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artificial intelligence Article

Agentic AI for Agencies in 2026

bmckeiver

Sanity’s AI Content Operating System Powers Intelligence with Structure and Agents with Context

matt-garrepy

AI’s dirty little secret? Dirty data. Here’s how the Clean Data Alliance plans to fix it

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/justincook">Justin Cook</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/dan-drapeau"> </a>is President of Internet Marketing &amp; Development at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.9thco.com/">9thCO</a> and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> Since the rise in popularity of ChatGPT and other AI search tools, marketers have watched in horror as KPIs drown in red. Organic traffic continues to decline as users begin to “trust” AI search, oftentimes not even leaving the chat experience to explore a cited brand’s website. This behavior is likely to compound as people increasingly offload tedious research, and therefore marketing teams need to adapt and understand what’s needed in order to “show up” in chat, establishing visibility (a.k.a. “share of voice”). This goes far beyond keyword research and throwing schema markup on your site.A critical piece of understanding is the underlying mental model. When using AI chat to ask questions, if the LLM (predominantly static) doesn’t have the data, then a retrieval layer brings in fresher data via relevant “chunked” search queries in order to synthesize an accurate response. Therefore, the goal is not to “optimize for LLMs,” but rather to understand the mechanics of how LLMs leverage retrieval mechanisms and provide the optimal website markup, performance, accessibility, and data structures to qualify for retrieval. And like it or not, the CMS that powers your website behind the scenes can have a direct impact, depending on rendering, markup, and technical SEO capabilities.<h3 id="a-proposed-paradigm-of-retrievability:-eaca">A Proposed Paradigm of Retrievability: EACA</h3>EACA stands for Eligibility, Authority, Compressibility, and Association. These four areas generally encompass factors that influence discoverability. We won’t touch on Authority in this article, as that’s less about technical infrastructure and more about how you're building your brand.  <h4 id="1.-eligibility">1. Eligibility</h4>When you are engaged in a chat experience, some of the perceived “magic” is that you’re in a natural flow of conversation. Therefore, responses are critically time-bound. If you ask a question and have to wait 15 seconds for the response, you would not continue the conversation. So essentially, Eligibility is the determination of whether a page can be crawled, rendered, and indexed. There are standard CMS considerations such as robots.txt configuration, server-side generation/rendering, caching, and revalidation. What this means practically is that you could be ranking #1 in SERPs for many keywords, yet less likely to be indexed, retrieved, or cited by retrieval mechanisms if your CMS employs lazy-loading, infinite scrolling, JavaScript-based rendering, or weak template-to-content ratios.Properly implemented headless CMS solutions can improve Eligibility by decoupling the frontend, where it is stored statically and served from a global edge network. <h4 id="2.-compressibility">2. Compressibility</h4>Compressibility is about assessing the smallest unit of data and content that something can be reduced to while still remaining accurate. This ensures that content is easy to summarize and embed, without losing precision.Interestingly, one of the most straightforward means to ensure Compressibility is to ensure the highest possible standard of web accessibility on your site. How so? Accessible semantic markup creates a clear content hierarchy for AI retrieval mechanisms, making content easier to chunk and summarize and thereby less ambiguous during compression.Again, your choice of CMS has a material impact on your ability to achieve full web accessibility. The following are common limitations:<ul><li>Theming “engine” architecture</li><li>CMS-specific markup</li><li>Editor tooling constraints</li><li>Plugin ecosystem and rendering methodologies </li><li>Page builder behaviors and data models (or lack thereof)</li></ul>Another major factor for Compressibility (particularly for retailers) is surfacing data points as high-signal, atomic facts. So auditing your data governance from the source to how it’s published through your CMS and marked up on the frontend can have a major impact.Ideally, any selected CMS should provide complete control over the front-end implementation and remove any possible theming constraints. <h4 id="3.-association">3. Association</h4>It’s important that an LLM can properly interpret the appropriate conversations within which your brand and content are relevant. The notion of Association means clearly establishing the concepts, entities, and problems your brand/page/content belongs “with.” Association is established via entity co-occurrence, explicit language, and tight topical clusters, which are not CMS-dependent. However, something that helps further by reducing ambiguity and introducing machine-readable relationships is schema markup. Ensure that your CMS allows you to maximize the use of appropriate schema markup in articles, case studies, etc. But it’s also critical to ensure that the schema markup that is surfaced on the frontend is valid. <h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>AI search-referred users can be highly qualified and engaged, and more likely to convert. It’s true that digital transformation projects are serious undertakings, but it’s worth the effort to ensure that your CMS can support the technical fundamentals and data structures that feed retrieval mechanisms – and surface your content! <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:34.15%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/logo_jday_hor.png" /><h4 id="joomladay-usa-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/">JoomlaDay USA 2026</a></h4>April 29 - May 2, 2026 – Delray Beach, FloridaBe part of the Joomla community in one of the most iconic cities in the world! JoomlaDay USA 2026 is coming to Delray Beach, and you can join us for a dynamic event packed with insights, workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from top Joomla experts and developers offering valuable insights and real-world solutions. Participate in interactive workshops and sessions and enhance your skills in Joomla management, development, design, and more. And connect with fellow Joomla enthusiasts, developers, and professionals from across the world.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"> Book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.06%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/cms-summit-26-logo.jpg" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26">CMS Summit 26</a></h4>May 12-13, 2026 – Frankfurt, GermanyThe best conferences create space for honest, experience-based conversations. Not sales pitches. Not hype. Just thoughtful exchanges between people who spend their days designing, building, running, and evolving digital experiences. CMS Summit brings together people who share real stories from their work and platforms and who are interested in learning from each other on how to make things better. Over two days in Frankfurt, you can expect practitioner-led talks grounded in experience, conversations about trade-offs, constraints, and decisions, and time to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26/tickets">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a>

Does your CMS Impact Your Brand’s Visibility in AI Search?

justincook

AddSearch’s AI Conversations is Giving Website Search a Higher IQ 

<hr /> For anyone in the website business, building something beautiful is literally the top of the mountain. You know what I mean. There’s nothing more satisfying than designing, coding, and pushing a project into production – then seeing a bump in traffic, an increase in performance, and a wave of adoration across social media. But adding an award to your mantle? That just takes it to the next level. For <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/kentico">Kentico</a>, celebrating these efforts is a big point of pride, especially for a platform that powers over 90,000 websites across the globe. For almost a decade, the DXP has highlighted the very best work of its partners and clients with its coveted “Site of the Year” Awards – and they just released the winners of its 2025 edition.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/kentico-announces-winners-of-2023-site-of-the-year-awards">I’ve covered this program</a> previously, and I’m always impressed by the quality, complexity, and bold ambition of the finalists. 2025’s crop once again demonstrates the daring and prowess of organizations and their partners to push the boundaries and redefine modern digital experiences built on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=11b4f14a-807d-4840-bfa8-e529c85898b7&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">Xperience by Kentico</a> – the multichannel content management, marketing, and digital commerce solution packaged in one cohesive platform.This year’s class showed up with some stunning, full-scale UX redesigns that deliver visual awe and impact. But there were feats of engineering as well, with a myriad of use cases featuring AI-powered marketing transformations and complex workload migrations.  Kentico’s “Site of the Year” program is categorized by industry, spanning wide cohorts like B2B as well as verticals in financial services, commerce, education, hospitality, healthcare, government, and NGOs. 2025's submissions came from across the planet, including North America, EMEA, and APAC – illustrating the flexibility and extensibility of Xperience by Kentico.In addition to these examples of partner and customer-driven excellence, 2025 was a big year of milestones for Kentico. With global demand growing for it signature platform, the company’s continued investment in AI was crystallized by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/platform/aira">the launch of AIRA</a> (Artificial Intelligence Recommendations &amp; Assistance), a native AI agent that unpacks and understands content and customer data to help streamline the creation, optimization, and time to deploy for digital experiences. Building on its AIRA momentum, Kentico is once again aiming to transform expectations in 2026. The company recently introduced its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/introducing-the-agentic-marketing-suite-kentico-extends-its-ai-strategy-to-power-marketing-teams">Agentic Marketing Suite,</a> extending its AI strategy to power teams with specialized agents, each designed to execute marketing and content tasks that unlock operational efficiencies in team workflows. <h3 id="honoring-creativity-and-innovation">Honoring creativity and innovation</h3>Let’s talk about websites – because they’re still the center of gravity. More than ever, the world’s leading brands rely on unique, high-performing digital experiences across multiple channels, hoping to dazzle visitors and convert interest into action. Even amidst the shifts in traffic and the rise of AI-powered answer engines, smart consumers still value a business’s website as a central source of truth. At the same time, websites are essential to arming the new frontier of GEO and AEO by delivering a foundation of well-structured content.Kentico’s “Site of the Year” honors its clients and partners by focusing a spotlight on their remarkable work – websites and digital solutions that achieve the highest levels of creativity, innovation, content strategy, and technological implementation.A bit of level-setting on the rules: Only projects that first earned Kentico’s “Site of the Month” banner were eligible to compete, making these finalists a true “best of the best” compendium. Winners were selected by an internal Kentico judging committee based on overall excellence and measurable impact.  You can explore more about this <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=18b8acaa-24af-4f10-976e-74ebe1bf15e4&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">year’s winners and honorable mentions</a> on Kentico’s website, where they drill into the details. For each category winner, they provide a well-rounded rationale that showcases the innovative thinking, stellar design, and AI-enhanced solutions that put them in the top spot.If you’re interested, you can also vote in Kentico’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kenticosoftware_communitychoice-soty-digitalexperience-activity-7429873612603596800-ltb5/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAABkGfZEBzxXaDBwgLBqINaYG9q1JUbfxMW8">Community Choice Awards</a> through March 6th. This crowdsourced portion of the program is handled entirely on LinkedIn.Without further ado…<h3 id="2025-‘site-of-the-year’-winners-and-honorable-mentions----">2025 ‘Site of the Year’ Winners and Honorable Mentions    </h3>Man, this was a dynamite grouping of sites – and all deserving of kudos. For me, there were certainly some standouts. In the B2B category, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=2352b3f4-ad18-4695-b4cf-9fea119232c4&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">LeShuttle Freight’s</a> elegant, high-performance, multilingual experience was top-notch. In addition to simple, intuitive navigation, it has a tricked-out, real-time service update that provides critical visibility for time-sensitive logistics. The mobile experience is also lightweight, prioritizing the right elements in the UX. Implemented by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.crafted.co.uk/services/digital-products/kentico">Crafted</a>, a long-standing U.K.-based Kentico partner, LeShuttle is a solid design that streamlines the customer journey for logistics partners, drivers, and customers – so they can keep truckin'.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1771964387975.png" alt="" /></figure>Source: LeShuttle Freight website In the Entertainment, Hospitality, and Tourism category, I was also keen on the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://bobw.co/">Bob W. site</a>, which made me want to book my next trip to Amsterdam today. The gestalt was right up my alley, offering a clean, minimal design with clear pathways to explore short-stay apartments in a variety of locales. Agency partner <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.idhlagency.com/">IDHL</a> did yeoman’s work on developing the “Bob” identity and persona, delivering a charming and inviting vibe to the experience. Along with some killer frontend features like smart filtering and a little backend magic with reusable content, Bob W. personifies what great UX is – and I love how it all supports a corporate commitment to sustainability and a stay that’s 100% offset. It’s hospitality that's more hospitable to the earth.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:90.66%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1771964386776.png" alt="" /></figure>Source: Bob W. website To say that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/CMSModules/Newsletters/CMSPages/Redirect.ashx?linkguid=d26dfe6c-b389-43aa-a623-daa701b4b192&amp;email=matt%40cmscritic.com&amp;hash=be0d1d8f19e0858f5111492f222eca952b1f9d98aaaeebe1c4c04b9dec830ced">Oppenheimer</a> made a “bold” move to Kentico would be an understatement. As the winner in the Financial Services category, the wealth management leader successfully migrated from CrownPeak in only five months, with the goal of optimizing their content ops via single-source content management across multiple digital channels.Implemented by Kentico partner <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://sagepath-reply.com/">Sagepath Reply</a>, Oppenheimer’s slick design captures the essence of a trusted financial partner while simplifying navigation to key topics like capital markets. They also introduced new AI-driven tools focused on marketing and content optimization. It feels powerful yet approachable – and evokes confidence and stability at every turn. For a financial institution, this was a winning investment.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1771964386955.png" alt="A close-up of a website

AI-generated content may be incorrect." /></figure>Source: Oppenheimer website <h3 id="winners-by-category">Winners By Category</h3> <h4 id="b2b">B2B</h4><ul><li>Winner: LeShuttle Freight (Implemented by Crafted)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: ZAG Interactive (ZAG Interactive), Westport (ALYKA Pty Ltd) </li></ul> <h4 id="commerce">Commerce</h4><ul><li>Winner: Translink (MSQ DX)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Rhythm Japan (Interesting Solutions), Elkov Elektro (Bluesoft) </li></ul> <h4 id="consumer-goods-and-services">Consumer Goods and Services</h4><ul><li>Winner: MND Energie (Bluesoft)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Best Best &amp; Krieger LLP (BlueModus), Contact Energy (AKQA) </li></ul> <h4 id="education-&amp;-careers-">Education &amp; Careers </h4><ul><li>Winner: ROC van Amsterdam &amp; Flevoland (TrueLime)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Join Blakes (E-Cubed Media Synthesis Inc), The Gordon Institute of TAFE (DDSN Interactive) </li></ul> <h4 id="entertainment,-hospitality-&amp;-tourism">Entertainment, Hospitality &amp; Tourism</h4><ul><li>Winner: Bob W. (IDHL)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Aurora Expeditions (Devotion), LA Opera (iMedia) </li></ul> <h4 id="financial-services">Financial Services</h4><ul><li>Winner: Oppenheimer (Sagepath Reply)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Atomic Credit Union (ZAG Interactive), United Federal Credit Union (SilverTech) </li></ul> <h4 id="government-&amp;-municipal">Government &amp; Municipal</h4><ul><li>Winner: Cleveland Metroparks (Americaneagle.com)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Réseau de transport de Longueuil (Inorbital, Inc.), Great Parks (Synoptek) </li></ul> <h4 id="healthcare">Healthcare</h4><ul><li>Winner: LivaNova (BlueModus)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Integris Group (BizStream), Hatch Private Maternity (Zeroseven) </li></ul> <h4 id="manufacturing">Manufacturing</h4><ul><li>Winner: Pierret (Delaware Consulting SCRL)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: Nichicon (EETech Group), Renson (Blastic) </li></ul> <h4 id="ngo-&amp;-associations">NGO &amp; Associations</h4><ul><li>Winner: American Society of Landscape Architects (BlueModus)</li><li>Honorable Mentions: National Association of Independent Schools (ByteMinds), Eat Pecans (Rise, a Quad Agency) </li></ul><h3 id="setting-new-standards-for-excellence">Setting new standards for excellence</h3>Each year, I’m asked to judge awards programs, so I’m accustomed to seeing amazing work. What I love about these competitions is that I’m always surprised, intrigued, and often floored by the creativity. If you’re embarking on a brand or digital transformation quest, finding the right agency partner is critical to success. But harnessing the right CMS or DXP at the foundation is equally as important – and awards programs like Kentico’s “Site of the Year” are a great place to window shop the possibilities. This 2025 crop is a testament to the full potential of Xperience by Kentico. It’s not just about breathtaking UX, it’s also about leveraging a future-ready digital ecosystem to power multi-channel experiences across devices, languages, locations, and more. From hybrid headless implementations to secure member portals and complex third-party integrations, organizations are using the platform to unify content, marketing, and commerce into a single solution. As Kentico continues to invest in a steady stream of innovation, its partners and clients will be the first beneficiaries to access new features. Case in point: Kentico’s new Agentic Marketing Suite is ushering in a new era of intelligent orchestration, helping marketers automate decisions, personalize journeys, and optimize campaigns at scale. Digital experiences are no longer static. They continue to evolve – and so do our expectations. Even as websites morph into agentic experiences that serve both humans and bots, only people can be inspired by a brand's imagination and storytelling.Kentico’s “Site of the Year” reminds us that websites still have this power and potential. That's why they still rock – and the most beautiful, magical, and innovative sites can really bring down the house.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.kentico.com/discover/kentico-awards-winners/site-of-the-year-2025">Read more about the winners here.</a> <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:34.15%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/logo_jday_hor.png" /><h4 id="joomladay-usa-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/">JoomlaDay USA 2026</a></h4>April 29 - May 2, 2026 – Delray Beach, FloridaBe part of the Joomla community in one of the most iconic cities in the world! JoomlaDay USA 2026 is coming to Delray Beach, and you can join us for a dynamic event packed with insights, workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from top Joomla experts and developers offering valuable insights and real-world solutions. Participate in interactive workshops and sessions and enhance your skills in Joomla management, development, design, and more. And connect with fellow Joomla enthusiasts, developers, and professionals from across the world.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"> Book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.06%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/cms-summit-26-logo.jpg" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26">CMS Summit 26</a></h4>May 12-13, 2026 – Frankfurt, GermanyThe best conferences create space for honest, experience-based conversations. Not sales pitches. Not hype. Just thoughtful exchanges between people who spend their days designing, building, running, and evolving digital experiences. CMS Summit brings together people who share real stories from their work and platforms and who are interested in learning from each other on how to make things better. Over two days in Frankfurt, you can expect practitioner-led talks grounded in experience, conversations about trade-offs, constraints, and decisions, and time to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26/tickets">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a>

Websites Still Rock: Kentico’s 2025 ‘Site of the Year’ Winners Push the Boundaries of Digital Experience 

<h4 id="-"> </h4><h4 id="highlights">Highlights</h4>You’ll learn about how AI transforms enterprise CMS platforms.<ul><li>Automation: AI CMS streamlines tagging, metadata, and content workflows</li><li>Insights: Predictive analytics guide content planning and performance optimization</li><li>Personalization: Real-time insights enable the creation of tailored experiences</li><li>Compliance: Guardrails ensure governance and security at scale</li></ul>Adopt an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/content-management-artificial-intelligence-content-ops?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">AI CMS</a> to drive efficiency, insights, and smarter engagement across your enterprise.<hr /> Content management today is not what it was in the 90s or early 2000s. The modern customer values personalized interactions. They are also more tech-savvy, privacy-aware and expect seamless experiences across all channels.Traditional CMS platforms lack the speed, agility and flexibility required to deliver these demands. That makes them redundant for the needs of modern B2B customers. This is why an AI CMS, usually <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/report/complete-headless-cms-guide?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">headless</a>, is becoming more popular.An AI-powered CMS enables <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/personalization/how-can-personalization-enhance-your-brand?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">real-time personalization</a>, automates repetitive tasks, and powers predictive analytics. It integrates AI into content workflows, enabling faster content publishing while improving accuracy and user experience. This shift is changing how large organizations think about content management.<h3 id="what-makes-a-cms-intelligent?">What makes a CMS intelligent?</h3>An intelligent CMS is a content management system that learns from data and adapts content based on behavior and context. It also offers automation — you can create, optimize and publish hyper-personalized content at scale. With traditional CMS platforms, you are bogged down with manual inputs, built-in templates and predefined workflows. An AI CMS does not have these limitations. They are built on headless and API-first principles, making them flexible to handle modern content needs. Its key features:<ul><li>Machine learning for predictive analytics</li><li>Automated tagging and categorization via AI</li><li>AI-powered search and discovery</li><li>AI-assisted authoring workflows and predictive content performance insights</li></ul> <hr /> Overcome traditional CMS issues with Contentstack Are you tired of slow development times and rising costs due to legacy monolithic suites? Contentstack offers a modern, component-based solution designed for the needs of today's enterprises. Discover agility and improved ROI. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">Request a demo</a> to learn more. <hr /><h3 id="benefits-of-ai-powered-cms-for-large-enterprises">Benefits of AI-powered CMS for large enterprises</h3>An AI CMS offers speed and flexibility. When a<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/cms-change-management-best-practices-for-seamless-enterprise-implementation"> </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/cms-change-management-best-practices-for-seamless-enterprise-implementation?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">modern CMS is implemented with proper change management</a> practices to support its adoption, it also supports better governance, data-driven optimization, and automation. Here are other benefits.<ul><li>Faster content creation and delivery: AI authors’ workflows, ensuring faster editing. It applies the brand’s guidelines, eliminating human errors. Also, its automated tagging, categorization, and metadata generation feature ensures you can publish faster.</li><li>Smarter personalization at scale: An AI CMS tracks data in real-time and adjusts content for relevant audience segments. Delivering on-brand content ensures you can convert more and engage your audience better.</li><li>More efficient search and content discovery: Search and discovery feature powered by conversational AI enables editors and marketers find content quickly, even in large, complex repositories.</li><li>Data-driven optimization: An AI CMS also supports predictive content performance insights, enabling teams to be proactive.</li><li>Improved compliance and governance: An AI-powered CMS can flag missing disclosures, ensure accessibility standards, and apply consistent terminology.</li></ul><h3 id="how-ai-is-transforming-content-management-within-enterprise-cms">How AI is transforming content management within enterprise CMS</h3>AI integration into content workflows goes beyond using generative AI to create content. It can be applied in other areas, such as SEO, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/report/enterprise-ai-search-playbook?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">AIO/GEO</a>, personalization, and predictive analytics. Here are some of those ways. <h4 id="content-intelligence-for-planning">Content intelligence for planning</h4>AI scans competitor content, search queries, and your own content library. That allows you to identify gaps and opportunities in your content strategy and that of your competitors. Based on that insight, AI can also suggest high-performing topics, and align new content with buyer journeys, so content production supports pipeline and sales goals. <h4 id="ai-assisted-content-creation-and-editing">AI-assisted content creation and editing</h4>With generative AI, you can generate content drafts, outlines and briefs. The AI is trained on your company’s audience persona, style guide and brand voice — hence, it can enforce the right tone of voice and style across your content. <h4 id="automated-content-tagging-and-classification">Automated content tagging and classification</h4>AI-powered DAMs integrated in an intelligent CMS can scan your assets and suggest tags. It can further map those assets into your enterprise taxonomy, ensuring your assets fit into a structured content model. By doing so, marketers can easily search and reuse content. <h4 id="personalization-at-scale">Personalization at Scale</h4>It is no secret that enterprise customers prioritize brands that deliver tailored, one-to-one experiences. You can integrate a real-time CDP to track customer data and create profiles. Then, use an AI-powered CMS to analyze the data and recommend the most relevant content. That way, you can tailor experiences to different accounts, industries or decision-makers. <h4 id="seo-and-aio-optimization-support">SEO and AIO optimization support</h4>AI can analyze search intent and suggest relevant keywords, topics and FAQs. It can be used to find internal linking opportunities, write meta titles and create schema markup. In essence, it becomes your SEO/AIO co-pilot, enabling you to find opportunities, match content to audience persona and optimize existing content. <h4 id="knowledge-assistant-for-internal-teams">Knowledge assistant for internal teams</h4>Internal teams can also deploy AI-powered search and Q&amp;A over enterprise content libraries. That way, teams within the organizations, such as sales and product teams, can quickly find answers backed by approved sources. <h4 id="governance-and-compliance-guardrails">Governance and compliance guardrails</h4>AI can be deployed to manage policy and style enforcement, as well as regulatory compliance checks. AI guardrails act like a compliance officer inside your CMS. By doing so, it prevents risky or off-brand content from being published. It also ensures that assets are safe, accurate and ready for regulation.<h3 id="governance,-security,-and-compliance-in-an-ai-cms">Governance, security, and compliance in an AI CMS</h3>AI CMS platforms automate governance and security processes. However, team leaders still need to set approval workflows that AI should follow. They must apply built-in permissions to allow access to specific authorized users who can check and approve AI outputs.The CMS offers intelligent security that can flag suspicious usage and trigger reminders for compliance audits. Still, content teams must keep to data privacy and safety regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. They must also verify AI-generated metadata and tags to ensure compliance requirements are met and use audit logs to track changes made by AI features.<figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:83.96%"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt7359e2a55efae483/blt49eb52225d026692/68a9891e5075c355e79fb708/image.png" alt="AI CMS features compared to a traditional CMS" /></figure><h3 id="ai-integrations-that-transform-content-workflows">AI integrations that transform content workflows</h3>An intelligent CMS supports AI integration, and that goes beyond automation. It makes your workflows smarter, so you can produce and publish content with more consistency and speed. Here are specific AI integrations that enable that.<ul><li>Automated AI tagging and categorization</li><li>AI-powered search and discovery</li><li>Automated metadata generation</li><li>Automated A/B testing for content variants  </li></ul>These features enable enterprises to reduce repetitive work and focus teams on high-impact, creative and strategic tasks. <hr /> Fast-track digital experiences with Contentstack Need to create digital experiences quickly? Contentstack's content and editorial engine enables you to reach new markets and create digital experiences faster. Manage content with ease and speed. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/try-for-free?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">Start your free trial today</a>. <hr /><h3 id="comparing-ai-cms-options">Comparing AI CMS options</h3>Most CMS platforms now embed some sort of AI integration or service. However, that, on its own, does not necessarily make such CMSes intelligent or AI-driven in the actual sense. Here are some of the top AI CMS you will find today.<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">Contentstack</a>: Contentstack’s AI CMS supports intelligent content workflows and scalable personalization. It is API-first and headless, offering native AI integration, making it ideal for omnichannel delivery.</li><li>Arvow: Arvow uses AI to automate the content creation and publishing process. It offers AI-driven features like content syndication, Google indexing, and SEO-optimized writing. It supports high-quality content at scale targeted at B2B companies.</li><li>Strapi: Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that supports the integration of AI tools and services for seamless content management, optimization, and delivery.</li><li>Adobe Experience Manager: This enterprise CMS uses AI to personalize content, automate workflows, and support data-driven insights. It supports content creation using its built-in generative AI.</li></ul>While other AI-powered CMS platforms offer great features and support AI integration, Contentstack comes with AI baked in. It offers native AI integrations that require less customization, making it easier to roll out across large enterprises.<h3 id="case-study">Case study</h3> <img style="width:36.22%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1771247859224.png" /><h4 id="golfbreaks">Golfbreaks</h4>Golfbreaks struggled with managing content across multiple international markets. This prompted them to sign up for Contentstack's <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/academy/content/ai-accelerator?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">AI Accelerator</a>. The training exposed them to the benefits of the AI assistant, brand kit and automation tool. The solutions automated translation workflows, content optimization, and personalization rules. Today, they can launch on-brand content and campaigns faster than ever.Golfbreaks Digital Product Owner Jack Simkins said, "With Contentstack’s help, our AI use case has been expanded into a much more powerful tool that’s helping us to save time and move faster."<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/case-study/golfbreaks-leverages-contentstacks-ai-accelerator-for-78-faster-time-to-market?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">Learn more about Golfbreaks' success</a> with Contentstack’s AI.<h2 id="faq-section">FAQ section</h2> <h4 id="what-is-the-difference-between-a-headless-cms-and-an-ai-cms?">What is the difference between a headless CMS and an AI CMS?</h4>A headless CMS is a type of CMS where the architecture separates content from its presentation. So, you have a backend that you can connect to any front-end framework via APIs. An AI CMS is a CMS with built-in AI integration to automate and enhance content creation, personalization, and management. <h4 id="is-an-ai-cms-secure-for-enterprise-use?">Is an AI CMS secure for enterprise use?</h4>An AI CMS is considered secure if it features enterprise-grade security, role-based permissions, audit logging, and compliance capabilities. The security of an intelligent CMS also depends on how AI integrations are configured and whether they comply with privacy laws. <h4 id="what-skills-do-teams-need-to-work-with-an-ai-cms?">What skills do teams need to work with an AI CMS?</h4>Content teams should understand content strategy, governance rules, and how to review AI outputs for accuracy and compliance. Technical teams may need to understand AI prompts, workflow automation, and how to manage AI integrations.<h3 id="learn-more">Learn more</h3>AI CMS platforms are redefining enterprise content management. They automate repetitive work, improve personalization and support data-driven decision-making. However, most CMS platforms only support AI integration — they are not truly AI-powered in the real sense.This is where Contentstack stands out. With native AI integrations, you get an intelligent CMS right out of the box. You do not need extra configurations or endless integrations with third-party AI solutions. If you are serious about leveraging AI for smarter content management, then Contentstack offers the best solution in the market today. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo?utm_campaign=&amp;utm_medium=paid-affiliate&amp;utm_source=cms-critic&amp;utm_content=smarter-content-management-with-an-ai-cms">Talk to us</a> today to get started.

The intelligent CMS: Smarter content management with an AI CMS

contentstack

CMS Summit 26

Find out at CMS Summit 26, May 12 - 13 in Frankfurt, Germany

What's ahead for CMS in the agentic era?

#ffffff

AI ROI? A-OK: MACH Alliance Report Says Enterprises with Composable Foundations are Netting Returns

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/dserrano">Geetha Rajan</a> is a strategy executive advising Fortune 500 companies on AI adoption, AI transformation, and organizational change, and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/nanda/overview/">MIT’s NANDA Initiative</a> dropped a number last year that made a lot of people uncomfortable: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonsnyder/2025/08/26/mit-finds-95-of-genai-pilots-fail-because-companies-avoid-friction/">95% of generative AI pilots deliver zero measurable impact on the P&amp;L.</a> Not “underperform.” Zero. Based on 150 executive interviews and analysis of 300 public deployments, the picture is clear: billions spent with little measurable impact.Then <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-panic-new-study-finds-ai-agents-in-production-face-infrastructure-and-reliability-challenges">Cleanlab’s survey</a> of nearly 1,900 tech executives and engineers added another layer: only 5% had AI agents in production, and 60–70% were changing their entire AI stack every three months. Not iterating. Replacing.If you’re building on platforms like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/vercel">Vercel</a> or shipping with AI-assisted tools like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cursor.com/">Cursor</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/features/copilot">GitHub Copilot,</a> these numbers should stop you cold. The instinct in the development ecosystem is to treat this as a technical problem—bad models, immature tooling, infrastructure that can’t keep up. Those things are real. But they’re not what’s killing your projects.<h3 id="the-misdiagnosis">The Misdiagnosis</h3>Here’s what the MIT data shows when you look past the headline. The 5% that succeeded weren’t using better models. They were operating within organizations that had solved a different set of problems—problems unrelated to code.Successful deployments shared three traits: they empowered line managers to drive adoption, integrated tools into existing workflows rather than requiring wholesale changes, and built distinct enablement strategies for different parts of the organization. They treated AI adoption as an organizational problem, not a technical one.This is the core premise behind Pilots to Scale™: scaling AI is not about model performance, but about aligning people, workflows, and metrics so experimentation becomes sustained execution.This distinction matters in software development. Consider<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://v0.app/"> Vercel’s v0,</a> now used by over 3.5 million people. The tool is impressive—describe what you want, and the agent plans, builds, and deploys. But even Vercel has acknowledged the emerging challenge: vibe coding is quickly becoming “the world’s largest shadow IT problem.” Employees ship security flaws alongside features, credentials get copied into prompts, and company data goes public with no audit trail.That’s not a Vercel problem. That’s what happens when powerful tools get adopted faster than organizations can absorb them.<h3 id="where-engineering-teams-actually-get-stuck">Where Engineering Teams Actually Get Stuck</h3>Across hundreds of organizations in the Pilots to Scale™ research, a consistent pattern emerges: the failure point lies between the tool and the team. Organizations fail to recognize that their workforce doesn’t adopt new technology as a monolith. Across any organization—including engineering teams—you find roughly four segments with fundamentally different relationships to AI tools.<ul><li>Champions (about 20%) are already experimenting. They’ve been using Copilot since day one. </li><li>Explorers (about 40%) are curious but stuck. They’ve seen the demos but don’t know how to go from “that’s cool” to “this is how I work now.” </li><li>Skeptics (about 25%) aren’t irrational. They’ve watched previous tooling waves come and go, and they’re waiting for proof. </li><li>Experts (about 15%) have deep technical fluency but may focus on custom builds when off-the-shelf tools would scale faster. </li></ul>Recognizing and enabling these segments differently is one of the central design principles of Pilots to Scale™. It’s also where most enterprise rollouts quietly fail.Most engineering leaders treat all four groups the same. Universal rollouts. One training program. A single Slack channel. Then they wonder why adoption stalls at 15%—exactly the size of the group that was going to adopt anyway.The 40% in the middle—the Explorers—is where scale comes from. Reaching them requires structured experimentation with guardrails, protected time to learn, and clear definitions of success beyond “ship faster.” Exhibit 1: The four workforce segments that determine AI adoption outcomes. Most organizations treat their teams as a single population. The Pilots to Scale™ research identifies four distinct cohorts—each requiring a different enablement strategy. The 40% in the middle is where scale breaks through or stalls.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:78.99%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/image-1771348091753.png" /></figure>Source: Independent research by Geetha Rajan, including quantitative survey data (n=100) and in-depth interviews (n=200) with operational leaders responsible for AI implementation.<h3 id="what-the-5%-do-differently">What the 5% Do Differently</h3>The organizations that successfully scale AI build three capabilities that have nothing to do with model selection or infrastructure.First, they translate AI capabilities into actual workflow changes. They don’t bolt Copilot onto existing processes and hope for improvement. They redesign how work gets done—code review, testing, deployment—around what AI makes possible. Most teams skip this entirely.Second, they mandate cross-functional coordination. AI-powered development touches security, compliance, product, and design. Successful deployments had cross-functional governance from day one, not bolted on after a security incident. As <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgnorthcutt/">Cleanlab’s CEO, Curtis Northcutt </a>put it: the moment you think you’ve figured it out is the moment you fall behind. That’s an organizational insight, not a technical one.Third, they invest in segment-specific enablement. Champions become peer coaches. Explorers get structured 30-day experiments with weekly check-ins. Skeptics are paired with champions who demonstrate concrete value. One enterprise software company I studied segmented its team this way and saw adoption jump from 12% to 73% in one quarter. Same tools. Same org. Different strategy.<h3 id="the-agentic-refactoring-loop">The Agentic Refactoring Loop</h3>Cleanlab’s data about constant stack refactoring is real—and it creates a vicious loop. Teams build an agent; it breaks on messy enterprise data. They refactor. A better LLM drops. They rebuild. Workflows shift. They refactor again. Between 60% and 70% of executives surveyed were swapping out their entire AI stack every three months. That’s not iteration. That’s a treadmill.The organizations that break out of this loop aren’t the ones with more stable technology. They’re the ones that built organizational infrastructure to absorb churn—teams that evaluate, adopt, and sunset tools in structured ways. When your people trust that AI adoption is being managed, not just mandated, they refactor faster and flag problems earlier. The constraint isn’t the technology’s speed. It’s the organization’s ability to metabolize it.<h3 id="the-bottom-line">The Bottom Line</h3>The tools are here. Vercel’s v0, Cursor, Copilot, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://windsurf.com/">Windsurf</a>—capable and improving rapidly. The 95% failure rate isn’t a verdict on the technology. It’s a verdict on how organizations adopt it.If you’re a development leader wondering why your team’s AI adoption looks great in demos and stalls in production, stop looking at the stack. Start looking at your people—who they are, what they need, and whether you’re building the organizational muscle to let them actually use these tools. The code problem is largely solved. The organizational problem is just getting started. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:34.15%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/logo_jday_hor.png" /><h4 id="joomladay-usa-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/">JoomlaDay USA 2026</a></h4>April 29 - May 2, 2026 – Delray Beach, FloridaBe part of the Joomla community in one of the most iconic cities in the world! JoomlaDay USA 2026 is coming to Delray Beach, and you can join us for a dynamic event packed with insights, workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from top Joomla experts and developers offering valuable insights and real-world solutions. Participate in interactive workshops and sessions and enhance your skills in Joomla management, development, design, and more. And connect with fellow Joomla enthusiasts, developers, and professionals from across the world.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"> Book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.06%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/cms-summit-26-logo.jpg" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26">CMS Summit 26</a></h4>May 12-13, 2026 – Frankfurt, GermanyThe best conferences create space for honest, experience-based conversations. Not sales pitches. Not hype. Just thoughtful exchanges between people who spend their days designing, building, running, and evolving digital experiences. CMS Summit brings together people who share real stories from their work and platforms and who are interested in learning from each other on how to make things better. Over two days in Frankfurt, you can expect practitioner-led talks grounded in experience, conversations about trade-offs, constraints, and decisions, and time to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26/tickets">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a>

Why AI-Powered Development Tools Fail After Launch

geetha-rajan

Putting the Human Touch on Hosting: Kinsta’s Matt Reid on Powering the Future of WordPress

<hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras">Sassafras</a> is a genus of aromatic, deciduous trees in the Laurel family – Lauraceae, for you nature nerds – which is native to eastern North America and parts of Asia. Known for its distinct, fragrant smell, Sassafras trees have these uniquely variable leaves that can be unlobed, two-lobed (kind of mitten-shaped), or even three-lobed. Funky, but beautiful.Living in the Southeastern U.S., I’ve experienced Sassafras in real life, often a fixture along dense forest trails. They produce a lovely yellow pistillate, and the leaves, twigs, and bark have an almost citrusy or spicy note to them. It’s delightful. Alluring, even. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:62.04%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/sassafras_leaves_june_nbg_261691941.jpg" /></figure>Sassafras Leaves. Source: June Nbg, Wikipedia/Creative Commons Once upon a time, the bark of the Sassafras tree was the primary ingredient in root beer. It’s hence been recreated using artificial flavorings, partly because the oil derived from it – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.healthline.com/health/sassafras-drug">called Safrole</a> – has hallucinogenic properties as a mild empathogen. Translation: you feel closeness and affection as it coerces your brain to release serotonin and dopamine.Right now, people could use a dose of Sassafras as they melt down over the “SaaSafras” – a more-than-mild tech selloff seemingly induced by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/">Anthropic’s</a> new plugins for its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/webinars/future-of-ai-at-work-introducing-cowork">Claude Cowork</a> agent, which were launched last Friday. In simplest terms, Claude Cowork is an agentic AI workspace that goes beyond answering questions. It can perform CRUD functions (create, read, update, delete) on files and folders on your computer, helping you execute tasks and not just engage in Q&amp;A conversations. Less like a chatbot, more like a digital coworker that can get stuff done.The real buzz is around those plugins, which are designed to automate specialized tasks across departments like marketing, legal, and customer support. Imagine drafting an email in your brand voice, then having a legal agent review it for risk.That sounds cool. But as we’ve seen, it’s hammering stocks as investors weigh the potential for organizations to just rely on these agents over traditional software. Enterprise giants like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/salesforce">Salesforce</a> are feeling a major pinch. Professional services and advertising firms like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.publicisgroupe.com/en/splash-en">Publicis</a> are taking a hit as faster automation and shrinking demand for traditional IT services become a shadowy specter along the growth highway.<h3 id="more-fear-in-the-ai-forest-">More fear in the AI forest </h3>Like we haven't had enough anxiety from the likes of AI. Fact is, we've been talking about a “SaaS implosion” as a byproduct of the agentic evolution for quite some time.The impact is being felt broadly. This includes the categories of CMS, digital experience, and martech vendors, all rolling in a hyperbolic field of “SaaSafras,” anxious that their software might be rendered obsolete by Claude – which, ironically, has been a common companion in the evolution of their own tools.As expected, software business leaders have pushed back, hoping to quell the fear – but offering sage points. As <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/cognizant-ceo-reacts-after-anthropic-claude-cowork-crashes-saas-stocks-says-ai-is-not-magic-2863547-2026-02-05">Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar</a> said today, AI isn’t magic. It’s not a “plug-and-play switch” that delivers results overnight. If that were the case, we would have seen more economic gains over the last three years. Instead, we’ve been served consistent data that tells a different story: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/">95% of AI projects fail</a> before reaching production. 5% of active agentic systems are <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-panic-new-study-finds-ai-agents-in-production-face-infrastructure-and-reliability-challenges">being refactored every 30 days.</a> And a recent survey from PwC indicates that 56% of CEOs are getting “nothing” from their AI adoption efforts. Investments have been costly, and boards are beginning to focus hard on ROI.By all accounts, AI isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. At least not yet. But we’re still spooked by Claude. Why? Because we thrive on hype. So let’s take a step back to see the forest through the trees. Enterprises don’t just buy software – they buy trust. They buy assurances around HIPAA compliance and FedRAMP. They buy accountability and a single throat to choke. They buy performance, security, and scalability for critical workflows. They don’t just buy products. They buy outcomes.I’m sure Claude’s plugins will make an impact on productivity. It might be enough to rock some of the overall boat away from big, multi-year software licenses. But they can’t replace a system of authority that provides control, governance, and confidence. With AI, code might become a commodity, but context is the real goldmine. Legacy players like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe</a> have customer data that provides an irreplicable scaffolding for their own LLM ambitions. Meanwhile, hyperscalers like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/aws">AWS</a> are adding services that will enable SaaS players to accelerate their agentic AI strategies. That could level the playing field and create opportunities.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q1-2026-pitchbook-analyst-note-clash-of-the-titans">As Pitchbook said,</a> this is like the era of laying fiber before the internet boom, and there are durable moats. We just need to know where to dig them.<h3 id="is-this-the-end-of-saas?">Is this the end of SaaS?</h3>It's a loaded question. Clearly, we're seeing challenges and pressures to the prevailing models. But will this erase the companies behind them, or just force an evolution of how they monetize their services? And what happens to the people behind the products in this great reckoning?I agree with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fortune.com/2026/02/04/jensen-huang-demanding-roi-from-ai-strategy-testing/">Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang,</a> who dismissed the idea that AI will make software obsolete. He called it illogical, doubling down on how SaaS tools will use and be used by AI, not replaced by it. He even said that “demanding ROI from AI is like forcing a child to make a business plan for a hobby.”He went on to say that AI tools have freed up employee time and hasn’t wiped out roles. In fact, from his vantage point, it’s enabling teams to focus on more forward-thinking initiatives and improving core strengths. Despite Amazon’s recent <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/2026/aws-layoffs-hit-u-s-and-canada-employees-as-amazon-sheds-16-000-jobs">gutting of 16,000 mid-level workers,</a> large-scale displacement didn’t happen as it was predicted (at least not yet). I wrote about this in my <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/backoff-on-the-ai-layoffs-domos-chris-willis-on-the-future-of-work-in-2026">interview with Domo’s Chris Willis,</a> where companies that have downsized with AI have quietly hired back skilled workers.But labor is, indeed, shifting on all sides. The old model of paying for SaaS software is dying on the Sassafras vine as single-seat software paradigms are replaced by AI agents performing high-value tasks. This is where software companies could move up the ladder as a replacement mechanism – and with that growth, create more of the jobs and opportunities of the future. I say might, because it’s anyone’s guess.Is there reason for concern? Absolutely. CMS is changing in profound ways as content transforms. Licensing models are being disrupted. Composable patterns have made it easier to move from one technology to another. And yes, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cursor.com/">Cursor</a> can vibe code its way to a working website using markdown and sidestep its need for a market-leading headless CMS.But even if an app can be replaced with a vibe-coded tool or a Claude Cowork plugin, is that the best decision for your business? In some cases, it could be. The cost savings and efficiencies will be there. In others, having a solid, proven system of record is the only way to go. <h3 id="smell-the-‘saasafras’?">Smell the ‘SaaSafras’?</h3>There’s a lot of choice emerging in all of this, but it’s been building. Incrementally. We didn’t just arrive here yesterday. And it’s true: some vendors won’t survive what’s ahead. But hasn't that always been the case? Do we really need <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chiefmartec.com/2025/05/2025-marketing-technology-landscape-supergraphic-100x-growth-since-2011-but-now-with-ai/">15,384 tools</a> on the Martec Supergraphic? <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:78.12%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/02/screenshot-2026-02-05-at-3.png" /></figure>The 2025 Martec Supergraphic. Source: Chiefmartec.com So how do we move forward? Here are some things to focus on:<ul><li>Innovate on the agentic edge but concentrate on productive, workflow-critical solutions where AI can act as a control plane for real work and deliver tangible impact.</li><li>Make governance your moat. Enterprises will always experiment, but in 2026, they’re trading AI novelty for security, scalability, compliance – and, of course, board-worthy results.</li><li>Turn proprietary context into leverage, not just training data. Use the hard-earned structural fundamentals that surround your valuable data – things like schemas and history. They're one of the most important pillars of your IP.</li><li>Kill seat-based pricing before agents kill it for you, and move to outcome- and value-based models.</li><li>Win on orchestration, not generation, because the future belongs to platforms that can manage chaos – not just create more stuff. This is one of the keys to enduring business value.</li></ul><h3 id="the-strongest-roots-will-survive">The strongest roots will survive</h3>That smell in the air today is panic. An emotional sweat that’s a little disorienting and easy to mistake for something more pungent than it actually is. But this “SaaSafras” moment we’re in isn’t a signal to flee the forest. It’s a reminder to pay attention to what’s growing beneath the canopy. AI agents are absolutely reshaping how software is built, bought, and used. But they won’t replace the need for trust, context, and systems of real accountability.The vendors that survive this moment won’t be the ones clinging to the old models. They’ll be the ones cultivating deep roots or growing new lobes of innovation. When the hype fades, durable platforms will adapt in the wild – and remain standing. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:34.15%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/logo_jday_hor.png" /><h4 id="joomladay-usa-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/">JoomlaDay USA 2026</a></h4>April 29 - May 2, 2026 – Delray Beach, FloridaBe part of the Joomla community in one of the most iconic cities in the world! JoomlaDay USA 2026 is coming to Delray Beach, and you can join us for a dynamic event packed with insights, workshops, and networking opportunities. Learn from top Joomla experts and developers offering valuable insights and real-world solutions. Participate in interactive workshops and sessions and enhance your skills in Joomla management, development, design, and more. And connect with fellow Joomla enthusiasts, developers, and professionals from across the world.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jdayusa.com/"> Book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.06%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/cms-summit-26-logo.jpg" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26">CMS Summit 26</a></h4>May 12-13, 2026 – Frankfurt, GermanyThe best conferences create space for honest, experience-based conversations. Not sales pitches. Not hype. Just thoughtful exchanges between people who spend their days designing, building, running, and evolving digital experiences. CMS Summit brings together people who share real stories from their work and platforms and who are interested in learning from each other on how to make things better. Over two days in Frankfurt, you can expect practitioner-led talks grounded in experience, conversations about trade-offs, constraints, and decisions, and time to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit26/tickets">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a>

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