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Brightspot Illuminates the Future of CMS with Human-Controlled, AI-Powered Storytelling 

matt-garrepy

In the race to AI visibility, are AEO and GEO really delivering? 97% of digital leaders say yes 

<hr /> These days, marketers have more data than ever at their disposal. Too much? I'll let you be the judge. But that’s not the pressing issue. The problem is making sense out of the sheer volume and complexity. As humans, we can’t possibly weed through it all – which means we’re left with messy data, and even messier insights. It doesn’t take much to see an opportunity for AI to help mitigate these obstacles. But some of the same challenges exist: we end up with messy outcomes if the inputs aren’t clean and well-structured. On top of that, marketing data often exists in disconnected places, and that includes disparate platforms used to store data and run campaigns. Bridging these gaps requires some AI-juiced, Buzz Lightyear-level heroics, and that’s where <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/amplitude">Amplitude</a> comes in. The company already has a proven track record of helping companies build better products and digital experiences, imbuing its tools with AI agents to help teams analyze, test, and optimize UX faster than ever.Now, with the acquisition of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://infinigrow.com/">InfiniGrow</a> – a Tel Aviv-based AI analytics platform that helps teams measure, forecast, and optimize a marketing team’s impact on revenue – Amplitude is bringing a centralized platform approach to the problem by adding the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://infinigrow.com/company/">“new science of revenue marketing”</a> to its ecosystem. As I said, a big source of pain is that insights and decisions often live in separate places, but the combined resources of Amplitude and InfiniGrow will give stakeholders more actionable insights from their data. InfiniGrow’s agentic AI features can “fix” data foundations in a way that makes it more trustworthy, so it doesn’t sabotage your metrics, AI models, and decision-making.By unifying marketing, sales, and financial data, InfiniGrow can provide real-time visibility into what’s working – and why – across channels and customer journeys. Its analytics, attribution, and forecasting capabilities have been vital resources for understanding what drives results. It also provides a tableau for planning and optimizing budgets, evaluating scenarios, and making data-driven decisions with confidence.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://investors.amplitude.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amplitude-acquires-infinigrow-bring-revenue-analytics-marketers">According to the company’s press release,</a> InfiniGrow will help Amplitude evolve analytics from reporting on what already happened into insights that help teams measure, forecast, and optimize the impact of marketing on revenue. It brings both parts into a single, unified system, transforming analytics from a “backward-looking” snapshot to a “forward-looking” decision-making resource that turns data into actionable marketing recommendations. “InfiniGrow built AI to answer the hardest questions marketers face, and that’s exactly what Amplitude does,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/spenserskates/">Spenser Skates</a>, co-founder and CEO of Amplitude. “Together, we’re turning complex data into clear decisions teams can act on confidently."<h3 id="powering-session-based-analytics">Powering session-based analytics</h3>Part of Amplitude’s stock in trade is its focus on session-based insights. Last year, it launched enhanced features like its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/replay-it-again-sam-amplitudes-session-replay-everywhere-rocks-with-analytics-visualizations">Session Replay Everywhere,</a> which builds on its solid Session Replay capabilities. It closes the gap between quantitative and qualitative understanding, allowing users to go beyond a funnel and unpack the why behind the metrics to diagnose product issues and improve conversions. Within an enterprise marketing team’s DNA, analysts play a critical role in defining sessions, connecting customer journeys, and maintaining trust in the data. To strengthen that foundation, Amplitude is reinforcing its session-based analytics by elevating sessions to first-class citizenship across the platform and preserving session context over time. This ensures marketing actions are fortified by accurate insights and clearly tied to real business outcomes – which further eliminates the guesswork. With InfiniGrow, Amplitude can now provide marketing teams with more enhanced session-based analytics, starting with improved insights into context around user sessions – which provides the clearest view into customer behavior. Armed with this clarity, marketers can move faster and more confidently.InfiniGrow’s AI-powered marketing analytics will build on Amplitude’s foundation, helping teams measure, forecast, and optimize how marketing drives revenue. With advanced “what-if” analysis and scenario modeling, marketers can explore tradeoffs, test assumptions, and iteratively plan and allocate budgets using AI-driven forecasts. “We built InfiniGrow to apply AI to the real decisions marketers face every day, grounded in clean and contextual customer journey data,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmeler/">Daniel Meler, </a>co-founder and CEO of InfiniGrow. “Joining Amplitude allows us to scale that work and contribute to a broader AI analytics vision that empowers teams to act with confidence.”<h3 id="the-verdict">The verdict</h3>Amplitude continues to make sage moves in the battle for better insights. InfiniGrow’s AI-powered offering is a slick complement and builds on Amplitude’s session-based capabilities in a potentially meaningful way. By smoothing out the hard data challenges, the combined power of both tools gives marketers even more control and confidence over the value of their data – and in a more proactive way. Analytics tools can’t be passive anymore. They have to be decision engines that help marketers move with confidence. Together, Amplitude and InfiniGrow are bridging session data with revenue outcomes, modeling future scenarios, unifying disconnected datasets, and empowering marketers to make choices based on informed predictions – not just guesswork.Amplitude was on a tear in 2025. Last July, the company <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amplitude.com/press/amplitude-acquires-kraftful">acquired Kraftful,</a> which culminated in the introduction of its new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/read-the-feed-amplitudes-next-gen-ai-transforms-customer-feedback-into-actionable-product-insights">AI Feedback service</a> – which also pairs with its Session Replay capabilities. The company also introduced new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/amplitudes-new-web-experimentation-upgrade-gives-marketers-3x-faster-testing-and-more-control">Web Experimentation features</a> and a new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/amplitudes-new-mcp-server-and-open-beta-for-ai-agents-bring-behavioral-data-into-ai-tools">MCP server and open beta for AI agents</a> in October, giving companies access to its trusted behavioral data from within the AI environments they're already using.My recommendation: Sure, there’s always buzz with any new acquisition. But the value of this one isn’t lightyears away. Data volume will continue to explode, and making sense of it all is an enterprise imperative for 2026 and beyond. Teams need the best insights possible to make crystal decisions, and revenue analytics are fast becoming a key component. If you’re looking to better unify your insights and unlock the potential of revenue marketing, keep an eye on how this combined offering unfolds.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <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>

To InfiniGrow and Beyond: Amplitude’s Latest Acquisition Promises Intelligent Revenue Analytics for Marketers

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/amber-bar">Amber Bartholomeusz</a> is the founder of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.abmarketedge.com/">ABMarketEdge</a> and a CMS Critic contributor.<hr /> In early 2025, CMS Critic published <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/in-a-fast-and-furious-tech-world-cms-kickoff-25-was-a-love-letter-to-slow-down">In a fast and furious tech world, CMS Kickoff 25 was a ‘love letter’ to slow down.</a> At the time, it felt like a thoughtful counterweight to an industry that rarely pauses long enough to reflect.A year later, that message reads less like a cultural observation and more like a warning that many organizations chose to politely acknowledge – and then ignore.Instead of slowing down, the industry accelerated. AI became the headline, the shiny penny, the roadmap bullet, the board-level talking point. Every LinkedIn feed or technology blog suddenly had its own take on AI. Companies rushed to prove they were “doing AI” before they had decided what doing it well actually meant, driven by a quiet panic about being left behind.And a lot of the fundamental work was skipped. That is why an AI reckoning feels imminent. Not eventually. Not hypothetically. Very likely in 2026, when expectations collide with reality and the tools, workflows, and promises made start to fall apart.<h3 id="ai-tactics-outran-strategy,-governance,-and-standards">AI Tactics Outran Strategy, Governance, and Standards</h3>The first and most obvious fault line is that AI adoption became a tactic before it was ever a strategy.In many organizations, AI showed up as a response to pressure. Competitive pressure. Board pressure. Market pressure. But it was also a cultural pressure, amplified by social media posts, conference keynotes, event themes, and industry commentary delivered with total confidence and authority. The signal was subtle but clear: if you were not already doing it, you were behind.The result was predictable. Tools were implemented before anyone slowed down to ask the uncomfortable questions, the ones that are actually hard to answer, and don’t fit neatly into a demo or a LinkedIn post. Questions like:<ul><li>What does success actually look like beyond “we launched something with AI in it”?</li><li>How does this align with our overall business strategy, not just this month’s roadmap?</li><li>Who owns the decision when AI output is wrong, and who is actually qualified to pass judgement?</li><li>What data is acceptable to use, and what gaps are we pretending not to notice?</li><li>Where is human judgment required, and where are we quietly replacing actual expertise because AI feels faster?</li><li>How is risk measured, documented, and revisited once the novelty wears off?</li></ul>(And no, asking ChatGPT or Claude to figure this out for you is not a strategy.)In far too many cases, the answer to those questions is still unclear.Instead, AI has been treated like a checkbox. If it exists, it must represent progress. If it is deployed, it must be valuable. If it produces output, it must be working.That assumption holds until it doesn’t.Without a clear operating model, AI initiatives turn into collections of disconnected experiments. Without standards, quality and trust are impossible to measure. Without strategy, organizations automate confusion and call it momentum.You can’t scale what you don’t control. And right now, many organizations do not actually control their AI programs. They are running them, watching the outputs, and hoping the gaps do not surface.<h3 id="interoperability-was-always-an-organizational-problem-first">Interoperability Was Always an Organizational Problem First</h3>There is a persistent belief that AI readiness is primarily a technology problem. It never was.Long before AI entered the picture, most organizations struggled with interoperability for a much simpler reason: alignment. Teams operated in silos. Goals conflicted. Some departments were rewarded for outcomes produced by the whole, even as the machine itself remained deeply fragmented and no one seemed to be accountable for fixing it.AI did not resolve that tension. It exposed it.Models trained on fragmented inputs produce fragmented outputs. Tools introduced without cross-functional buy-in struggle to gain adoption. Systems that lack transparency generate mistrust, especially among the people expected to rely on them day to day.Before interoperability was about APIs, it was about people.That truth did not disappear when AI arrived. It just became easier to ignore. Technology offered an illusion of mass progress. It felt easier to buy a tool than to align teams. Easier to automate than to clarify. Easier to move fast than to build shared understanding.AI amplifies whatever organizational dynamics already exist. In cohesive organizations, it can accelerate progress. In fragmented ones, it accelerates friction.<h3 id="unsexy-fundamentals-were-skipped,-and-ai-is-about-to-punish-that">Unsexy Fundamentals Were Skipped, and AI Is About to Punish That</h3>The third issue is the least exciting and the most consequential: data fundamentals.Data connectedness, consistency, taxonomy, and context are deeply unsexy. They don’t demo well. They don’t create buzz. You don’t see technology influencers chasing mainstage speaking slots by talking about data hygiene, and budgets rarely materialize for work that does not look impressive on LinkedIn.So they are postponed.Then AI gets layered on top.Fragmented data sources produce inconsistent outputs. Poorly defined schemas lead to confident but incorrect results. Missing context turns into misleading answers delivered at scale, often with far more confidence than accuracy.There is a growing body of research, including work out of MIT, that points to the importance of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/to-help-improve-accuracy-generative-ai-add-speed-bumps">deliberate friction</a> in complex systems. Small constraints, checkpoints, and moments of pause are not inefficiencies. They are what allow humans to apply judgment, verify assumptions, and catch errors before they compound.In this scenario, data fundamentals are that friction.When they are skipped in the rush to automate, AI does not compensate. It accelerates and often amplifies the failures. Outputs become harder to explain, harder to trust, and impossible to trace back to reliable sources. At that point, the problem stops being technical very quickly. It becomes operational, reputational, and much harder to dismiss. And that is usually when the finger-pointing starts.The irony is that the most important work enabling effective AI is the work least likely to be prioritized because it is not flashy. But those fundamentals are the difference between AI as leverage – and as liability.<h2 id="why-2026-is-the-‘collision-year’">Why 2026 Is the ‘Collision Year’</h2>Taken together, these patterns create the conditions for a reckoning.Not because AI is experimental. Not because the technology does not work.But because much of what has been built has not yet been tested under real pressure.Tactical adoption without a clear strategic throughline. Organizational fragmentation reframed as technical complexity. Foundational data gaps obscured by polished interfaces and confident demos.For a while, that can look like progress.In 2026, it starts to look like exposure.This is when it stops being theoretical. Boards want real answers, not roadmap slides. Regulators get clearer about standards and governance. Customers notice when things don’t add up. Internal teams push back on systems that create more friction than value. And claims made in 2024 and 2025 start getting measured against what actually happened, not what was promised.And to be clear, this is not an argument against AI. It is an argument against assuming readiness. The organizations that struggle will not be the cautious ones. They will be the ones that moved fast without thinking through how this would actually hold together. The ones that mistook visible activity for progress and assumed technology would somehow make up for the structural gaps they never addressed.CMS Kickoff 25 talked about slowing down as a cultural counterpoint to nonstop acceleration. Looking back, it reads less like commentary and more like advice some organizations were too busy to take.The next phase of AI will not be decided by speed alone. It will be shaped by clarity, alignment, and whether the fundamentals underneath were ever solid, especially when that work was unglamorous and easy to overlook.The gap between hype and reality is closing fast. When it does, it will be clear who built something that can actually hold up and who just moved quickly.The AI reckoning is coming.2026 might be when it stops being theoretical. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <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>

The AI Reckoning Is Coming. 2026 May Be the Turning Point

amber-bar

Griddo DXP Powers University Websites and Digital Experiences with a PhD in Performance

<hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Battle_After_Another">One Battle After Another</a> is already garnering buzz as an Oscar contender. But there’s another battle brewing for the top spots in the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards">14th Annual CMS Critic Awards</a> – and you get to nominate the contenders!As usual, we’re not the Academy. During this contest, we put you in the judge’s seat, so you can tell us what CMS and related tools really blew your mind in 2025.Keep scrolling for more background and the house rules, but here's how it works in a nutshell: Make your nominations at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/nominate">www.cmscritic.com/nominate.</a> We take the top five contenders across a range of categories, open that up to general voting, and announce the victors in late February.DiCaprio might steal the show on screen, but he doesn’t hold a candle to agentic workflows. Content is the real star of this action flick, and the CMS Critic Awards are an opportunity for you to sing the praises of the platforms that power your digital experiences.<h3 id="celebrating-the-content-community">Celebrating the content community</h3>If you’re not familiar, the CMS Critic Awards are an institution in the content management and digital experience industries. It unites rabid fans across the globe to rally around the tools they love – no small feat in today’s fleeting technology landscape. With well-established enterprise vendors and a plethora of open source platforms, CMS enjoys some of the most loyal user communities in the tech pantheon. That’s why we’ve had such incredible participation over the past 13 years, making ours one of the longest-running awards programs in our industry (you can check out<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards"> all the previous winners here</a>).While CMS is our North Star, we also make space for the expanded ecosystem of products. Over the last decade, we've seen the rapid rise of digital experience technologies, from pure-play to fully integrated. To that end, we include categories for e-commerce, digital asset management, and even product information management. If it's a system that manages content, we want to celebrate it.In a world where using technology can feel like fighting one battle after another, the CMS Critic Awards is proof that loyalty still lives – and people make all the difference.<h3 id="2025:-the-agents-cometh…">2025: The agents cometh…</h3>…and they’re still coming. Without a doubt, this was the year when AI shifted to an agentic gear, with nearly every CMS, DXP, and adjacent platform touting its advancements with agents (and in some cases, “super agents”). It was a rapid-fire news cycle infused with innovative announcements – and we covered some of the biggest shifts throughout the year.We traversed the world in 2025, from San Francisco to Hamburg, connecting with communities and following the rattle and hum of the content world. With hundreds of articles published over the last 12 months, there’s too much to cover – but here are a few highlights:<ul><li>Platforms made big moves this year, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/">Contentstack’s acquisition of Lytics</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/seasons-of-love-sitecore-symposium-2025-sings-putting-ai-and-marketers-in-the-spotlight">Sitecore’s launch of its new Sitecore AI.</a> We attended both conferences, reporting from the ground with exclusive interviews. </li><li>At every event – from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/joy-to-the-content-world-storyblok-brings-ai-innovation-and-human-connection-to-joyconf-2025">Storyblok’s inaugural JoyConf</a> to the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-deep-dish-on-composable-6-tasty-takeaways-from-the-mach-alliances-2025-conference">MACH Alliance’s “The Composable Conference” </a>– agentic AI was a constant undercurrent, manifesting in a wide range of applications, use cases, features, and partnerships. </li><li>Analyst grids were rife with change as enterprise vendors like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-opal-fuels-marketers-with-powerful-ai-agents-via-googles-gemini-enterprise">Optimizely made headlines</a> with AI advancements and GEO-ready CMS capabilities. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/rush-to-geo-adobe-to-acquire-semrush-for-19b-to-enhance-ai-search">Adobe’s acquisition of SEO darling Semrush</a> was big news, Progress shook things up with its new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/progress-powers-its-vision-for-generative-cms-with-agentic-rag-and-a-legacy-of-innovation">Progress Agentic RAG offering</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/fight-the-cognitive-overload-brightspot-lights-the-way-to-productivity-with-its-evolutionary-cms-release">Brightspot launched</a> a game-changing release of its CMS.</li><li>Meanwhile, headless CMS players continued to drive innovation, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-headless-holodeck-joel-varty-of-agility-cms-on-warp-speed-demos-ai-and-the-next-generation-of-cms">Agility</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-cms-why-kontentais-vision-for-the-future-of-content-management-is-inspiring">Kontent.ai</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/hygraph-studio-sets-sail-with-increased-content-velocity-and-new-asset-management-capabilities">Hygraph</a>, leveraging their native composability to accelerate new AI and agentic capabilities and a host of dynamite enhancements.</li><li>Open source was also a big part of the conversation. In the wake of last year’s <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/wp-engine-wins-an-injunction-against-automattic-is-the-wordpress-scorched-earth-campaign-over">“WordPress Debacle,”</a> we broke the news about the new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/alls-fair-in-love-and-war-new-fair-package-manager-aims-to-bring-peace-to-the-wordpress-ecosystem">FAIR Package introduced at Alt Ctrl Org,</a> helping to shape a healing path forward. During our coverage of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sowing-the-seeds-of-love-umbracos-codegarden-2025-celebrates-20-years-of-community-and-innovation">Umbraco’s Codegarden event,</a> we saw notable traction in areas like orchestration, MCP, and more. And we were honored to help judge <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://t3con.typo3.com/awards">the TYPO3 Awards,</a> which featured some inspiring and ambitious entries.    </li><li>Along with our coverage of pure play DAM platforms like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/cloudinary">Cloudinary</a>, customer data was on our radar. From <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/hightouch-launches-high-performance-agents-to-help-marketers-move-10x-faster">Hightouch</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/treasure-data-brings-ai-marketing-cloud-and-super-agent-capabilities-to-aws-marketplace">Treasure Data</a>, we saw incredible use cases for AI and evolving roadmaps for agents at scale. More to come on that in 2026. </li><li>We featured lots of great research on a range of topics, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/agentic-panic-new-study-finds-ai-agents-in-production-face-infrastructure-and-reliability-challenges">agent system performance</a> to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/put-on-a-happy-cms-face-storybloks-facial-coding-experiment-reveals-how-ai-is-sparking-joy">facial coding experiments.</a> We also tracked some innovative new tools in areas like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/one-ux-to-rule-them-all-auxia-powers-customer-journeys-with-ai-agents-in-new-unified-experience">customer journey orchestration</a> while continuing to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-complete-wordpress-accessibility-checklist-for-2026">shine a light on accessibility</a> and more exotic topics like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-i-mean-to-say-a-practitioner-perspective-on-ai-semantics-and-content-evolution">semantics and content evolution.</a>  </li></ul>Much like last year, traditional category lines are blurring, and new monikers are entering the lexicon. Platforms now offer a wide range of tools and capabilities, particularly in the case of DXPs. But we're focusing on clear, well-established lanes – and as always, if you feel a single vendor can live in more than one category, it’s your choice to nominate it. <h3 id="be-kind-–-your-mother-might-be-watching">Be kind – your mother might be watching</h3>The CMS Critic Awards are intended to be fun and friendly. But they do, at times, get a little intense. Every year, we receive thousands of ballots. Users come together like wolfpacks, championing the platforms they love. We also intercept a number of, shall we say, “passionate” pleas, demanding to know why certain platforms were in a specific category, or why their tool wasn’t in the running. As always, we try to operate in a space of respect and integrity. Obviously, if a platform isn’t truly open source, it won’t be considered for “Best Open Source CMS.” But now more than ever, we're blurring the proverbial lines – and let’s face it, the analysts are also compounding the problem. So, our editorial team endeavors to stay out of the nominating process. As a reminder, we only take the top five in each category by nomination count, so anything below that won’t be featured in the final voting in February.To the victors go the spoils! Winners receive official badging, shout-outs on social media, and one month of upgraded status in our highly-trafficked <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products">Product Directory.</a> <h3 id="how-to-make-your-nominations-">How to make your nominations </h3>The good news is that it’s easy – and fun. Here’s how you can participate:<ul><li>Visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.cmscritic.com/nominate">www.cmscritic.com/nominate</a></li><li>Fill out the required fields and enter the names of your nominees in each category. You don't have to include a nomination for every category – only complete the fields that you care about, and your ballot will be counted. Remember that you can nominate the same vendor in multiple categories.</li><li>Once completed, click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the form. </li><li>You can only nominate once, and companies or brands that offer incentives of any kind will be disqualified.</li><li>Spread the word! Remember to share and encourage others to participate, especially across your social channels.</li><li>Nominations close on January 25, 2026, so get out there and rally your communities! Once we tabulate the results, we’ll announce the top five for general voting in early February via email and social. </li></ul>We might call this a battle, but it’s really a lovefest for CMS – and you call the shots. So make your nominations today! <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets 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>

The ‘Battle Royale’ Begins: Nominations are OPEN for the 14th Annual CMS Critic Awards!

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<hr /> <ul><li>Storyblok surveyed 200 senior IT and procurement professionals regarding their AI strategies</li><li>90% of businesses plan to increase their AI investment in 2026</li><li>61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenges to successful AI adoption</li><li>91% indicated that AI will improve content management within their organization</li><li>Only 23% have fully integrated GEO-related strategies</li></ul> It’s true: bad news sells. And when it comes to AI, the negative vibes can be particularly potent. Look no further than the often-referenced MIT report that cites a whopping <a href="But%20the%20lesson%20isn’t%20that%20GenAI%20is%20broken.%20It’s%20that%20companies%20are%20trying%20to%20erase%20the%20very%20drag%20that%20creates%20value.">95% of GenAI pilots at companies are failing.</a>Of course, it’s all about context. And if you read more deeply into the research, the MIT study suggests that it’s not AI that’s broken – it’s that businesses and stakeholders are trying to avoid the essential “drag” that creates value. They’re relying on generic, brittle tools that aren’t designed with memory or learning loops.There’s also been <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/is-ai-actually-a-bubble">talk of an “AI bubble”</a> that continues to permeate the zeitgeist. Based on past tech cycles, it’s not out of step to forecast an epic “burst” given the billions poured into the sector since 2022. We’re subjected to a regular dose of fear-mongering around this topic, but there's evidence that some of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fortune.com/2025/09/03/what-previous-ai-winters-can-tell-investors-and-executives-about-what-might-be-coming-next-for-ai/">M&amp;A moats could be drying up.</a>Before you start chanting about the coming AI winter – buoyed by the notion that just 5% of GenAI pilots are yielding tangible results – many businesses still seem bullish about AI. That’s the sentiment reflected in new research from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/">Storyblok</a>, which analyzed the field through the lens of content management. Recently, the CMS vendor surveyed 200 professionals at large-scale enterprises, targeting IT and procurement roles responsible for AI decision-making. The research focused on their 2026 planning, the hurdles faced in successfully adopting these technologies, their views on the major benefits of AI, and how it’s affecting their content management strategies. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:28.6%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/dominik-angerer.jpg" alt="Dominik Angerer headshot" /></figure>Storyblok CEO and Co-founder, Dominik Angerer Storyblok uncovered several notable nuggets from the survey, chiefly surrounding budgets and spending. According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/">Dominik Angerer,</a> CEO and Co-Founder of Storyblok, companies seem poised to dedicate more funding to their AI initiatives despite any prognostications about an AI bubble bursting. “Our research paints an overwhelmingly positive business view of AI adoption as we look ahead to 2026,” he said. “Budgets look set to continue to grow robustly, and we have seen a significant increase in the number of businesses that say their adoption of AI is mature or fully integrated. There is also growing confidence that AI can and will deliver great ROI."I certainly noted this abundance of enthusiasm at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/joy-to-the-content-world-storyblok-brings-ai-innovation-and-human-connection-to-joyconf-2025">Storyblok's JoyConf event</a> back in October, and the company is building momentum as it introduces more AI features and capabilities in this burgeoning field of AI-enhanced content management. Here are some highlights from the report that are putting wind in its sails. <h3 id="content-management-leads-the-pack-for-genai-impact">Content management leads the pack for GenAI impact</h3>Bullish is the word, and businesses seem prepared to put their money where their mouths are, with the majority leaning into more activity than the previous year.When asked about their AI investment plans for 2026, 57% said they expected it to “significantly increase,” 33% cited a “slight increase,” and 9% believed budgets would remain flat. Only 2% said they expected a reduction in their AI budget. But that’s predicting what’s ahead. For many, the optimistic forecast is built on previously successful outcomes or positive signals coming from existing pilots. For example, respondents said they have seen significant benefits from implementing AI technology, with 54% noting “operational efficiency gains” as the biggest ROI. This was followed by 48% citing a “faster time to value,” 43% noting “enhanced employee productivity,” and 41% stating “streamlined decision making” was the big benefit.Within the pantheon of targeted business applications, content management was cited as one of the top functions that generative AI would impact, with 91% saying it would improve this function within their organization. This makes sense given the strong adoption of AI across CMS tooling and workflows, presenting businesses with proven product features and solutions that already utilize AI to power workflows, drive personalization, orchestrate agents, and other AI-enabled capabilities that are fast becoming requirements of modern content management strategies. “Content management is one of the areas where there seems to be near-complete consensus on the transformational impact of AI,” Dominik said. <h3 id="geo-adoption-is-still-lagging">GEO adoption is still lagging</h3>As consumers shift their search behavior towards answer engines like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chatgpt.com/">ChatGPT</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-mode/">Google’s AI Mode,</a> the harsh realities of decaying website traffic and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/zero-click-searches-up-organic-clicks-down-456660">“zero-click searches”</a> are settling in. How bad is it? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/search-engine-traffic-2026-prediction-437650">Gartner predicts</a> that by next year, traditional search engine volume will drop by a breathtaking 25%, with search marketing losing its share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.To combat this phenomenon, brands are building beyond their current SEO strategies and embracing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_engine_optimization">Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO</a> – the practice of adapting digital content and online presence management to improve visibility in results produced by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_artificial_intelligence">generative artificial intelligence</a>. While GEO strategies present a real opportunity for addressing these realities, businesses are still behind. Acccording to Storyblok’s research, 41% had either not started or were in the early stages of adopting GEO, with only 23% saying they had a full strategy implemented. “With less than a quarter of businesses saying they have adapted to these changes,” Dominik codified, “it’s clear there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure businesses can regain confidence in their content.”Without a robust GEO strategy, businesses will struggle to fully optimize their content strategy in an AI-first world of consumer search habits. Clearly, organizations are lagging in this category, but there’s a growing awareness – and a compelling rationale – for getting on board quickly. <h3 id="security-and-data-privacy-are-top-concerns">Security and data privacy are top concerns</h3>AI might be the shining city on the hill, but it’s vulnerable – and that truth is being proven out on a regular basis. Along with performance-based risks relative to guardrails and policy issues, bad actors are exploiting flaws in frameworks and leveraging prompt injections to break walled gardens and elicit brand-damaging behavior. This can range from minor headaches to major security breaches.We’ve also reached a major inflection point in cybersecurity, where AI models have become powerful tools for safeguarding data privacy, but also for conducting state-sponsored attacks. In September, agentic capabilities were <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage">used to manipulate Claude Code</a> and infiltrate global targets that included tech companies and financial firms.As such, it’s not surprising to learn that safety was the central concern for respondents in Storyblok’s survey. On a granular level, 61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenge in adopting or scaling AI solutions. This was followed by security risks at 58%, and legacy system restrictions at 43%.These hurdles were also reflected in how IT and procurement professionals felt AI adoption could become more successful. 62% said data governance and quality assurance needed to be improved. Meanwhile, 54% wanted better integration with existing systems, and 42% cited increased “vendor transparency.”Notably, only 12% of respondents mentioned “cost-effective pricing” as an area for improvement. This might further underscore that businesses aren’t yet concerned about the cost of AI – or letting the overall price tag stymie their progress.Security is a moving target. As Dominik also noted, despite positive traction, concerns regarding governance and regulatory compliance are likely to grow – and may inhibit AI adoption over the short and medium term. “However,” he said, “it is good news that the professionals in charge of AI procurement have these concerns top of mind.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As we roll into 2026, Storyblok’s survey provides a glimpse of AI sentiment – and, perhaps, a hopeful one. There are no crystal balls (or at least no reliable ones), and AI’s path has been difficult to gauge on both the foundational and emotional scale. Given the astounding growth and tumultuous rollercoaster of economic and legislative policy headwinds, the last year has proven just how unpredictable things can be.What’s encouraging is to see where the opportunities are for content management, and how stakeholders view it as an area for continued impact. With its intrinsic connection to search, this should light a fire under vendors and agencies to further augment their value and practices regarding GEO, which, based on the data, is not a fully-adopted strategy.Security should be foremost on everyone’s mind. As we rush to drive new AI-powered products and experiences to market, we could potentially expand the surface area for vulnerabilities. Like APIs, this also applies to the fabric of third-party solutions used to compose solutions. The latest example of this came just a few weeks ago, when a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/index/mixpanel-incident/">security incident</a> occurred with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mixpanel.com/home/">Mixpanel</a>, a data analytics provider. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.globaldata.com/store/report/agentic-ai-market-analysis/">According to GlobalData,</a> we've now entered the hyper-growth stage of agentic AI. That means everything is accelerating, and that includes the propensity for problems. As the earlier MIT report indicated, friction is a necessary component for assuring the performance of AI – and the same holds true for data privacy and governance. This is not a time to rely on generic, unproven tools; we need performant, well-maintained solutions from trusted sources. This is where vendors like Storyblok are positioning themselves not just as AI-powered platforms – but AI partners in success. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-more-guidance-on-storyblok?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for more guidance on Storyblok? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Talk to an expert.</a></h4><hr /> <h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets 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>

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