Elliott Mower, Emma Horrell, Gábor Hojtsy, Gurwinder Antal, James Abrahams, Jürgen Haas, Kristen Pol, Lauri Eskola, Marcus Johansson, Martin Anderson-Clutz, Pamela Barone, Tiffany Farriss, Tim Lehnen, Witze Van der Straeten … and many others who contributed indirectly. If I’ve inadvertently omitted anyone, please reach out.
Conclusion
If you’re building with Drupal — whether you're a developer, site-builder, content editor or agency — this moment matters. The tools coming (site templates, visual editor, AI capabilities, orchestration workflows) will change how you build, how fast, and what you can deliver.)