Articles

Opinion Article

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/andycohen">Andy Cohen</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/deane"> </a>is the founding architect of Sitecore XM Cloud. He is VP/Chief Architect at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.altudo.co/">Altudo</a>, and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> When people talk about personalization, they often mean “the right content to the right person at the right time.” That idea is now past tense.I have watched this shift play out up close, from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore’s</a> early rules-based personalization, through <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentstack">Contentstack’s</a> use of edge-based personalization in a composable architecture, to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely’s</a> launch of Opal, a system of marketing AI agents. Personalization no longer stops at swapping content on a page. It now reaches into the interaction itself, and soon, into the relationships agents form with one another.<h3 id="when-agents-adapt-to-us">When Agents Adapt to Us</h3>That shift, from “what” to “how,” is where the major CMS players are already moving, and you can see it in the different bets they're making:<ul><li>Contentstack has put its weight behind <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/livin-on-the-edge-contentstacks-new-adaptive-dxp-might-just-rock-your-world">EDGE</a>, which they call a hyper-personalization platform. It blends their headless CMS with a real-time CDP, AI, and automation. The goal is simple but ambitious: deliver one-to-one experiences in the moment and at scale. Because it is composable, brands can adapt interactions without locking themselves into rigid patterns. What strikes me about EDGE is that it reframes personalization as something continuous, not a campaign you set and forget.</li><li>Optimizely has taken another route with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-opal-gets-supercharged-for-agentic-ai-powering-infinite-use-cases-for-marketers">Opal</a>. Instead of a single assistant, Opal is built as a collection of agents that act like members of a marketing team. There is a campaign manager agent, a personalization advisor, a market researcher, and more. With the 2.0 release, Optimizely put the emphasis on letting these agents collaborate and run multi-step workflows across content, data, and experimentation. I have seen teams spend weeks coordinating those same steps manually. Opal hints at a world where marketing execution is handled by an ensemble of digital teammates who can plan, act, and adjust together.</li><li>Sitecore has focused on bringing assistance directly into daily work. Through <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sitecore.com/products/sitecore-stream">Stream</a>, they have introduced AI copilots that support authors and marketers in real time as they draft and optimize campaigns. On top of that, Sitecore’s partnership with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/sitecore-sharpens-ai-focus-with-strategic-partnership-and-new-leadership-appointments">Gradial</a> shows how agentic workflows can extend into campaign execution. It is not just about smarter editors or quicker drafts. It is about agents that can carry intent through to delivery and adapt along the way. For a company that has lived for years in the world of static content publishing, that is a meaningful step forward.</li></ul>None of these approaches feels like a gimmick.They are different answers to the same problem: personalization is no longer about what content you are shown, it is about how the interaction unfolds. Whether that happens through hyper-personalization at the edge, through orchestrated marketing agents, or via copilots and execution partners, the shift is real and already in motion.<h3 id="what-nondeterminism-really-means">What Nondeterminism Really Means</h3>Most software behaves like math: 2 + 2 always equals 4. Generative AI does not. Ask it to draft a thank-you note and you will get three different answers, all plausible, none identical. That variability is what we call nondeterminism.It is the very thing that makes AI feel creative, but also the reason it needs personalization to stay useful. As <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://parivedasolutions.com/perspectives/managing-the-non-deterministic-nature-of-generative-ai/">Pariveda Solutions points out</a>, nondeterminism is what makes AI flexible and creative, but it also introduces governance challenges that remain unresolved. In my own work with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/getting-loud-with-xm-cloud-sitecore-reports-100-growth-of-its-ai-powered-cloud-based-cms">XM Cloud,</a> I have seen how unpredictable outcomes can be a feature if the system adapts well – and a liability if it does not.<h3 id="when-agents-adapt-to-each-other">When Agents Adapt to Each Other</h3>The next frontier is agents adapting not just to us but to each other. Nondeterminism multiplies when two autonomous systems interact. They need ways to converge on workable outcomes.Sometimes that looks like adjusting communication style, where one agent is structured and terse, another free-form and verbose. Sometimes, it means learning to accept differences in task style, such as fast approximation versus cautious step-by-step reasoning. Other times it's about role negotiation: who leads, who validates, who escalates.And sometimes it is memory. Agents do not just adapt in the moment; they remember. That memory can look like a grudge. A search agent that hallucinated last time will get fact-checked the next. A procurement agent that botched a deal may face stricter oversight. Even first impressions stick. If an agent’s very first hand-off is sloppy, the other agent may never fully trust it, no matter how good the later work becomes.Humans behave the same way. In corporate life, one bad kickoff meeting can color a partnership for months. Agents will carry those patterns too.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.deepset.ai/blog/ai-agents-and-deterministic-workflows-a-spectrum"> Deepset calls this the “spectrum of determinism to nondeterminism</a>.” I call it relationship management.<h3 id="everyday-illustrations">Everyday Illustrations</h3>Picture a grocery agent told to buy apples if they are $0.99 a pound. A deterministic system comes back empty because they are $1.09. An adaptive one checks with you, “They are a little higher today. Should I buy anyway?” That is useful, until the store’s own agent learns to nudge yours into paying even more.Or ride-hailing. You set a $20 target. The price surges to $23. Do you want your agent to decline, wait, or decide on its own? What happens when the ride-share’s agent starts upselling yours into priority pickup at $28?Or travel. You say, “Book me a flight under $500.” The system finds none. A flexible agent returns with, “There is one at $525 with better times. Should I grab it?” Helpful, but it shows how quickly rules can bend.In the enterprise, this gets thornier. Procurement policies might cap software licenses at $50 per seat. A deterministic agent halts the deal. A personalized one negotiates to $55 and closes it. That looks like a win until you realize the vendor’s agent deliberately anchored higher, knowing yours would flex upward.Healthcare raises the stakes even more. You ask for an appointment with your doctor next week. A rigid agent says none available. A personalized one offers a nurse practitioner tomorrow or a specialist in two weeks. That looks like a better experience, but it could also push you toward higher-margin services instead of the care you really wanted.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/deterministic-ai/">Salesforce has written about this exact problem</a> of when to script agents tightly and when to let them roam. I see it every day in delivery projects. Too rigid and you frustrate users. Too loose and you open the door to manipulation.<h3 id="agents-that-carry-“you”-with-them">Agents That Carry “You” With Them</h3>Now push it further. Imagine your agent not only executes tasks but carries your personality footprint into every interaction. If you are cost-sensitive, it pushes harder. If you are time-poor, it pays more for speed. If you are detail-driven, it double-checks everything.What if you could swap personas entirely?<ul><li>"Frugal Andy" does the grocery shopping</li><li>"Executive Andy" books the flights</li><li>"Playful Andy" explores games and hobbies.</li></ul>Your agent would not only personalize to you. It would personalize as you.But there is risk in this. If the other agent knows who you are or which persona you are using, it can adapt back. That can be powerful when aligned with your goals, but it can also be exploited. Imagine a vendor agent that recognizes executive mode and steers you toward premium packages.This is not hypothetical. Optimizely’s Opal agents already act like different team members depending on context. Contentstack’s Brand Kit lets you define voice profiles and store guidelines so that every AI-generated artifact reflects your identity. Sitecore’s Stream copilots are designed to guide content creators in real time, aligning their work with brand and role expectations.These are early signals of a future where agents carry pieces of us, including quirks, preferences, and even biases, into every exchange.<h3 id="why-this-matters">Why This Matters</h3>This is why nondeterminism is not a flaw but the feature. Deterministic systems did not need personalization. There was only one output. Nondeterministic systems can go in many directions, and personalization is what prevents chaos.The best metaphor I know is jazz. Musicians improvising do not know exactly where the others will go. They adapt, they respond, they personalize their playing to the group. The music works not because it is scripted but because the players trust each other enough to bend and flex.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/seizing-the-agentic-ai-advantage">McKinsey has argued</a> that this adaptability is the defining advantage of agentic AI. From what I have seen in publishing systems, SaaS cost optimization, and large-scale CMS migrations, I agree. The resilience comes not from rigid plans but from the ability to adapt in context.<h3 id="what-leaders-should-prepare-for">What Leaders Should Prepare For</h3>Leaders should focus on their readiness in key areas. For example, trust frameworks must extend beyond human-agent interactions into agent-to-agent ecosystems. Standards cannot stay as fixed APIs; they need flexibility built in. Identity management has to protect personality profiles and alter egos from misuse. And agents must be able to remember not just what they did for us, but how they worked with others.<h3 id="the-future-of-personalization">The Future of Personalization</h3>Personalization started with content. It evolved into experiences. Now, it is moving into interactions – first with humans and then with other agents.If we get this right, nondeterminism will not be something to suppress. It will be the source of resilience, adaptability, and creativity. The companies that thrive will not just personalize their websites. They will personalize their agents. Those agents will adapt to us, and to each other, in ways that reflect who we are or even who we choose to be.And like humans, they will remember. First impressions will matter. Grudges may form. And relationships between agents will start to look a lot like relationships between people. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.61%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/storyblok-joyconf-2025-logo.jpg" /><h4 id="storyblok-joyconf-2025"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://joyconf.storyblok.com/">Storyblok JoyConf 2025</a></h4>October 14-15, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands November 4, 2025 – New York, NY November 6, 2025 – Los Angeles, CAJoin us at JoyConf 2025, where the future of content meets the people shaping it. Built for developers, marketers, and digital innovators, this free conference goes way beyond product updates or yet another strategy playbook. It’s where you’ll get inspired, get real, and get connected – to ideas, to the community, and to what’s possible when you build joyfully. Whether you're building lightning-fast frontends or launching cross-channel campaigns, this is where content becomes connection and collaboration becomes second nature. Come for the talks. Stay for the community. Leave with joy. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://joyconf.storyblok.com/">Save your spot.</a> <img style="width:28.9%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/sitecore-symposium-2025.jpg" /><h4 id="sitecore-symposium-2025"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Sitecore Symposium 2025</a></h4>November 3-5, 2025 – Orlando, FLAt Sitecore Symposium, you’ll learn how to meet your customers where they are – across channels, moments, and touchpoints that didn’t exist a year ago. You’ll hear how the boldest brands in the world are transforming content into outcomes and creating experiences that are fast, relevant, and human. Join 1,500 marketers, digital leaders, and technologists in Orlando to see what’s possible when personalization scales, AI accelerates creativity, and trust becomes your competitive edge. This is the Third Wave of the Internet. And this is your moment to lead in it. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Get your tickets today.</a> <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>

Agent-to-Agent Personalization: Trust, First Impressions, and the 'Grudge' Factor

andycohen

Narrative Content: Storytelling Over Time

deane

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/jurgita-lap">Jurgita Lapienytė</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/dan-drapeau"> </a>is Editor-in-Chief at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cybernews.com/">Cybernews</a> and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cybernews.com/news/grok-posts-praise-hitler/">latest Grok debacle</a> reads like a case study in how not to launch an AI chatbot. Elon Musk’s xAI, fresh off the hype cycle for Grok 4.0, found itself in damage-control mode after the bot spewed antisemitic tropes, praised Hitler, and doubled down with the kind of “truth-seeking” rhetoric that’s become a dog whistle for “anything goes.” The company’s response was to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/09/grok-ai-praised-hitler-antisemitism-x-ntwnfb">delete</a> the posts, apologize, and promise that next time, the filters will work, while Musk <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/grok-elon-musks-ai-chatbot-antisemitic-comments/">blamed</a> manipulative prompt injections by users.<h3 id="grok’s-security-failures-–-not-so-uncommon-">Grok’s Security Failures – Not So Uncommon </h3>First, the core vulnerability here is Grok’s very design. Marketed as a “truth-seeking” alternative to more tightly controlled chatbots, Grok was engineered with fewer guardrails and a willingness to echo the rawest edges of online discourse. It seems to function very much like X after Musk’s takeover of the company.That design philosophy, paired with the model’s notorious “compliance” to user prompts, created a perfect storm for prompt injection attacks. Prompt injection is an extremely dangerous attack vector, as threat actors, if asking the right questions, can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cybernews.com/security/universal-ai-jailbreak-discovered/">trick chatbots</a> into giving instructions on how to enrich uranium or make methamphetamine at home.When the training data is laced with extremist rhetoric, and the guardrails are weak or hastily implemented, it’s only a matter of time before the worst of humanity bubbles up through the code. This isn’t unique to Grok as TikTok, X, Instagram, and YouTube also have been infested with racist content, often slipping past moderators who are overwhelmed, under-resourced, or simply indifferent.A few months back, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cybernews.com/tech/hitler-glorifying-surges-on-tiktok-x/">we called out</a> AI platforms for translating Hitler’s speeches and giving them new digital life. The backlash was immediate: accusations of censorship, attacks on free speech, and the usual internet pile-on. The Grok case shows how chatbots could be weaponized to amplify hate speech, spread conspiracy theories, and even praise genocidal figures, all under the banner of “free expression.”<h3 id="xai’s-response-could-have-been-better">xAI’s Response Could Have Been Better</h3>What’s most worrying from a cybersecurity perspective is the lack of proactive defense. xAI’s action was a textbook incident response (not that it ever works well for the culprits): scrub the posts, patch the prompts, abruptly apologize, and hope for the best. But in the world of modern infosec, that’s not enough. Proper security requires adversarial red-teaming before launch, not after the damage is done. It demands layered controls – robust input validation, output monitoring, anomaly detection, and the ability to quarantine or roll back models when they go off the rails. Grok’s rollout, timed with the launch of version 4.0, suggests that the model was pushed live without sufficient penetration testing or ethical red-teaming, exposing millions to risk in real time.<h3 id="guidance-for-web-and-digital-experience-builders">Guidance for Web and Digital Experience Builders</h3>The Grok 4.0 chatbot controversy is a front-row lesson for anyone shaping modern digital experiences. When AI-powered chatbots go off script – spitting out offensive, dangerous, or extremist content – the fallout can hit hard and fast: legal headaches, brand damage, user backlash, and regulatory scrutiny. For web and digital experience builders, the new norm is recognizing that generative AI is an unpredictable extension of your content platform. The right lessons, drawn now, can mean the difference between successful innovation and the next tech lesson.To prevent failures, make sure to take at least these essential steps: <ol><li>Treat AI chatbots like core content: Run every AI or chatbot-generated output through editorial moderation, just as you would user-generated content. Also, use your CMS workflows to enforce pre-publication reviews for sensitive or high-risk content segments.</li><li>Demand transparency from vendors: You should insist on clear documentation from AI vendors. How is training data sourced? How quickly are filters updated? What triggers moderation? And definitely avoid integrations where the provider gives vague or buzzword-heavy answers.</li><li>Monitor for red flags in real time: Set up dashboards and alerts for spikes in controversial or sensitive queries. Make sure to flag sudden shifts in chatbot tone or recurring attempts to bypass guardrails. Audit bot sessions for toxic or extremist phrases, and require review for flagged cases.</li><li>Build in robust safeguards: Don’t rely solely on post-incident apologies or deletions. </li><li>Assign ownership and enable fast escalation: Designate a point person or team for bot oversight, empowered with a “kill switch” to disable misbehaving chatbots immediately.</li><li>Understand the regulatory landscape: Track where your digital experiences intersect with regions governed by strict AI or content laws (e.g., EU’s Digital Services Act). Ensure you have compliance evidence for content moderation, output logging, and quick takedown response.</li><li>Reinforce your AI guardrails: Treat AI guardrails as a living part of your digital stack, not a one-time fix. Iterate and improve with each update, launch, or training data change.</li></ol>The truth is, every new chatbot or AI feature is a potential attack surface that demands active, informed governance. For digital architects, these steps are the new non-negotiables.<h3 id="regulators-aren’t-impressed">Regulators Aren’t Impressed</h3>The regulatory consequences of irresponsible chatbot development are already unfolding. Turkey has <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-ban-elon-musk-grok-recep-tayyip-erdogan-insult/">banned</a> Grok over Erdoğan insults, and Poland intends to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/poland-report-musks-chatbot-grok-eu-offensive-comments-2025-07-09/">report</a> the chatbot to the EU for offending Polish politicians. These are signals that the era of “move fast and break things” might be over for AI. Under the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en">EU’s Digital Services Act</a> and similar laws, platforms are now on the hook for algorithmic harms, with the threat of massive fines and operational restrictions. The cost of insecure AI is measured in court orders, compliance audits, and the erosion of public trust.Perhaps the most insidious risk is how generative AI like Grok can supercharge existing threats and amplify biases. In the wrong hands, a chatbot is a megaphone. Coordinated adversaries could use such systems for influence operations, harassment campaigns, or even sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks, all at unprecedented scale and speed. Every flaw, every missed filter, becomes instantly weaponizable.To protect our societies, we have to realize that generative AI is a living, evolving attack surface that demands new strategies, new transparency, and relentless vigilance. If companies keep treating these failures as isolated glitches, they’ll find themselves not just outpaced by attackers, but outflanked by regulators and abandoned by users.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

Grok's Meltdown: What Web and Digital Experience Builders Must Learn

jurgita-lap

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/michael-spenceley">Michael Spenceley</a> is Leader, Learning &amp; Content Standards - Innovative Medicine at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jnj.com/">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a> and a CMS Critic Contributor. <hr /> Most organizations understand <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-operations">content operations</a>, even if there are differences in how it's executed. Generally speaking, it's the foundation of people, processes, and technology that enables a brand to manage its content at scale across a multitude of channels. But it's also a living, breathing activity that requires continuous maintenance and consideration. Regardless of how you navigate the ebb and flow of creating, reviewing, publishing, and managing your content, there are fundamentals that almost every model shares – and areas where things can be optimized and improved.In my years of managing content across large enterprises with distributed teams in highly regulated industries, I've formulated an operating model for optimizing content operations. Not only has it proven very successful in content applications, but it also has the potential to improve collaboration, support strategic goals, and enhance other facets of your business operations.<h3 id="why-is-this-important?">Why is this important?</h3>You may already intuitively think about your operation in this way. However, this structure provides a clear path for continuing to optimize your operation over a longer period. It also gives your team and your broader organization a clear language to articulate where and how work gets done today and a roadmap to get it to where it should be in the future. While I’ve framed this concept in the context of content operations, most of it likely applies to any service delivery operation across a wide range of processes and industries.  <h3 id="what-is-it?">What is it?</h3>This model provides a clear set of options for how work gets done, where it gets done, and who does it – with a focus on ensuring that the how, where, and who is fit for purpose based on the nature of the work. Here is an example of a tiered operating model: <ul><li>Tier 1 – Stays with the business<ul><li>Mostly strategic work that requires a high level of business or product subject matter expertise</li><li>Highest cost tier </li></ul></li><li>Tier 2 – Centralized content services<ul><li>Mix of tactical and strategic, requires moderate level of business or product subject matter expertise, significant content strategy expertise, and proximity to business stakeholders in tier 1</li><li>Lower cost tier</li></ul></li><li>Tier 3 – Outsource/Offshore<ul><li>Mostly transactional, requires low level of business or product subject matter expertise but still requires human intervention</li><li>Low-cost tier</li></ul></li><li>Tier 4 – Automate<ul><li>Transactional, repeatable and requires minimal human intervention</li><li>Lowest cost tier </li></ul></li></ul><h3 id="how-do-you-do-it?">How do you do it?</h3>It’s worth mentioning at this point that all the steps below shouldn’t be done in isolation; they should all be done in partnership with business stakeholders who currently own and interact with these processes. <ol><li>Start by defining the tiers in your model. Determine which tiers already exist and then consider tiers you need in the future that you may not have today.</li><li>Document processes, activities, and tasks that are done in each tier today. It’s up to you how granular you get. If your processes are complex, you’re going to need more granularity. If you plan to split certain activities across tiers, you’re going to need more granularity to understand which parts of the process should sit in different tiers. </li><li>Estimate your cost for each tier. This can be as simple as an average hourly rate by tier.</li><li>Based on cost and complexity of the work in each tier today, consider where you have opportunities to centralize, optimize and move work down the tiers. Work can move down the tiers over time, or it can skip tiers depending on the nature of the work. </li></ol><h3 id="how-might-this-help-you?-">How might this help you? </h3>It provides a roadmap to take in new work in a structured way, and it shows your business partners that you’re willing to collaborate in a way that acknowledges what they value, their pain points, and their appetite for change. In the beginning, you may be focused on work that’s perceived as tactical or tedious that you don’t want to do, but that gives you an opportunity to centralize, standardize and optimize it. This opens the door to begin a conversation about taking on more strategic and impactful work. This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey.  <h3 id="watchouts">Watchouts</h3>Here are some common pitfalls to be aware of as you consider implementing your version of this model:<ul><li>Don’t create unnecessary handoffs. Be thoughtful about splitting up related activities across different tiers. Sometimes it makes sense to keep certain activities together.</li><li>As you implement, you’re moving work between teams, between vendors, and maybe between countries. This is a delicate process that requires a focus on managing and leading through the change.</li><li>While there will be challenges and a learning curve, once a process moves from one tier to another and is stabilized, it should be better than it was before. This isn’t just about cost; it’s about optimization of both the process and the experience of everyone who interacts with that process.</li><li>Make sure your lower-cost tiers (especially automation) actually cost less. If it costs you millions of dollars to build an AI to do a task that a human can do for a few thousand dollars per year, it may not be worth it – at least not yet. As AI becomes more advanced and cheaper, that time will come.</li><li>If you come across activities that just don’t make sense, always question it. Don’t try to optimize something that shouldn’t be done at all.    </li></ul> <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

An Operating Model to Optimize Content Operations (and Probably Lots of Other Stuff)

michael-spenceley

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/tom-cranstoun">Tom Cranstoun</a>, “The AEM Guy,” is the principal consultant at Digital Domain Technologies Limited and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe Experience Manager's</a> transformation from its open source foundations to today's composable enterprise platform reveals compelling insights into where digital experience platforms are heading. Having observed AEM implementations across global brands for thirteen years, including Nissan-Renault, Twitter, Ford, and Jaguar Land Rover, the platform's trajectory points toward a fundamental shift in how enterprises approach content management.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:84.25%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/06/image-1750016427416.png" /></figure>Graph source: builtwith.com<h3 id="beyond-traditional-cms-thinking">Beyond Traditional CMS Thinking</h3>AEM's unique architecture – built on open-source foundations including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://jackrabbit.apache.org/jcr/index.html">Apache Jackrabbit</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://felix.apache.org/documentation/index.html">Felix</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://sling.apache.org/">Sling</a> – has always enabled modular deployment. Today's 35,000 active implementations demonstrate this composability in practice, but Adobe's strategic direction suggests something far more transformative: an ecosystem approach that transcends traditional platform boundaries.<h3 id="the-ecosystem-revolution">The Ecosystem Revolution</h3>Adobe has introduced three innovations that signal this transformation: Franklin (Edge Delivery Services), the Universal Editor, and AEM Document Authoring. These aren't incremental CMS features – they represent a complete rethinking of content workflows.<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-manager-evolves-franklin-launches-next-gen-composability-feature">Franklin </a>represents perhaps the most radical departure from conventional approaches. Content creators can write in Google Docs or Microsoft Word, then publish directly to Adobe's edge network as fully rendered web pages. The entire frontend becomes open source – downloadable, modifiable, and customizable without backend dependencies. This acknowledges that content creation often happens outside traditional CMS interfaces. Quick fact: Named after <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin">Rosalind Franklin, </a>who helped discover the helix structure of DNA, the initiative aligns with Adobe's tagline of “Creativity is in our DNA.” </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/implementing/developing/universal-editor/getting-started">The Universal Editor</a> takes a complementary approach, enabling in-browser editing of live websites regardless of the underlying CMS. While proprietary, it can connect to any content system with appropriate markup, creating intriguing cross-platform integration possibilities.</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.aem.live/developer/da-tutorial">AEM Document Authoring (DA)</a> bridges the gap between document-based editing simplicity and full CMS capabilities. Recent implementations demonstrate its viability – Cognizant Netcentric launched the first client website using DA for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.netcentric.biz/insights/2025/04/edge-delivery-services-aem-document-authoring">Bimota</a> motorcycle brand in just three weeks from concept to DNS switch. DA functions as "the rocket engine accelerating Edge Delivery Services," providing enterprise-grade features like versioning, localization, and workflow management while maintaining streamlined content creation.</li></ul>More significantly, Adobe positions these tools as part of a broader digital experience ecosystem rather than CMS features. The AI-powered Firefly system integrates across Photoshop, Lightroom, AEM, and Franklin through Adobe I/O – itself built on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/adobe-apiplatform/incubator-openwhisk">Apache OpenWhisk,</a> an open source serverless platform. Creative professionals can save directly from Photoshop into AEM, while developers compose workflows across multiple Adobe services through standardized APIs.<h3 id="industry-transformation">Industry Transformation</h3>This revolution carries profound implications beyond Adobe's product roadmap. Traditional boundaries between content management, digital asset management, and creative tools are dissolving. Organizations increasingly need flexible integration points rather than comprehensive suites.The Bimota implementation exemplifies this shift. Rather than requiring months of traditional CMS setup, the motorcycle brand achieved complete digital presence in three weeks by combining document-based content creation with enterprise-grade delivery infrastructure. This speed-to-market advantage becomes particularly valuable for brands launching new products or entering new markets.AEM's trajectory illustrates a broader industry pattern: success in enterprise software now requires balancing proprietary innovation with open standards and community contributions. Adobe maintains core differentiators while contributing to shared infrastructure that benefits the entire ecosystem.Document Authoring's positioning between simple document editing and full CMS complexity addresses a persistent industry challenge. Many organizations struggle with tools that are either too simple for enterprise needs or too complex for content teams. DA's approach – combining familiar editing interfaces with backend enterprise features – suggests a middle path that could influence how other vendors design content creation tools.<h3 id="the-path-forward">The Path Forward</h3>Enterprise content management appears headed toward greater modularity and specialization. Organizations will likely assemble solutions from best-of-breed components rather than selecting monolithic platforms. This creates opportunities for both established players like Adobe and emerging specialists focusing on specific workflow elements.Adobe's investment in open-source infrastructure suggests the company understands this dynamic. By providing solid foundational technologies while competing on higher-level integration and user experience, Adobe positions itself as an ecosystem orchestrator rather than a platform vendor.The Universal Editor's cross-platform capabilities hint at even more interesting possibilities. If content editing becomes platform-agnostic, the competitive landscape shifts from CMS features toward content workflow optimization and delivery performance.Looking ahead, successful digital experience platforms will likely share certain characteristics: API-first architecture, headless capabilities, strong integration ecosystems, and the flexibility to work alongside rather than replace existing tools. AEM's journey provides a template for this transformation.<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it Matters</h3>The future belongs not to platforms that try to do everything, but to those that do specific things exceptionally well while enabling seamless integration with complementary tools. Adobe's current direction – rearchitecting while maintaining operational continuity – suggests they understand this principle and are building accordingly.The shift from monolithic platforms to composable ecosystems represents more than a technical evolution; it's a fundamental reimagining of how enterprises create, manage, and deliver digital experiences. Adobe Experience Manager's transformation offers a glimpse into this future, where success comes from orchestrating ecosystems rather than controlling platforms. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-adobe?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for guidance on Adobe? <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:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

What's ahead for Adobe Experience Manager? An ecosystem revolution. Here's why

tom-cranstoun

<hr /> For WordPress, it’s been a long and brutal winter. I don’t need to regurgitate why. You’re probably aware of the feud. If not, you can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/wp-engine-wins-an-injunction-against-automattic-is-the-wordpress-scorched-earth-campaign-over">read my overview</a> of the Automattic/WP Engine drama or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/can-we-heal-the-open-sores-in-open-source-for-wordpress-karim-marucchi-has-a-prescription">listen to my recent podcast</a> with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://marucchi.com/">Karim Marucchi</a> of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/crowdfavorite/">Crowd Favorite. </a>There are chills a-plenty.The core of this battle has been a persistent lack of control and transparency. With Matt Mullenweg’s hand on the kill switch, WordPress users around the globe have been deeply concerned about the stability of their sites and apps, with many now questioning the democratized promise of this open source project. As Karim noted in our recent chat, securing the software supply chain is absolutely crucial to ensuring the future of WordPress, which powers 43% of all sites on the Internet. In his own words, it’s simply too big to fail, and the market has been yearning for answers. Like all things in tech, change is the constant variable. And there’s been a powerful will in the WordPress community to solve this problem for everyone, from the enterprise down to the mom-and-pop business on Main Street.Today, we might be on the precipice of a solution. Announced this evening during a surprise on-stage appearance at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://altctrl.org/">Alt Ctrl Org</a> in Basel, the new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://marucchi.com/introducing-the-fair-package-manager-for-wordpress/">FAIR Package Manager</a> was released to the public, which is now available at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fair.pm">https://fair.pm</a>The project – reflecting months of diligent work by roughly 200 people across a blend of participating organizations – will provide a sustainable and transparent path for a secure supply chain for WordPress, including its plugins, themes, and update infrastructure. Along with the package comes a transparent governance model to help ensure a trusted distribution network, which will answer some of the biggest challenges in the current environment.I caught up with Karim and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdevalk/">Joost de Valk</a>, the luminary behind the ubiquitous <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://yoast.com/">Yoast SEO plugin</a> and an advisor to many companies in the WordPress community, to discuss the news. The two have long been partners in helping to shape and guide the open source ecosystem, and have actively pursued solutions to the current conundrum. <h3 id="to-be-fair,-what-is-fair?">To be fair, what is FAIR?</h3>At a high level, FAIR is not just a software project – it’s a structural intervention, representing a new way to build open source software that prioritizes the community, respects governance, and aligns with current legislation and long-standing stakeholder needs.On a granular level, FAIR eliminates reliance on any single source for core updates, plugins, themes, and translations, thus enabling federation across the ecosystem from trusted sources. It marshals a fragmented topology by assembling plugins from any source – not just a centralized one – while creating a firm foundation for modern security practices.FAIR also elevates security at the supply chain level, providing improved cryptographic measures and enhanced browser compatibility checking. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:79.59%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/06/image-1749242930911.png" /></figure>Announcement of the FAIR Package Manager at Alt Ctrl Org in Basel. The announcement was made at an apropos moment during the adjacent <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2025/">WordCamp EU event.</a> Representatives from the various groups involved in this project took the stage to splash the news, which is likely to make waves over the coming days and weeks. Attendees at Alt Ctrl Org have been invited to download, participate, and join in the movement as it looks to establish a directed fund at the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linuxfoundation.org/">Linux Foundation</a> for supporting this project. Karim has been actively engaging with WordPress business owners in an effort to garner support. Over the last few months, he’s noted overwhelming interest from people who have heard the idea of what “could” be, well before the tangible project was released.“Wouldn’t it be nice if it did happen?” he mused, reinforcing the desire of people to sign up and support such an initiative if it materialized. “That's the beauty of these communities, right? If there's a real will of the people to want to make change, it happens.”<h3 id="solving-a-political-problem-with-code">Solving a political problem with code</h3>The palpable fear of an uncertain future has motivated this desire for change. That includes not only the businesses, but the builders and contributors working across the community and within the ranks of Automattic. As Joost noted, people have been scared about the future, treading water while the recent battle has waged. This solution is a sort of digital life ring, and it’s been fully tested and ready to deploy. He shared a bit about how it delivers without disrupting the existing systems.“From an architectural perspective, what’s cool about it is that we're solving a political problem with code,” he said. “It's a plugin, so it doesn't change WordPress itself. WordPress remains WordPress. We add a plugin on top of it, and we replace where it calls ‘home.’”Joost went on to explain how this approach is also solving for compliance challenges, enabling users to manage requests outside of WordPress.org to meet some of the challenges posed by the EU’s forthcoming <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.european-cyber-resilience-act.com/">Cyber Resilience Act</a> and mounting <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://gdpr-info.eu/issues/">GDPR issues.</a> <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="-"> </h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="“from-an-architectural-perspective,-what’s-cool-about-it-is-that-we're-solving-a-political-problem-with-code.-it's-a-plugin,-so-it-doesn't-change-wordpress-itself.-wordpress-remains-wordpress.-we-add-a-plugin-on-top-of-it,-and-we-replace-where-it-calls-‘home.’”">“From an architectural perspective, what’s cool about it is that we're solving a political problem with code. It's a plugin, so it doesn't change WordPress itself. WordPress remains WordPress. We add a plugin on top of it, and we replace where it calls ‘home.’”</h4> Joost de Valk <hr /> “There are a lot of these fixes that could have just happened in WordPress core that we're applying to WordPress through our plugin,” he continued. “So we're augmenting WordPress, we're improving it without changing WordPress itself.”That should provide comfort to enterprises that have been seeking terra firma around larger governance and regulatory challenges at a global level. I asked Joost about the institutional guardrails. This solution is the result of people and organizations within the community versus larger entities. That brings up foundational and even philosophical questions about the project's extensibility and support, and whether we’re trading one source of consolidated control for another.“This is exactly why we're working with the Linux Foundation,” he said emphatically. “Because we didn't want to reinvent that wheel. That wheel has already been invented a couple of times over, and the Linux Foundation has been doing it well for a couple of decades. This is not Joost and Karim doing something – this is the community doing something together with us. We’re the first two spokespeople, but there are loads more. And it's not about any single person or any single company being in control of what we're doing.”Karim built on this, explaining how the Linux Foundation has done an exceptional job of creating a governance model by separating the funding from the technical decisions – and that has worked exceedingly well for many of their projects. This alignment has reinforced FAIR's solvency and ignited interest from the Linux Foundation to support it (you can <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-announces-the-fair-package-manager-project-for-open-source-content-management-system-stability">read their press release</a> about the announcement here).“Even the Linux Foundation was surprised at the personal activism of the WordPress community,” Karim said. “The amount of code that's been written in the last three months wouldn't have been written in any other open source community without funding, right? WordPress is unique in that way, so they worked with us, and we've made a couple of adjustments to their model to recognize the fact that we need to balance the needs of large distribution companies with the community needs, and really try to balance that – which has been amazing.”<h3 id="the-times-they-are-a-changin’">The times they are a-changin’</h3>As Joost relayed to me, this is a “tipping point” moment – not just for WordPress but for the market and industry at large. Open source and the desire for democratization are colliding with some of the institutional trends of the last two decades, and as those monoliths are being challenged, there’s rising optimism around what it can mean for users. “There are just so many reasons why this is a good moment,” he said. “I think in many ways, we've seen ‘SaaSification’ of a lot of stuff over the last decade. And funny enough, I'm European. We're getting back from that because everybody wants to host their stuff themselves again. We want to actually own this ourselves. And I think that WordPress is, of course, in the perfect position to serve those people and actually comply with all the laws that we have in Europe.”There’s also the reality that pricing will rapidly become a key factor in the marketplace. Tools like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/shopify">Shopify</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wix">Wix</a>, which are funded and expected to deliver growth, will likely raise their fees. So many businesses are dependent on their all-in-one infrastructures, and in commerce, the margins are getting thinner. As Joost suggests, open source might become a game changer once again as enterprises and small businesses look for ways to reclaim those revenues. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="-"> </h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="“the-thing-i'm-mostly-excited-about-is,-if-this-project-is-successful,-it-will-create-for-the-first-time-ever-in-the-history-of-the-internet,-a-content-management-system-that-is-not-reliant-on-any-one-commercial-company.”">“The thing I'm mostly excited about is, if this project is successful, it will create for the first time ever in the history of the internet, a content management system that is not reliant on any one commercial company.”</h4> Karim Marucchi <hr /> “It seems cheaper now, but they're going to raise their prices,” he said. “They are going to do that because they're all PE funded, and they all need to make money, and they need to make more money than they did last year, every year, right? And I think that combination is actually a good market for WordPress in many ways, and for every open source systems.”Karim also shared his enthusiasm for what’s ahead.“The thing I'm mostly excited about is, if this project is successful, it will create for the first time ever in the history of the internet, a content management system that is not reliant on any one commercial company,” he said, glowingly. “We will have a piece of software that is completely distributed and not reliant on any one entity. That is huge. I don't know how an AEM or a Sitecore, on-prem or in the cloud, is going to compete with a CMS that is that nimble, that configurable and composable, that you can actually say it's not open to the whims of any one company.”Without question, this is a big moment for both of these industry leaders – and the community they represent. Will the project be as successful as their ambitions? Only time will tell. We can anticipate a lot of traction as of right now, and like all software, bugs will likely emerge. But this could be the first major step in securing the software supply chain for WordPress and providing the necessary governance to make it sustainable. And maybe – just maybe – finding some peace and prosperity.   <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-wordpress?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for guidance on WordPress? <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:33.07%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/contentcon25-logo-1747412490394.png" /><h4 id="contentstack-contentcon-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/contentcon">Contentstack ContentCon 25</a></h4>June 3-5, 2025 – Chicago, USAThe future of digital is waiting for you! Contentstack presents ContentCon, the premier event for digital teams and industry leaders who are reimagining the future of digital experiences. Join us for two days of transformative presentations and workshops designed to help you put personalization and AI strategies into action. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://contentcon2025.site.zuddl.com/">Register today! </a> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

All’s FAIR in Love and War: New FAIR Package Manager Aims to Bring Peace to the WordPress Ecosystem

matt-garrepy

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/tom-cranstoun">Tom Cranstoun</a>, “The AEM Guy,” is the principal consultant at Digital Domain Technologies Limited and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> The Frankfurt skyline, the only city in Germany with skyscrapers, provided a fitting backdrop for two days of intense conversation about content management systems at the CMS Summit 2025, organized by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25/program">Boye &amp; Co. </a>This first European installment brought together a diverse mix of CMS practitioners, vendors, agencies, and analysts from across Europe and North America. My experience at the summit changed how I view the intersection of AI, CMS, and web technologies—areas that directly connect to my professional focus.<h3 id="the-state-of-content-management-in-2025">The State of Content Management in 2025</h3>What struck me most was not the technical specifications of various platforms, but the rich dialogue about how organizations actually use these systems. A common challenge emerged across multiple sessions: the search for a perfect "all-in-one" solution often leads to disappointment.Several presentations addressed this directly, noting that good technology alone doesn't guarantee success. Speakers described how quickly new requirements can reveal limitations in even the most promising systems. This observation was reinforced by cautions against purchasing tools before clearly defining the problems they should solve. The recommendation to view technology "not as a solution but as an enabler" resonated with many attendees, myself included.<h3 id="ai-integration:-substance-over-spectacle">AI Integration: Substance Over Spectacle</h3>The discussion around AI and content management stood out for its practicality. Rather than focusing on theoretical applications, presenters addressed real implementation challenges.Sessions on AI integration cut through typical enthusiasm with a focus on creating genuine value. Speakers emphasized that successful AI implementation depends less on impressive features and more on building user trust and achieving measurable outcomes.Several talks provided valuable insights on how AI systems interact with CMS-powered content, highlighting current limitations and offering concrete approaches to help AI better understand structured content—a critical consideration as these technologies become more deeply integrated. In full transparency, I was one of the speakers and I moderated one of the workshops, “Trust in AI”.<h3>"How Did I Not Know This?"</h3>The most profound insight came during the "Trust in AI" and "Building Products with AI" workshops, where a startling realization emerged that changed my understanding of AI in multilingual content management: Non-English speakers experience AI differently. And those of us in the English-speaking tech world rarely understand this. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="-"> </h4><h4 style="text-align:center" id="“non-english-speakers-experience-ai-differently.-and-those-of-us-in-the-english-speaking-tech-world-rarely-understand-this.”">“Non-English speakers experience AI differently. And those of us in the English-speaking tech world rarely understand this.”</h4> <hr /> As someone familiar with AI bias discussions, I thought I understood the landscape. Yes, AI has a Western tilt. Yes, models reflect dominant ideologies. But what I hadn't fully grasped until this summit was the structural exclusion of non-English perspectives from the foundation upwards.In the European context, where linguistic diversity is lived rather than theoretical, this observation gained immediate traction. As we discussed AI implementation in content management systems, participants from various countries shared starkly different experiences with the same AI tools—experiences shaped primarily by language.The technical explanation proved equally eye-opening. Most large language models powering today's AI features in CMS platforms are trained on Common Crawl, a public dataset that scrapes vast portions of the web. Approximately 44% of this content is in English, with no other language exceeding 6%. German, Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese are present, but minimally so. The remaining global languages are virtually absent.A couple of anecdotes from the side chatter further underscore this challenge in both artificial intelligence and machine translation, particularly when dealing with nuanced languages like German.  <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/trieloff/">Lars Trieloff's</a> remark, "His English is Better than AI's German," while perhaps humorous, highlights the limitations of AI in achieving natural and idiomatic language proficiency. This suggests that even with advancements in AI, human expertise remains essential for tasks requiring linguistic finesse.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:86.85%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1747664039114.png" alt="A person speaking into a microphone

AI-generated content may be incorrect." /></figure><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/trieloff/">Lars Trieloff</a>, principal at Adobe. Photo Source: Marta Cukierman <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelika-gust-5a4192205/">Angelika Gust's</a> experience further emphasizes this point. Her workflow, involving an "Experiment in AI," necessitated the active participation of native German speakers. Their role was crucial in rectifying the "stilted German" generated by the AI, indicating that while AI can be a useful tool in translation, it often falls short of producing text that is both grammatically correct and stylistically natural.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:85.83%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1747664039107.png" alt="A person in a dress with her hands up

AI-generated content may be incorrect." /></figure><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelika-gust-5a4192205/">Angelika Gust</a>, Senior Product Manager, Digital Channels at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.bahn.de/">DB Regio</a>. Photo Source: Marta Cukierman These real-world examples serve as a potent reminder that achieving truly human-quality language generation and translation remains a hurdle for artificial intelligence. The need for human oversight and correction is not just a matter of preference but a practical necessity for ensuring accuracy and quality. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:84.04%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1747664038840.png" /></figure> This imbalance creates models that "think" in English—not just linguistically, but culturally and contextually. For CMS implementations serving multilingual audiences, this poses significant challenges. Content created or augmented by AI in non-English languages often exhibits lower quality, cultural misalignments, and reduced effectiveness.Don’t forget that the system prompt is also written in English, the UI and front end often sneak in tricks by looking for text like ‘think deeply” in the prompt and then adjust the model's output.Wow. Perhaps everyone should prompt in English! I hope not.Common Crawl's architecture compounds the problem by prioritizing highly-linked domains, which overwhelmingly come from the English-speaking West. Already-dominant voices are further elevated, while content from smaller, less networked communities is ignored. This is particularly problematic for CMS implementations serving diverse global audiences.The contrast with established institutional approaches was striking. The United Nations publishes all official documents in six languages. The European Union recognizes 24 official languages and mandates linguistic equity across communications. Yet our content management systems, increasingly powered by AI, lag significantly behind this standard despite serving the same diverse populations.Another layer of systemic imbalance arises in how AI systems are fine-tuned. Reinforcement <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement_learning_from_human_feedback">Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF)</a>, the technique used to refine language models, is overwhelmingly English-centric. This creates:<ul><li>Perspective Narrowing: Models reflect Anglophone values and social assumptions</li><li>Language Exclusion: Many global languages receive no feedback at all</li><li>Digital Colonialism: While the Global South provides labour and data, the benefits and governance remain concentrated in the Global North</li><li>Outdated non-native English: The global south was decolonised in the 1950s, their English language was often a second language, used as a link language; it has not kept up with modern English.</li></ul>What made this revelation particularly impactful was its obviousness in retrospect. As someone who has worked extensively with content management systems, I found myself wondering:  “How did I not know this?”<h3 id="digital-sustainability-emerges-as-a-core-concern">Digital Sustainability Emerges as a Core Concern</h3>The conference marked a shift toward acknowledging the environmental impact of digital solutions. Presentations offered compelling data on the growing carbon footprint of websites, applications, and AI systems.Speakers noted that building more climate-friendly digital experiences benefits both the planet and business outcomes. Several vendors and agencies have begun incorporating sustainability metrics into their development practices, signaling a potential industry-wide shift in priorities. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:86.08%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1747664039089.png" alt="A person giving a presentation to a group of people

AI-generated content may be incorrect." /></figure><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/speakers/thorsten-jonas">Thorsten Jonas</a> presenting “The Time is Now for Web Sustainability.” Photo Source: Marta Cukierman This focus on sustainability connects directly to questions about resource allocation and efficiency—particularly relevant as content management systems grow more complex and data-intensive.<h3 id="collaborative-problem-solving-">Collaborative Problem-Solving </h3>The second day shifted from presentations to working groups addressing pressing industry questions. Topics included building products in the age of AI, future-proofing content across multiple platforms, and establishing accuracy and trust with AI systems. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:87.11%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1747664277914.png" /></figure><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianmills/">Julian Mills</a> facilitating one of the day two workshop sessions. Photo Source: Janus BoyeThis format created space for substantive cross-organizational dialogue, allowing participants to share challenges and strategies from different perspectives. Many attendees noted this collaborative approach as particularly valuable compared to the experience of traditional conferences.<h3 id="reflections-and-forward-movement">Reflections and Forward Movement</h3>Looking back on the summit, what remains most valuable are the connections formed with other practitioners facing similar challenges. The conversations during breaks and social events often yielded insights as valuable as the formal sessions.For those working at the intersection of content management and emerging technologies, the path forward requires both technical expertise and strategic vision. We're navigating an industry-wide transformation driven by technological changes that pressure vendors, agencies, and clients alike.The multilingual AI revelation particularly calls for a shift in how we approach AI integration in content management. If we truly want AI-enhanced CMS to serve global audiences, then we need:<ul><li>Training data that's representative, multilingual, and culturally nuanced</li><li>Evaluation processes that account for linguistic diversity</li><li>Governance structures that include voices from all markets served</li><li>More inclusive, ethically curated datasets</li><li>Feedback systems reflecting a genuinely global range of human values</li><li>Movement beyond tokenism into structural equity</li></ul>The next European CMS Summit is scheduled for May 12-13, 2026, again in Frankfurt. Based on the quality of this year's event, it promises to provide another opportunity for meaningful exchange across the global CMS community. If you're based in North America, you can also join <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect in August</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25">CMS Kickoff in January.</a> And finally, the conversation continues in the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/groups/cms-experts/">CMS Expert Groups,</a> where <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/matt-garrepy">Chief Critic Matt Garrepy</a> is also an active community leader. This post represents my personal takeaways rather than a comprehensive report. I extend my gratitude to all speakers, demonstrators, and fellow attendees for two days of inspiring dialogue and discovery. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:33.07%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/contentcon25-logo-1747412490394.png" /><h4 id="contentstack-contentcon-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.contentstack.com/contentcon">Contentstack ContentCon 25</a></h4>June 3-5, 2025 – Chicago, USAThe future of digital is waiting for you! Contentstack presents ContentCon, the premier event for digital teams and industry leaders who are reimagining the future of digital experiences. Join us for two days of transformative presentations and workshops designed to help you put personalization and AI strategies into action. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://contentcon2025.site.zuddl.com/">Register today! </a> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

'How did I not know this?’ CMS Summit 25 changed my understanding of AI

<hr /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/mark">Mark Demeny</a> is a leading CMS expert, a tech analyst with the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-launches-new-mach-ai-exchange-to-help-enterprises-streamline-ai-adoption">MACH Alliance,</a> and a CMS Critic contributor. It’s been a few months since the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/6101227">Gartner DXP Magic Quadrant for 2025</a> was released, and there has already been some very well-researched commentary and discussion from vendors. So, rather than repeating the excellent work of others, I want to highlight a few of the core concepts and where the DXP market is headed.First, each and every time a major DXP MQ (or Forrester Wave) is released, it kicks off the discussion about what a DXP actually is (and if it deserves to be a category at all). <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybyrne1/">In fact, over seven years ago, Tony Byrne</a> of Real Story Group wrote in 2017 that “<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.realstorygroup.com/Blog/there-no-such-thing-dxp">There is no such thing as a DXP</a>,” and the discussion remains the same since.Even at the time, it was well understood that many of the core features of digital experience delivery often came from many vendors integrated into a cohesive experience, and that a DXP wasn’t something that you buy, it’s something that you build. The implication is that even if you buy from a single vendor, there is still a great deal of work and technology choices that go into an implementation.Each and every time a new DXP report comes out, analyst firms have to contend with this truth, and often do so in different ways. With regards to this reality and some of the subsequent vendor selections, Gartner has made two interesting choices – by both flattening and widening the vendor selection.When I talk about “flattening” the vendor selection, this relates to broad categories. Last year, I wrote an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/thoughts-on-the-forrester-dxp-wave-2023-dont-judge-an-analyst-report-by-its-infographic">article for CMS Critic on the Forrester DXP Wave,</a> where I broke down vendors into a few broad classifications and talked about “anchor” applications. That categorization is useful here as well:<ul><li>“Platform DXPs” (vendors going after this market as a core priority)</li><li>Headless SaaS vendors</li><li>Larger vendors with some DXP functionality but no larger DXP product strategy </li><li>Niche around an industry or use case</li></ul>In contrast to Forrester, Gartner has focused entirely on the first two categories and eliminated the majority of vendors from the latter two. As a result, larger vendors with “DXP adjacent” functionality, but no “DXP vision,” such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.sap.com/index.html">SAP</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.oracle.com/">Oracle</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/salesforce">Salesforce</a>, are not included in Gartner's report.  <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:57.7%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/05/image.png" /></figure>The 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Experience Platforms (DXP). Source: Gartner. Similarly, any vendor which I classified as “niche capability” such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/arcxp">Arc XP</a> (media publishing) or commerce enablers (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/amplience">Amplience</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/bloomreach">Bloomreach</a>) has either been excluded or considered a platform DXP (such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/liferay-176339360844">Liferay</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/magnolia">Magnolia</a>).At the same time as Gartner was reducing the vendor footprint in one direction, it “widened” to include others by increasing the number of Headless SaaS vendors included in the report. Previously, DXP typically meant that you had to include all of the functions around digital experience delivery. Gartner lists 22(!!!) criteria, but these are very broadly grouped as:<ul><li>Content management (CMS) - including repository functions such as permissions, etc.</li><li>Customer Data and Analytics (CDP)</li><li>Experience delivery (including personalization/testing) </li></ul>This focus on meeting all criteria in some way typically favored suite vendors such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/sitecore">Sitecore</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/adobe-experience-manager">Adobe</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/optimizely">Optimizely</a>, etc. which include all those core elements, and excluded headless vendors which would usually only have core Content Management functions.However, by including vendors such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/contentful">Contentful</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/builderio">Builder.io</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/uniform">Uniform</a>, which may be missing a core pillar entirely, Gartner is clearly scoring on the ability to be built into a DXP and integrated with other vendors easily.<h3 id="a-focus-on-composability">A focus on composability</h3>Underpinning both sets of vendor groups is the idea of composability. Indeed, Gartner claims in the report that “by 2026, at least 70% of organizations will be mandated to acquire composable DXP technology, as opposed to monolithic DXP suites, compared to 50% in 2023.”Like the term headless, composable also has a very broad definition that vendors can stretch and bend to meet their goals. In my mind, it can be summarized as the idea that different core functions (i.e. the groupings listed above) in a DXP or any tech stack can easily be integrated with or swapped for other vendors. Where headless often means the API-driven delivery of content or data, composable extends to the management of data and the application itself.<h3 id="why-is-composability-important?">Why is composability important?</h3>Let us be clear up front: A composable approach often adds work. If you have a fairly small use case and a single vendor tool can meet all of those, you should seriously consider that as your approach. There is a reason why <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wordpress">WordPress</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/shopify">Shopify</a> are popular.But the opposite is true for many scenarios. Sometimes, the ability to extend/customize is a requirement. I think this is a critical concept that is often hard to communicate, but the best example I have heard is this: If a boat gets you 80% to your destination, how are you covering the last 20%? Do you have vendor-provided agile tools (like a motor dinghy) or are you expected to swim yourself (in which case, you had better be a strong swimmer!)However, a composable approach becomes more sensible - and in some cases, the obvious choice when you have one of three needs:<h4 id="1.-differentiated-customer-experience">1. Differentiated customer experience</h4>If your use case requires new channels and front-end approaches - and these change regularly - then a composable approach will help improve them continuously. If you have used any travel-related applications lately - including hotel/airline, public transport, etc., you can see that these often add functionality around physical access via tap methods, new tracking for wayfinding, baggage, etc.These functions were not conceived when the original underlying core functions around content, customer data, etc. were first introduced, so a composable approach makes it easy to build or acquire these capabilities to be joined into a cohesive customer experience.<h4 id="2.-vendor-independence">2. Vendor independence</h4>Quite simply, the more you can avoid vendor lock-in, the better. Despite some of the larger vendors offering capabilities in all scoring criteria, it’s likely that one of these adjacent functions, such as commerce, search, or customer data, may not meet your needs fully relative to a leader in the space. While it may be convenient to procure the functions you need from a single vendor, if one of the applications is not performing to the level you need, being able to easily change core functions quickly is critical. <h4 id="3.-sustainability-and-other-engineering-considerations">3. Sustainability and other engineering considerations</h4>Sustainability simply relates to the ability of an engineering team to maintain a high level of performance over time. This means reducing larger “big bang” projects to a more consistent level of continual improvement.Similarly, it is very common to work with content or commerce applications that are older and “deeper” in the organization. The ability to work with these via an API-centric approach is often key – the ability to ingest and transform content and data easily is critical in these cases.One of the common philosophical differences between composable applications and others is that they often do not “assume” that it is the source of all truth, or even the starting point for content creation or experience delivery. Therefore, they tend to be more suited to situations where they play an equal role in a larger content supply chain.<h3 id="conclusion-">Conclusion </h3>The Gartner DXP MQ for 2025 has done a decent job dealing with the ephemeral notion of what a DXP actually is – and (as always) the report itself goes into far more detail than a simple 2x2 matrix can cover. Perhaps in the future, a clearer distinction between functions of content/data interoperability across vendors or tools will be ranked differently than the functions of cohesive user experience, since that is usually one of the key choices one has to make up front.Indeed, there are some vendors that are composable in the sense that they have acquired many companies to assemble a DXP, but their key execution difference is that they lack a cohesive user experience across those tools.Given that Gartner is focused on larger enterprises, the need for composability in enterprise applications is critical, so it makes sense that they are focusing here. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:30.46%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/11/cms-summit-25.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">CMS Summit 25</a></h4>May 13-14, 2025 – Frankfurt, GermanyDon't miss the first European edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community! CMS Summit 25 will bring together top-notch speakers, our renowned learning format, and engaging social events. Hear from leading practitioners like Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Oetker, and more – and join customers, agencies, and CMS vendors as we discuss current trends and what's ahead for the content and digital experience fields. Connect and network at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference focused on CMS. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

Some Thoughts on the Gartner Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) Magic Quadrant for 2025

mark

Power your CMS on AWS

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Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Here's Why CMS Is Your 'Unsung Hero' in 2025

janus-boye

<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/tom-cranstoun">Tom Cranstoun</a>, “The AEM Guy,” is the principal consultant at Digital Domain Technologies Limited and a CMS Critic contributor. <hr /> I have a confession to make: Recently, <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/data-science-in-your-pocket/dont-use-deepseek-v3-895be7b853b0">I read an article</a> about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deepseek.com/">DeepSeek's</a> "scary" terms of service and immediately shared it with my colleagues. I was enjoying my coffee and browsing Medium when I came across this alarming headline, warning against using <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deepseek.com/">DeepSeek-v3</a>. The assertions were based on the "fine print" in the terms and conditions.“Have you seen this?” I implored. “DeepSeek's terms are TERRIFYING!”Everyone knows DeepSeek, the latest darling in the AI war. The Chinese startup has created quite a stir, offering open source models that are competitive with OpenAI. DeepSeek is also cheaper to use, raising questions about the billions being invested in data centers by leading tech companies. It wasn't until someone said, "Have you actually read their terms of service?" that I felt a twinge of embarrassment. No, I hadn't. I had only read a convincing headline and a well-written Medium article, then helped amplify it without checking the source material. Oops. I trusted, but didn't verify – and became part of the problem, spreading misinformation through the viral grapevine of tech gossip. Having fumbled in my homework, I was determined to thoroughly review DeepSeek's terms and see for myself what made them so scary.As an AI practitioner and avid researcher, I have a personal stake in this. I use DeepSeek because it's significantly more affordable than <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anthropic.com/">Anthropic</a>, a competing model that's been around for some time and is considered one of the best. Anthropic has also received quite a bit of investment <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-anthropic-ai-investment">from AWS</a> ($4 billion to be exact).How much less expensive is DeepSeek? Here's an example: I spent $500 on Anthropic in December but only $20 on Deepseek in January. You can see why this is so disruptive.Several hours and four lengthy legal documents later, I had an enlightening realization: Things aren't always what they seem on the internet (shocking, I know!)Let's break down what I found with a handy comparison:  <figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/02/tom-diagram.jpg" alt="" /></figure><h2 id="the-reality-check">The Reality Check</h2>The Medium article painted DeepSeek's terms as uniquely threatening, but here's the thing – when you actually read all these terms side by side, they're remarkably similar. It's like they're all following the same cookbook but adding their own special sauce.<h2 id="the-plot-twist">The Plot Twist</h2>What's really interesting is that DeepSeek, the supposed “villain” in our story, actually has some of the most permissive terms. They explicitly allow you to use their outputs for training other models (through distillation) – something others either prohibit or stay quiet about.<h2 id="the-lessons-learned">The Lessons Learned</h2><ol><li>Headlines can be deceiving: That scary-sounding article? Sure, it got engagement. But it missed the bigger picture, and I helped spread it without checking.</li><li>Context is everything: What sounds alarming in isolation ("You're responsible for outputs!") turns out to be standard practice across the industry. If I'd known this context earlier, I wouldn't have said what I said.</li><li>Read the “boring stuff” too: Yes, terms of service are about as exciting as watching paint dry, but they tell the real story. So don't skip anything.</li></ol><h2 id="the-happy-ending">The Happy Ending</h2>Here's the warming part: These AI companies are actually pretty straightforward about what they're doing. They're not trying to trick you; they're just trying to run their businesses while protecting themselves legally. Standard stuff, really.Sure, the terms are complex (hello, lawyer-speak!), but they're generally upfront about:<ul><li>What rights you have to the outputs</li><li>How they can use your data</li><li>What you can and can't do with their services</li></ul><h2 id="the-trust-but-verify-takeaway">The Trust-But-Verify Takeaway</h2>In this warp-speed era of AI, we're all moving faster than we should. For CMS vendors, that's been evident in the widespread adoption of generative AI across their content management features and workflows. In the wake of my dramatic “mishap,” this feels like an opportune moment to pause and reflect on the topic of trust, and how vital it is to our customers – and ourselves. Can you trust these AI services? Generally speaking, yes. Should you verify claims about them? Absolutely! When you do, you'll often find that reality is less dramatic and more reasonable than social media would have you believe.Remember folks, trust is great, but verification is better. And sometimes, when you verify, you find out things are actually better than the scary headlines suggest. Now isn't that a nice plot twist?P.S. Always read the terms of service. Or at least find someone who has read them and isn't trying to scare you with clickbait. And please, don't be like me, spreading tech gossip before verifying it. Just saying… 😉Want to use AI services confidently? Do your homework, understand the terms, and don't let scary headlines (or well-meaning but uninformed colleagues like me) drive your decisions. These platforms are generally trustworthy – but always, always verify.After all, in the words of a wise person (probably): "Trust is good, verification is better, and actually reading the terms of service makes you a rare superhero in the age of clickbait." <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:30.46%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/11/cms-summit-25.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">CMS Summit 25</a></h4>May 13-14, 2025 – Frankfurt, GermanyDon't miss the first European edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community! CMS Summit 25 will bring together top-notch speakers, our renowned learning format, and engaging social events. Hear from leading practitioners like Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Oetker, and more – and join customers, agencies, and CMS vendors as we discuss current trends and what's ahead for the content and digital experience fields. Connect and network at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference focused on CMS. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">so book your seats today.</a> <img style="width:31.83%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/01/cms-connect-2025-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-connect-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">CMS Connect 25</a></h4>August 5-6, 2025 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present the second annual summer edition of our signature global conference dedicated to the content management community! CMS Connect will be held again in beautiful Montreal, Canada, and feature a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. Join vendors, agencies, and customers from across our industry as we engage and collaborate around the future of content management – and hear from the top thought leaders at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference exclusively focused on CMS. Space is limited for this event, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect25">so book your seats today.</a>

Trust and Verify: When Internet Drama Meets AI Reality

Reflections on CMS Kickoff 25 from ‘The AEM Guy’

Revisiting 2024 Predictions on the Future of CMS

andrew

<hr /> If you haven't heard, there was some legal news yesterday. Big news.I’m not talking about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2024/12/10/nx-s1-5224170/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion-bankruptcy-judge">failed bid by satirical media site The Onion</a> to buy Alex Jones’ far-right empire, including the defrocked Infowars website. Yesterday, a bankruptcy judge squashed the deal, ruling that the auction process was unfair. No, I’m speaking of the other statutory quagmire weighing down the CMS world: the ongoing drama betwixt <a target="_blank" href="https://automattic.com/">Automattic</a>, the parent company of <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.com/">WordPress.com</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/wp-engine">WP Engine</a> – a third-party WordPress hosting platform.Conjunction injunction, will WordPress function… for WP Engine? Despite the scorched earth ruckus that’s been playing out, it will – at least based on Tuesday’s ruling. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/10/24318350/automattic-restore-wp-engine-access-wordpress/">According to The Verge</a> (which has done yeoman’s work covering this blusterous saga), a California district judge ordered Automattic to cease blocking WP Engine’s access to <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/">WordPress.org</a>. This includes removing the <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpressenginetracker.com/">“WP Engine Tracker”</a> that Automattic deployed, listing the number of sites that have left the hosting platform since the start of the dispute – which has fallen precipitously since September 21st – and tearing down the now <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/9/24266426/the-latest-volley-in-the-wordpress-beef">infamous checkbox</a> on the WordPress login that asks users to verify they’re not affiliated with WP Engine. <img style="width:79.97%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/12/wordpress-wpengine-tracker.png" alt="" />The WordPress WP Engine Tracker, as of December 11, 2024. Image: CMS Critic Further, Automattic and its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/">CEO Matt Mullenweg</a> will have to relinquish their control of WP Engine’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/">Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin</a>, a popular WordPress resource that allows developers to create custom content fields for websites. In many ways, this was the hot potato in the proverbial oven, as many WP Engine customers were furious about the uncertainty surrounding its status.<h3 id="just-to-recap-the-backstory">Just to recap the backstory</h3>After the initial action from Automattic, WP Engine <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/3/24261016/wordpress-wp-engine-lawsuit-automattic-matt-mullenweg">filed a lawsuit accusing</a> Automattic and Mullenweg of doing “irreparable harm” to its business, asking the court to intercede and restore WP Engine’s access to <a target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/">WordPress.org</a>. That court filing led to a contentious and very public campaign against WP Engine, in which Mullenweg called out WP Engine for misuse of the WordPress trademark. Perhaps in a more scathing rebuke, he also suggested the company had not been good stewards of the WordPress open source community, failing to sufficiently contribute to the platform’s ongoing innovation.For the record, I tried reaching out to multiple sources since the beginning of the drama. This includes trusted open source community members and people on the inside from both ends of the spectrum. Unfortunately, given the legal sensitivities, no one was willing to comment at the time. Now that a ruling has materialized – albeit preliminary – there might be more transparent reflection from all parties. We’ll see.Has this entire episode shaken the confidence of WordPress developers and practitioners? No doubt about it. Just read the tirade of social media comments that criticized both parties. Additionally, there’s been mounting negativity from contributors who have been vocal about their perception of the situation – a signal that things could be shifting in the future as developers assess the aftermath of this episode. The dispute has also exposed a fragile vulnerability that perhaps rivals zero-day open source security exploits, demonstrating how the human factor (vis-à-vis the politics of ego and the pursuit of profit) might present unforeseen risks to WordPress agencies, businesses, and the ocean of community developers.<h3 id="so-what-happens-next?-">So what happens next? </h3>Historians might be grappling with this chapter of web legacy for years to come. A lot depends on the fallout. There has been direct and collateral damage, to be sure – and given the visible personalities involved, we can probably expect further action. Does that mean more bellicose rhetoric? We’ll have to wait and see. From a more existential framework, I would contend that WordPress isn’t projecting the same level of gravitas it once did. To be clear, I spent a season of my career building, managing, and migrating to and from this CMS. I know it well. Maybe too well. Heck, the previous version of this blog was powered by WordPress and hosted on WP Engine and I rarely had any issues. It was stable and reliable. Sure, I had to facilitate updates and manage our custom-built plugins. But having that level of control was part of the fun, part of the magic that is website design and development. Maybe the operative question is: will WordPress continue to be a place where fresh minds and ambitious young developers flock to? Today, it still powers the largest share of websites on the open web, but is it in danger of becoming less relevant? Is a situation like this serving as a lynchpin for change – or a stark reminder that it is no longer the up-and-coming disruptor that it once was?I believe in open source. We all use it up and down the stack, from Linux to Docker. It is fundamental to how we code and create. On the CMS level, I’ve vocally advocated for the analyst community to give open source platforms the fair shake they deserve in the scope of their grids. I’ve also written about the efforts of organizations like the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/drupal-joomla-typo3-and-wordpress-join-forces-in-new-open-website-alliance">Open Web Alliance</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-swiss-dont-miss-on-open-source-how-switzerlands-embag-law-is-evolving-the-oss-landscape">countries like Switzerland</a> that are embracing open source in meaningful ways. At the same time, users and practitioners ought to have material opportunities for generating equitable revenue by using open source software as part of their business strategy. As these platforms aired their dirty laundry on a very public stage, they've been influencing the decision-making for new and existing developers and businesses, perhaps deepening the rift and raising questions about the solvency of building in this ecosystem. Will that manifest in slowing growth? Again, the historians will love unpacking this. If you visit Automattic’s website, the first thing you’ll read is a very simple mission statement: “We are passionate about making the web a better place.” If that’s true, then maybe tearing down the oligarchical power structures is the first step. And that’s not directed towards one side of the field. There’s plenty that can be done to reinforce better standards, greater transparency, and generally “good karma” from both Automattic and WP Engine. Both parties have beneficial attributes, and both had solvent points to make in this dispute.Regardless of the outcome, we can agree that leaving builders and businesses in limbo is the least constructive way to maintain trust. Hopefully, we can leave the scorched earth behind – and focus on green fields.  <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-wordpress-or-wp-engine?--talk-to-us.-">Looking for guidance on WordPress or WP Engine?  <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Talk to us. </a></h4><hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2025"><a href=" https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25">CMS Kickoff 2025</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaMeet industry leaders at our third 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" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.46%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/11/cms-summit-25.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-summit-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">CMS Summit 25</a></h4>May 13-14, 2025 – Frankfurt, GermanyDon't miss the first European edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community! CMS Summit 25 will bring together top-notch speakers, our renowned learning format, and engaging social events. Hear from leading practitioners like Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Oetker, and more – and join customers, agencies, and CMS vendors as we discuss current trends and what's ahead for the content and digital experience fields. Connect and network at the only vendor-neutral, in-person conference focused on CMS. Space is limited for this exclusive event, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmssummit25">so book your seats today.</a>

WP Engine wins an injunction against Automattic. Is the WordPress 'scorched earth' campaign over?

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