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<hr /> Every Thanksgiving, my father – our family’s resident storyteller and spinner of fish tales – revisits his 2011 trip to Brazil over a zesty slice of key lime pie. My favorite chapter takes place in the Amazon Basin, where he and an intrepid crew of tourists venture through the densely majestic canopy to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHayUyK-d94">Lago da Piranha</a>. This freshwater lake is a hidden gem, but it's also home to the world’s unfriendliest denizens of the deep. There’s video from the outing, and I think our paternally-carved turkey reminds him of a raw chicken being lowered into the darkly calming waters, where he and his group witness a little carnage. Tethered to some high-test fishing wire, the bird descends just below the surface of the lake. There's a scuffle. The water roils. Minutes later, the chicken is pulled back up – or what’s left of it.This snippet from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Monsters">River Monsters </a>will give you an idea of what went down:  <figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21hfQYJ5mfU"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21hfQYJ5mfU" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure> Right now, AI is eating clicks like the residents of Piranha Lake. It’s been vicious. The rise of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-overviews/">Google’s AI Overviews</a> and the proliferation of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://thedigitalbloom.com/learn/2025-organic-traffic-crisis-analysis-report/">zero-click searches</a> have decimated website traffic – and publishers have been hit the hardest by this shift.I won’t revisit all the gory details. There's plenty of data about AI answers replacing blue links and rewriting the search experience. Some sites are fighting AI companies in court, others are building partnerships and trying to adapt to the new normal. Either way, swimming in this lake is treacherous, and it feels more like treading water in a red, chum-filled sea.I just read <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/miannelli/">Michael Ianelli’s</a> dynamite article about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://scrunch.com/blog/surviving-the-clickpocalypse-ai-eating-the-news/">surviving this “clickpocalypse,”</a> and it was every bit as harrowing as that chicken being lowered into the darkness. As the principal data scientist at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/crunch-time-for-ai-visibility-sitecores-acquisition-of-scrunch-gives-brands-an-edge-beyond-aeo">Scrunch (now a Sitecore company),</a> he’s working on the front lines of this existential shift for brands. He and his team did a deep dive into AI’s impact on human visits to news and publishing sites, analyzing millions of events between February and June of this year. This was done via an opt-in panel connecting anonymized AI conversations, Google searches, and publisher visits.What did they find? Well, in a word, weirdness. Yes, AI is devouring traffic – ferociously. But it’s also eating clicks in one place and returning visits in another.I found this revelation compelling, but it also exposed a bigger problem for marketers: conventional analytics can identify the last stop before a visit, but not necessarily the first source of influence. In other words, we’re back to chasing the shadow of attribution.I spent time reviewing this data, and I have a few reflections on what stands out and how we might adapt to it. One thing is clear: marketers are swimming with uncertainty. And it really bites. <h3 id="crunching-the-impact-of-ai-overviews">Crunching the impact of AI Overviews</h3>One of the first revelations in the research is perhaps the most profound: news searches with an AI Overview (AIO) convert to a publisher click roughly 20% of the time, versus 30% without one. As Michael suggests, that 10-point gap is the basis for this whole “clickpocalypse” narrative.But when Scrunch compared the same query appearing with and without an AIO, the difference shrank to around two percentage points. That’s awfully close to zero. In other words, Google isn’t so much reducing the clicks as deploying AIOs in searches where they were already sparse.Some other juicy nuggets surfaced in the research. For example, across news searches, AIOs appear roughly one time in four. But with low-value "almanac" queries – commodities like weather, market prices, definitions, and explainers – it’s much higher.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:86.02%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/scrunch-3.png" /></figure>Source: Scrunch But here’s the rub: these all had relatively low CTRs to begin with. Weather, for instance, had a 59% AIO rate, but only a 13% CTR when no generative overlay was present. Interestingly, searches about war and geopolitical topics hold the middle ground. A currently popular topic like elections, for example, gets an AIO 14% of the time, with a 26% CTR. Sports is a bit more anomalous; it's an almanac entry that only gets an AIO about 5% of the time. But it also appreciates 53% of publisher clicks without an AI overlay.This can feel like a lot to process, but the through line is reasonably clear. AI Overviews can reduce clicks on an individual search, but the gap is also influenced by the kinds of queries on which Google chooses to display them. We’re strangers in a strange land. Or… a piranha-infested lake. <h3 id="ai-referral-traffic-tells-only-part-of-the-story">AI referral traffic tells only part of the story</h3>And this is an important point. According to Scrunch, only 1.1% of the news site visits that followed an AI conversation carried a direct AI referral. Meanwhile, roughly three-quarters of the traffic arrived via direct navigation, with the rest coming from traditional search and referrals. So what about that 98.9%? Is it a result of AI?  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:85.14%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/scrunch-2.png" /></figure>Source: Scrunch Not so fast. Referral analytics record the immediately preceding source, but not everything that shaped the decision. AI influence can disappear when someone later searches for a brand, enters its URL, uses a bookmark, or visits through another platform. As a result, traffic influenced by AI may be incorrectly credited.This is clearly an attribution blind spot. AI referral traffic measures delivery, but it doesn’t necessarily measure influence. It’s a real hardship for publishers, as modern referral dashboards simply can’t tell you if AI shaped a later search or a direct visit. <h3 id="ai-search-may-be-feeding-an-invisible-marketing-funnel">AI search may be feeding an invisible marketing funnel</h3>While it might not be altogether shocking, Scrunch discovered that when readers engage on a news topic with an AI assistant, they visit more news sites the following week. In fact, after comparing each reader against their own behavior (news versus non-news conversations), people are 20.5 percentage points more likely to visit a news site after talking to AI about news. As Michael says, the conversational AI story isn't that AI answers have completely replaced publishers – it's that the answer often becomes one step inside a larger news journey, one that doesn’t necessarily end on the open web. The problem is that conventional analytics can’t fully visualize this. There’s a key “causality caveat” here. Someone discussing news with an AI assistant already has an implied interest in the topic, and the research doesn’t prove that AI generated entirely new demand. What it does show is that AI conversations and subsequent website activity can be connected even when referral analytics can’t see that connection. And herein lies the challenge: AI may be eating the visible click while still feeding parts of the funnel marketers can’t see.<h3 id="brand-strength-matters">Brand strength matters</h3>There are some revealing metrics in the research about which news publishers are capturing readers after an AI conversation. It’s worth perusing the associations that Scrunch uncovered – particularly where a news site is or isn’t mentioned in a prompt and whether a reader was already likely to visit that news site.What stood out for me was this: being named by AI isn’t the same as being chosen by a reader. That plays out in the data. According to Scrunch, major publishers make up 82% of the names that AI assistants deliver. 17% are mid-sized, and just 1% are niche.   <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:85.2%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/scrunch-4-1786732542850.png" /></figure>Source: Scrunch But here’s the deal: of the visits that land on a named news site, 97% are major publishers. Mid-sized brands are getting decent exposure, but readers simply aren’t choosing them. A week later, those same big players see a 22.9% lift in site visits. Mid-size, a little less than 9%.Bottom line? Brand strength is the bomb. Readers are choosing news outlets they recognize or have familiarity with. Add existing preferences, perceived authority and trust, or even paywall access they’ve already procured, and major publishers win out.<h3 id="what-should-marketers-and-brands-focus-on?">What should marketers and brands focus on?</h3>Scrunch offers some sage advice for surviving this “clickpocalypse,” and it applies to publishers and non-publishers alike. As Michael observes, the general rule is that AI exposure doesn’t necessarily look like AI traffic. Write that on a Post-it and stick it to your screen. Marketers are in a bind when it comes to AI referrals and attribution. A news site or product can get mentioned or recommended in an answer, but a consumer might show up a week later through direct navigation or traditional search. We can’t count on an attribution dashboard to connect the dots. There’s no back door for controlling the answer engines. The best shot a brand has is through influence – and this is where an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lutzfinger/2025/06/19/answer-engine-optimization-aeo--what-brands-need-to-know/">AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)</a> platform can provide deeper intelligence. Tools like Scrunch provide detailed recommendations for enhancing answer position, but they also enable marketers to measure brand mentions, track citations, gauge sentiment, and monitor an influence score. Most importantly, they shed light on the “why” and enable marketers to take real action. If this research tells us anything, it’s that being mentioned in AI isn’t the same as being chosen. While it’s increasingly clear that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://scrunch.com/blog/prompt-to-purchase-pipeline-how-ai-influences-buyer-behavior/">AI recommendations can have a direct impact</a> on how likely someone is to search for your products or visit your site, brand presence is the most important metric. Consumers make decisions based on credibility, reputation, and recognition across channels – so brands need to keep a watchful eye on more than AI.<h3 id="what-you-should-expect-from-your-cms">What you should expect from your CMS</h3>A big part of the AI visibility equation rests with your website’s content posture – and that waterfalls to the CMS. If it's worth its salt, your platform should help you control and maintain optimal structure and performance. In fact, some tools already provide a layer of AEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) readiness out of the box, helping marketers stay on point.First and foremost, audit the content in your CMS to ensure that you’ve addressed any outdated, contradictory, or incomplete information. The trouble with content debt is that it isn’t always visible, but AI has a way of finding it. The new breed of agentic CMS is making these audit sprints more efficient while streamlining the remediation.Along with governing a foundational content model and maintaining a source of truth across websites and channels, a modern CMS should allow specific content to be accessible to LLM crawlers and bots based on your internal policies (for example, gated publisher models might block certain pages). It should also support schema and machine-readable metadata without a lot of heavy lifting. Connecting your content performance with your analytics is going to be key. Some platforms have on-board visualization, but AEO platforms are aligning AI citations with the content assets that help influence them. Having this insight is becoming a non-negotiable.<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>I wouldn’t recommend swimming in Lago de Piranha, but it’s comforting to know that these fish don’t generally attack humans. So we’re safe. For now.It’s true: AI is consuming traffic clean off the bone. But as Scrunch’s data points out, there’s more to the story than just a feeding frenzy. AI is shifting clicks, redistributing them based on different variables. Despite this phenomenon, AI is also driving demand – and the brands that show up in AI answers are best positioned to win.This whole chapter of AI transformation is frustrating for marketers. Yes, agents are unlocking a world of productivity. But the game has changed. While attribution has always been a challenge, we're in unknown territory, wrestling with new tools and new thinking. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://medium.com/@jane.fazackarley/heres-google-s-guidance-on-aeo-but-it-s-only-half-of-the-story-2b74275df397">Google might not be sold on AEO</a> as a separate discipline outside of search, but marketers are full speed ahead on adopting it. Whether you’re a news site or an e-commerce shop, AI needs to be able to understand you. That means getting your content house in top shape for the growing audience of agents that are visiting your site. But what people do after your brand is surfaced – whether they visit you next week or next month or via different routes – relies on your overall brand presence. That’s why building credibility, trust, and recognition in other channels is essential to surviving the “clickpocalypse.” So stay vigilant. Embrace the strategies and improve your odds. Gain actionable insight from reputable tools. And don’t get eaten. <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf"><img style="width:34.57%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/07/joyconf-2026-logo.png" /></a><h4 id="storyblok-joyconf-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf">Storyblok JoyConf 2026</a></h4>October 28 - 29, Rheingoldhalle, Mainz (Frankfurt)JoyConf 2026 is where developers, marketers, and digital innovators come together from all around the world, united by one powerful idea: great content isn’t built by tools alone – it’s built by people who rely on systems to deliver their best work to the world. In an era where technology is increasingly shaped by AI, Content Confidence becomes your competitive advantage. When you can create, manage, and scale content that performs seamlessly across channels, platforms, and AI, you don’t just keep up – you win. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf">Book your seats today.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/"><img style="width:36.36%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/07/sitecore-symposium-2026.png" /></a><h4 id="sitecore-symposium-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Sitecore Symposium 2026</a></h4>November 10 - 12, Orlando, FloridaWelcome to “Marketing Rewired” at Sitecore Symposium 2026! Sitecore's annual flagship global conference brings together customers, partners, developers, marketers, and digital experience leaders to explore the latest innovations in digital experience, content management, AI, personalization, and customer engagement. This year's event features keynote presentations from Sitecore executives and industry experts, product announcements, hands-on learning, technical sessions, customer success stories, and networking opportunities focused on helping organizations build more intelligent, connected, and AI-powered digital experiences. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Book your seats today.</a>

AI is eating clicks. But is it feeding the funnel?

matt-garrepy

<hr /> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.author-it.com/resources/content-debt-technical-documentation">Content debt </a>isn’t like other kinds of debt. It’s quiet, sneaky, and compounds exponentially in the shadows – where no one’s the wiser. It often accrues on your website, but it can spread across your organization’s entire content ecosystem like a virus.We’ve known about content debt for a long time, lingering in the dark corners of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/google-cloud-platform">Google</a> where it can be conveniently ignored. Over time, it’s become a snowballing backlog of duplicated content, outdated topics, poorly structured text and terminology, and undocumented features. Like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_debt">technical debt </a>in software development, content debt charges you interest. And that hefty bill pumps an invisible brake on your operations, wasting your team’s resources and hurting both your search engine rankings and AI search visibility. And at a moment when <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/31/google-search-publishers-seo-geo-llms-ai">traffic is dying on the vine</a> – and more customers are turning to answer engines like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-overviews/">Google AI Overviews</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chatgpt.com/">ChatGPT</a> – it’s become a critical liability. But exactly how big is this problem? That’s what <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/lp/ft-longitude-content-debt-report">new research from Storyblok</a> endeavored to find out. The CMS vendor collaborated with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://longitude.ft.com/">FT Longitude (an arm of The Financial Times)</a> to shed some light on this question. And what they found ain’t pretty. According to a survey of 550 senior executives at organizations with at least $1 billion in annual global revenue, content debt is costing enterprises $4.63 trillion worldwide. You read that right: $4.63 trillion. That's bigger than Japan's GDP. A jaw-dropping stat by any measure.The question is: how do we even begin to pay down this debt?<h3 id="ai-search-exposed-the-problem-–-and-made-it-worse">AI search exposed the problem – and made it worse</h3>Prior to the modern AI explosion, content debt was out of sight and out of mind. Businesses could bury their old or low-quality content simply by de-indexing it, removing it from their navigation, or allowing only their most optimized pages to appear in search. So it persisted – but there were fewer routes to access it.But AI has, for all intents and purposes, blown this up. LLMs are like bloodhounds, sniffing their way to inaccurate information that’s often obscured or even forgotten. This could be old product data or misrepresented pricing that could surface in an AI search, resulting in poor customer experiences. And because organizations can’t directly control what an LLM surfaces, this content is proving to be a liability. As noted, this financial impact is harrowing. But the report also revealed some other compelling metrics. For example, 67% of executives say that poor content quality or structure is reducing their visibility in search and AI-driven discovery. A clear sign that enterprise leaders understand what’s happening and what’s at stake.Respondents also indicate that there's an average of $663.4 million in content debt per company, and they’re spending roughly $4.8 million fixing the problems – and that’s 34% of the total content spend.  <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:82.43%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/image.png" /></figure>Source: “Content Debt: A $4.63 Trillion Business Liability” report While the data includes a global sample, the U.S. dwarfs the rest of the world in its share of content debt. That’s not surprising given the density of companies in the region. But most large enterprises have multinational interests, and content debt is likely being amplified globally from the source. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:80.86%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1786503786276.png" /></figure>Source: “Content Debt: A $4.63 Trillion Business Liability” report There’s also some interesting data on a granular level. For example, executives in the Netherlands report the highest revenue impact from inaccurate or out-of-date content. Meanwhile, when viewed through an industry lens, this same problem disproportionately impacts the education industry. A likely conclusion? Many higher ed websites offer course materials or curriculum details that change frequently, and there’s likely a glut of digital residue left behind. As a result, education organizations report the highest proportion of content budget dedicated to addressing inaccurate or out-of-date content – and you can see below how this stacks up to other industries. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:82.64%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1786503786350.png" /></figure>Source: “Content Debt: A $4.63 Trillion Business Liability” report <h3 id="enterprise-leaders-are-finally-addressing-the-content-problem-">Enterprise leaders are finally addressing the content problem </h3>So who’s responsible for this crushing, out-of-control content debt? There’s plenty of blame to go around, but the bottom line is that brands weren’t motivated to solve the problem because they simply didn’t feel it. Now, after decades of letting it metastasize, enterprise leaders and executives are finally seeing the light. According to the research, 69% say outdated or inconsistent content is making it harder for customers to find, trust, or act on their information.It gets worse. The same number say that the lack of visibility into their content is creating a compliance risk for their organization, while 67% say poor content quality or structure is weakening their discoverability in AI search. This tracks with my own coverage of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lutzfinger/2025/06/19/answer-engine-optimization-aeo--what-brands-need-to-know/">AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)</a> becoming a boardroom mandate, and how enterprise leaders are demanding enhanced content strategies as part of the new marketing playbook.  Additionally, 89% of respondents say that improving the quality, structure, and governance of their content would deliver measurable business value for their organization. They’re already trying to do this, with organizations spending (on average) 105.4 hours each week maintaining existing content. <figure class="image image_resized" style="width:81.83%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1786503786301.png" /></figure>Source: “Content Debt: A $4.63 Trillion Business Liability” report Perhaps the most troubling data point concerns the sheer volume of content that most enterprises are grappling with. According to the data, 78% of respondents say their organization has more digital content than it can realistically maintain as accurate, relevant, and up-to-date. That’s scary.<h3 id="can-the-content-debt-crisis-be-solved?">Can the content debt crisis be solved?</h3>In the report, there’s a question posed to a C-level technology executive, asking what they would do if they had an extra $1 million per year to spend on content. Their answer: “The first investment would be AI tools that update outdated content automatically, so customers always receive fresh and correct information.”This crystallizes the urgency and friction that leaders face when coping with the content debt crisis. But spending more on technology and remediation may not be the answer. Instead, enterprises should prioritize efficiency over reactive buying or strategies.Further, 69% of executives agree that improving their content strategy is more of a technical challenge than a creative one, suggesting that teams are being held back by their CMS and tech stack, not by a skills gap.Governance is also a critical part of the solution, and it helps reinforce the idea of “content confidence.” According to the research, organizations that are less affected by content debt have a higher degree of control over their enterprise content operations, from publishing to managing. Those with the highest confidence are less likely to have their systems and workflows limit their responsiveness, and more likely to exceed their financial targets than those with lower confidence.<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As I heard repeatedly at the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect26">Boye &amp; Company CMS Connect 26</a> conference in Montreal, the answer to our marketing woes isn’t more content – it’s better content.“For decades, publishing as much content as possible, hoping it ranks in search, and letting the content and platforms decay has been a business strategy,” said <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/critics/dominik-angerer">Dominik Angerer,</a> CEO of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/storyblok">Storyblok</a>. “It felt good at the time, just like loading up a credit card with a bunch of impulsive purchases and not thinking about the true cost of the debt. But now AI has exposed the scope of the problem, and it can’t be ignored anymore. The bill is past due.”AI has indeed exposed and exacerbated this problem. But how can brands make a dent in a debt the size of Japan’s GDP? As Dominik said, just as consumers need to develop a plan to pay off debt, brands need a “content debt recovery plan” to eliminate the burden. “The fact that they’re already spending so much time and money maintaining content and it isn’t decreasing the overall effects of content debt in a meaningful way proves that what they’re doing isn’t working,” he added. “The companies that audit all of their content, implement new ways of managing it, and measure the results will have confidence that their content is accurate, optimized, visible, and driving revenue in AI and every channel that’s important to them.”In the age of AI, brands are fighting for more than visibility. They're fighting for their lives. Having your content ready to serve an audience of machines is the new imperative, and this data reinforces the scope of the problem we face. Now, we need to take action. And that starts by removing the invisible brake – and hitting the accelerator.  <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:36.69%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/01/open-source-cms-26.jpg" /><h4 id="open-source-cms-26"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26">Open Source CMS 26</a></h4>October 20–21, 2026 – Utrecht, NetherlandsJoin us for the first annual edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to making open source CMS better. This event is already being called the “missing gathering place” for the open source CMS community – an international conference with confirmed participants from Europe and North America. Be part of a friendly mix of digital leaders from notable open source CMS projects, agencies, even a few industry analysts who get together to learn, network, and talk about what really matters when it comes to creating better open source CMS projects right now and for the foreseeable future. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/opensourcecms26/tickets">Book your tickets today.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf"><img style="width:34.57%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/07/joyconf-2026-logo.png" /></a><h4 id="storyblok-joyconf-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf">Storyblok JoyConf 2026</a></h4>October 28 - 29, Rheingoldhalle, Mainz (Frankfurt)JoyConf 2026 is where developers, marketers, and digital innovators come together from all around the world, united by one powerful idea: great content isn’t built by tools alone – it’s built by people who rely on systems to deliver their best work to the world. In an era where technology is increasingly shaped by AI, Content Confidence becomes your competitive advantage. When you can create, manage, and scale content that performs seamlessly across channels, platforms, and AI, you don’t just keep up – you win. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/joyconf">Book your seats today.</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/"><img style="width:36.36%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2026/07/sitecore-symposium-2026.png" /></a><h4 id="sitecore-symposium-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Sitecore Symposium 2026</a></h4>November 10 - 12, Orlando, FloridaWelcome to “Marketing Rewired” at Sitecore Symposium 2026! Sitecore's annual flagship global conference brings together customers, partners, developers, marketers, and digital experience leaders to explore the latest innovations in digital experience, content management, AI, personalization, and customer engagement. This year's event features keynote presentations from Sitecore executives and industry experts, product announcements, hands-on learning, technical sessions, customer success stories, and networking opportunities focused on helping organizations build more intelligent, connected, and AI-powered digital experiences. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://symposium.sitecore.com/">Book your seats today.</a>

An ‘Invisible Brake’ on AI? New Research Suggests Content Debt is a $4.63 Trillion Liability

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

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

Why AI-Powered Development Tools Fail After Launch

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

Agentic panic? New study finds AI agents in production face infrastructure and reliability challenges 

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<hr /> <ul><li>Storyblok surveyed 200 senior IT and procurement professionals regarding their AI strategies</li><li>90% of businesses plan to increase their AI investment in 2026</li><li>61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenges to successful AI adoption</li><li>91% indicated that AI will improve content management within their organization</li><li>Only 23% have fully integrated GEO-related strategies</li></ul> It’s true: bad news sells. And when it comes to AI, the negative vibes can be particularly potent. Look no further than the often-referenced MIT report that cites a whopping <a href="But%20the%20lesson%20isn’t%20that%20GenAI%20is%20broken.%20It’s%20that%20companies%20are%20trying%20to%20erase%20the%20very%20drag%20that%20creates%20value.">95% of GenAI pilots at companies are failing.</a>Of course, it’s all about context. And if you read more deeply into the research, the MIT study suggests that it’s not AI that’s broken – it’s that businesses and stakeholders are trying to avoid the essential “drag” that creates value. They’re relying on generic, brittle tools that aren’t designed with memory or learning loops.There’s also been <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/is-ai-actually-a-bubble">talk of an “AI bubble”</a> that continues to permeate the zeitgeist. Based on past tech cycles, it’s not out of step to forecast an epic “burst” given the billions poured into the sector since 2022. We’re subjected to a regular dose of fear-mongering around this topic, but there's evidence that some of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fortune.com/2025/09/03/what-previous-ai-winters-can-tell-investors-and-executives-about-what-might-be-coming-next-for-ai/">M&amp;A moats could be drying up.</a>Before you start chanting about the coming AI winter – buoyed by the notion that just 5% of GenAI pilots are yielding tangible results – many businesses still seem bullish about AI. That’s the sentiment reflected in new research from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.storyblok.com/">Storyblok</a>, which analyzed the field through the lens of content management. Recently, the CMS vendor surveyed 200 professionals at large-scale enterprises, targeting IT and procurement roles responsible for AI decision-making. The research focused on their 2026 planning, the hurdles faced in successfully adopting these technologies, their views on the major benefits of AI, and how it’s affecting their content management strategies. <figure class="image image-style-align-center image_resized" style="width:28.6%"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/dominik-angerer.jpg" alt="Dominik Angerer headshot" /></figure>Storyblok CEO and Co-founder, Dominik Angerer Storyblok uncovered several notable nuggets from the survey, chiefly surrounding budgets and spending. According to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/">Dominik Angerer,</a> CEO and Co-Founder of Storyblok, companies seem poised to dedicate more funding to their AI initiatives despite any prognostications about an AI bubble bursting. “Our research paints an overwhelmingly positive business view of AI adoption as we look ahead to 2026,” he said. “Budgets look set to continue to grow robustly, and we have seen a significant increase in the number of businesses that say their adoption of AI is mature or fully integrated. There is also growing confidence that AI can and will deliver great ROI."I certainly noted this abundance of enthusiasm at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/joy-to-the-content-world-storyblok-brings-ai-innovation-and-human-connection-to-joyconf-2025">Storyblok's JoyConf event</a> back in October, and the company is building momentum as it introduces more AI features and capabilities in this burgeoning field of AI-enhanced content management. Here are some highlights from the report that are putting wind in its sails. <h3 id="content-management-leads-the-pack-for-genai-impact">Content management leads the pack for GenAI impact</h3>Bullish is the word, and businesses seem prepared to put their money where their mouths are, with the majority leaning into more activity than the previous year.When asked about their AI investment plans for 2026, 57% said they expected it to “significantly increase,” 33% cited a “slight increase,” and 9% believed budgets would remain flat. Only 2% said they expected a reduction in their AI budget. But that’s predicting what’s ahead. For many, the optimistic forecast is built on previously successful outcomes or positive signals coming from existing pilots. For example, respondents said they have seen significant benefits from implementing AI technology, with 54% noting “operational efficiency gains” as the biggest ROI. This was followed by 48% citing a “faster time to value,” 43% noting “enhanced employee productivity,” and 41% stating “streamlined decision making” was the big benefit.Within the pantheon of targeted business applications, content management was cited as one of the top functions that generative AI would impact, with 91% saying it would improve this function within their organization. This makes sense given the strong adoption of AI across CMS tooling and workflows, presenting businesses with proven product features and solutions that already utilize AI to power workflows, drive personalization, orchestrate agents, and other AI-enabled capabilities that are fast becoming requirements of modern content management strategies. “Content management is one of the areas where there seems to be near-complete consensus on the transformational impact of AI,” Dominik said. <h3 id="geo-adoption-is-still-lagging">GEO adoption is still lagging</h3>As consumers shift their search behavior towards answer engines like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chatgpt.com/">ChatGPT</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://search.google/ways-to-search/ai-mode/">Google’s AI Mode,</a> the harsh realities of decaying website traffic and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/zero-click-searches-up-organic-clicks-down-456660">“zero-click searches”</a> are settling in. How bad is it? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://searchengineland.com/search-engine-traffic-2026-prediction-437650">Gartner predicts</a> that by next year, traditional search engine volume will drop by a breathtaking 25%, with search marketing losing its share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.To combat this phenomenon, brands are building beyond their current SEO strategies and embracing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_engine_optimization">Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO</a> – the practice of adapting digital content and online presence management to improve visibility in results produced by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_artificial_intelligence">generative artificial intelligence</a>. While GEO strategies present a real opportunity for addressing these realities, businesses are still behind. Acccording to Storyblok’s research, 41% had either not started or were in the early stages of adopting GEO, with only 23% saying they had a full strategy implemented. “With less than a quarter of businesses saying they have adapted to these changes,” Dominik codified, “it’s clear there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure businesses can regain confidence in their content.”Without a robust GEO strategy, businesses will struggle to fully optimize their content strategy in an AI-first world of consumer search habits. Clearly, organizations are lagging in this category, but there’s a growing awareness – and a compelling rationale – for getting on board quickly. <h3 id="security-and-data-privacy-are-top-concerns">Security and data privacy are top concerns</h3>AI might be the shining city on the hill, but it’s vulnerable – and that truth is being proven out on a regular basis. Along with performance-based risks relative to guardrails and policy issues, bad actors are exploiting flaws in frameworks and leveraging prompt injections to break walled gardens and elicit brand-damaging behavior. This can range from minor headaches to major security breaches.We’ve also reached a major inflection point in cybersecurity, where AI models have become powerful tools for safeguarding data privacy, but also for conducting state-sponsored attacks. In September, agentic capabilities were <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage">used to manipulate Claude Code</a> and infiltrate global targets that included tech companies and financial firms.As such, it’s not surprising to learn that safety was the central concern for respondents in Storyblok’s survey. On a granular level, 61% cited data privacy and regulatory concerns as the biggest challenge in adopting or scaling AI solutions. This was followed by security risks at 58%, and legacy system restrictions at 43%.These hurdles were also reflected in how IT and procurement professionals felt AI adoption could become more successful. 62% said data governance and quality assurance needed to be improved. Meanwhile, 54% wanted better integration with existing systems, and 42% cited increased “vendor transparency.”Notably, only 12% of respondents mentioned “cost-effective pricing” as an area for improvement. This might further underscore that businesses aren’t yet concerned about the cost of AI – or letting the overall price tag stymie their progress.Security is a moving target. As Dominik also noted, despite positive traction, concerns regarding governance and regulatory compliance are likely to grow – and may inhibit AI adoption over the short and medium term. “However,” he said, “it is good news that the professionals in charge of AI procurement have these concerns top of mind.”<h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>As we roll into 2026, Storyblok’s survey provides a glimpse of AI sentiment – and, perhaps, a hopeful one. There are no crystal balls (or at least no reliable ones), and AI’s path has been difficult to gauge on both the foundational and emotional scale. Given the astounding growth and tumultuous rollercoaster of economic and legislative policy headwinds, the last year has proven just how unpredictable things can be.What’s encouraging is to see where the opportunities are for content management, and how stakeholders view it as an area for continued impact. With its intrinsic connection to search, this should light a fire under vendors and agencies to further augment their value and practices regarding GEO, which, based on the data, is not a fully-adopted strategy.Security should be foremost on everyone’s mind. As we rush to drive new AI-powered products and experiences to market, we could potentially expand the surface area for vulnerabilities. Like APIs, this also applies to the fabric of third-party solutions used to compose solutions. The latest example of this came just a few weeks ago, when a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/index/mixpanel-incident/">security incident</a> occurred with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://mixpanel.com/home/">Mixpanel</a>, a data analytics provider. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.globaldata.com/store/report/agentic-ai-market-analysis/">According to GlobalData,</a> we've now entered the hyper-growth stage of agentic AI. That means everything is accelerating, and that includes the propensity for problems. As the earlier MIT report indicated, friction is a necessary component for assuring the performance of AI – and the same holds true for data privacy and governance. This is not a time to rely on generic, unproven tools; we need performant, well-maintained solutions from trusted sources. This is where vendors like Storyblok are positioning themselves not just as AI-powered platforms – but AI partners in success. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-more-guidance-on-storyblok?-talk-to-an-expert.">Looking for more guidance on Storyblok? <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/contact">Talk to an expert.</a></h4><hr /> <h3 id="upcoming-events">Upcoming Events</h3> <img style="width:31.44%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/08/cms-kickoff-2026-logo.png" alt="" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">CMS Kickoff 2026</a></h4>January 13-14, 2026 – St. Petersburg, FLMeet industry leaders at our fourth annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global CMS event. Similar to a traditional kickoff, we reflect on recent trends and share stories from the frontlines. Additionally, we will delve into the current happenings and shed light on the future. Prepare for an unparalleled in-person CMS conference experience that will equip you to move things forward. This is an exclusive event – space is limited, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff26">so secure your tickets today.</a> <img style="width:30.13%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1765546475634.png" /><h4 id="umbraco-codegarden-2026"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Umbraco Codegarden 2026</a></h4>June 10–11, 2026 – Copenhagen, DKJoin us in Copenhagen (or online) for the biggest Umbraco conference in the world – two full days of learning, genuine conversations, and the kind of inspiration that brings business leaders, developers, and digital creators together. Codegarden 2026 is packed with both business and tech content, from deep-dive workshops and advanced sessions to real-world case studies and strategy talks. You’ll leave with ideas, strategies, and knowledge you can put into practice immediately. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://codegarden.umbraco.com/">Book your tickets today.</a>

Are businesses bullish on AI in 2026? New research says yes, but security is a top concern

Is ‘evidence-based creativity’ the must-have marketing skill for the age of AI? Contentful’s research says yes

Put on a happy CMS face: Storyblok's facial coding experiment reveals how AI is sparking joy 

<hr /> If you’re as old as I am, you might remember that the biggest hit on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_Your_Illusion_I">Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion</a> was the iconic rock ballad, “November Rain.” It was cold. It was sweet. And that Slash solo? Fire. It was the soundtrack of 1991.What you might not recall (or choose to forget) was that the same album offered a cover of the McCartney/Wings ode to James Bond, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_and_Let_Die_(song)#Guns_N'_Roses_version">Live and Let Die.</a> It turned out to be a sleeper hit, ranking near the top of a double album that went platinum seven times. I bring this up because, sometimes, there’s no logic to predicting human behavior. It’s an illusion. You can try to explain why a cover of a weird post-Beatles tune – soaked with an appropriate layer of pre-Grunge acid – appealed to the kids of my generation. But it ended up being one of the most popular songs on an album that sold 39 million copies. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.apple.com/">Apple</a> also knows a lot about music. And phones. And movies. Heck, they seem to have all media caught in their intrepid net of tech domination. Case in point: At their annual <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc25/">Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)</a> – which kicked off today and runs through June 13th – they introduced some stunning enhancements across nearly every one of their products.I watched most of the opening, and I could spend a lot of time conveying how breathtaking the new Vision Pro UI is, how it brings flat 2D images to life with dramatic depth. I could wax philosophically about the emergence of spatial content, and how Apple is altering the fabric of reality with drag-to-life capabilities for retail products (try adding a couch to your living room from a web page and seeing it appear IRL).Instead, I’m going to zero in on everyone’s favorite subject: AI. Because there’s not enough fatigue around a subject that everyone wants to bank their future roadmaps on. If I sound cynical, it’s because I’m subjected to a lot of demos in our CMS and DXP corner of the software world, and I’m always trying to splice the hype from the hope. So here's the deal: Coinciding with WWDC, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/illusion-of-thinking">Apple just released some new research</a> that casts doubt on advanced AI models. The study sharply reveals a truth that many have already suggested: AI isn’t that smart, and it’s a long way from pulling any sentient, Skynet-level shenanigans.Good news? Maybe for those who were concerned about its propensity to go all self-aware Terminator on us. But for hype machines promoting AI’s grand promise of higher-order thinking and logic, this might sour the apples, so to speak. The research paper, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/illusion-of-thinking">The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity</a>, is a comparative study of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://medium.com/@fahey_james/large-reasoning-models-lrms-an-overview-19837b72540f">Large Reasoning Models (LRMs).</a> It validates that they show promise on a variety of reasoning benchmarks, and there's clear evidence of that. But when the rubber meets the road, their limitations are, as Apple surmises, “insufficiently understood.”Said another way: Not good. In the open salvo of the research, the authors explain how they have systematically investigated the gaps that exist around mathematical and coding constraints, which impact the accuracy of a model’s output as the challenges become more difficult. Through some extensive experimentation, they arrived at a core problem:LRMs face a complete accuracy collapse beyond certain complexities. Wow. And a deeper dive into the paper's content – a 30-page railgun of diagrams comparing failure tracks along a horizon of problem complexity – fires a cannon of chaos, illuminating just how real these limitations might be.<h3 id="bad-apples">Bad Apples</h3>BTW, that’s actually a song title on Use Your Illusion I. So, what’s all the fuss about this research? Well, if you believe the doomsayers, it describes a “total collapse” scenario, suggesting that leading frontier LRMs from <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://openai.com/">OpenAI</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.anthropic.com/">Anthropic</a>, and DeepSeek (there's a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/trust-and-verify-when-internet-drama-meets-ai-reality">great article on that one here</a>) fall apart when trying to solve really complex problems – and they don’t yield any remarkable benefits over LLMs that operate downstream.This scenario is based on the paper’s conclusion that these models aren’t, in fact, able to “think” or reason for themselves. They’re simply mimicking whatever they’ve been trained on. When given new and highly complex problems, even the most advanced LRMs perform less reliably than the standard LLMs on basic tasks. This is a “big pause” moment given the untamed investment in LRMs, which claim superior logic and reasoning for solving mathematical proofs, making decisions, and processing diverse data types with multi-modal capabilities. We’ve known about their heftier computational requirements – more tokens, slower response times – but those limitations were poopooed in light of their potential to handle higher-order problems.  To conduct its tests, Apple employed a series of “puzzles” that allowed for greater control over the granularity of complexity dimensions (they also designed them to minimize contamination that’s common in other relative benchmarks). It then compared reasoning-level responses from LRMs (such as o3-mini, DeepSeek-R1, Claude-3.7-Sonnet-Thinking) against a non-reasoning LLM. The paper provides more specifics, but what they discovered is that frontier LRMs experience a “complete accuracy collapse,” which results in a kind of logic bedlam. As observed, there were surprising limitations in the LRMs’ ability to perform exact computations, including a failure to benefit from explicit algorithms and their inconsistent reasoning across the different puzzle types.There’s a weird phenomenon at play here. Given the increased complexity of the puzzles, the models should have engaged in more detailed chain of thought computations, thus consuming more resources. But instead, they consumed less, effectively giving up. Throwing in the towel, so to speak.Not knowing the “why” in this case is particularly harrowing. As Apple states in the paper, they believe the lack of systematic analyses investigating these questions is due to “limitations in current evaluation paradigms.” In other words, we don’t even know how to test for the problem. And that’s a problem.<h3 id="knockin’-on-heaven’s-door?">Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door?</h3>This all might seem a little morose, but no one’s saying the future of AI is DOA. Well, not me, anyway. Still, the plague of inaccuracies has been scaling as of late, and Apple has been at the center of it. In January, shortly after launching its shiny new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.apple.com/apple-intelligence/?cid=wwa-us-kwgo-features-AIBrand-AppleIntellligence--AppleIntelligence-Brand-AppleIntelligence-apple%20intelligence&amp;aosid=p240&amp;ken_pid=go~cmp-21372186377~adg-168674639212~ad-757331429164_kwd-833708590225~dev-c~ext-~prd-~mca-~nt-search&amp;token=f8ed3188-10e0-4de1-9527-7c1db3c81d53">Apple Intelligence</a> feature on late-model iPhones, the company temporarily pulled the feature after the technology <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/media/apple-intelligence-news-bbc-headline/index.html">produced fake and misleading</a> summaries of news headlines that appeared almost identical to regular push notifications. The reversal was jarring, given the heavy holiday marketing they had done to promote their new AI capabilities. But this isn’t just an Apple problem. AI hallucinations are as prevalent as ever. A <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2407.17468">July 2024</a> study from Cornell, the University of Washington, and the University of Waterloo revealed that top AI models still can’t be fully trusted, given their propensity for making stuff up.No doubt, the timing of this research release was carefully orchestrated. With so many new product upgrades and announcements – and a gnarly video of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.apple.com/leadership/craig-federighi/">Craig Federighi</a>, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, circling the roof of the Cupertino saucer in a Formula 1 racer – there was ample cover. This was comms strategy at its finest, stimulating just the right amount of public discourse.There are, of course, those who might suggest Apple’s delayed arrival in the “Big AI Game” might be a key motivator. While Apple has forged a reputation for innovation, they have also been known to lag on trends like TV, autonomous vehicles, and other initiatives that fizzled. Given every player’s struggles with AI accuracy, a vilification of LRMs might provide cannon fodder to blow up the competitive matrix in an already tight race.So was it an illusion? Was this the LRM hype machine in overdrive, with Slash shredding outside the chapel on a dusty plain? I think we can safely say that some of it was. And herein lies the problem: With AI, we’re moving to product so quickly, we don’t always have the answers. We’re often not even asking the right questions. This research might be the best example of that.For the CMS and DXP industries, Apple is blazing some interesting trails with its portal to spatial content. There's a lot to unpack regarding the storage and structure of that content and expressing it in three dimensions, and that's exciting stuff that companies like <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/first-look-cloudinarys-new-ai-vision-brings-brand-safe-gen-ai-capabilities-to-its-dam">Cloudinary</a> are already preparing for. At the same time, this AI research is offering us a moment of clarity that can't be overstated. As I said earlier this year in my <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://cmscritic.com/in-a-fast-and-furious-tech-world-cms-kickoff-25-was-a-love-letter-to-slow-down">CMS Kickoff 25 wrap,</a> we need to slow down and be more thoughtful in this race to harness AI. The risks and consequences are simply too great, and the accuracy of content is in the crosshairs. Maybe we can use the illusion as a signal – and find better pathways to test, analyze, and validate what we’re building.Slowing down is hard advice to follow, especially in this hyperactive digital marketplace. But it might be the best prescription for writing the next hit. That – and making sure Slash gets his solo.  <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>

Lose Your Illusion: Apple Sings a Sad Ballad About the Limitations of Reasoning Models

<hr /> It wouldn’t be December without a Christmas story that warms your heart. Especially if it’s three sizes too small. Of course, every good holiday tale needs a protagonist who experiences some magnificent transformation. So let’s start with a little Scrooging before pouring the spiked egg nog.Our merry friends at <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/products/storyblok">Storyblok</a>, a headless CMS that has positioned itself simply as a “content management system,” recently published some sobering survey data. The big takeaway: 93% of marketers and developers say their current CMS is falling short of expectations, and a lot of the frustration stems from integrations.To that end, the consensus among survey participants is that platform integration failures could impact revenue this holiday season, a time when brands and retailers are banking on digital commerce to stuff their annual stockings. ‘Twas the nightmare before Christmas? Indeed. And it's likely to result in an urgent call-to-action to improve reliance on the stack – specifically the CMS layer – in 2025. Ho, ho, hold on a minute. It’s not to say that cheeks aren’t rosy in other areas of the digital marketing machine. The study indicated that businesses are spending an average of over $453,000 on martech per year. That’s healthy by any measure, but the effectiveness of that investment could be in jeopardy if <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management systems</a> aren’t living up to their fullest potential. So what’s a brand to do? It’s not as simple as asking Santa for a solution. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/storyblok-is-writing-its-next-chapter-with-an-80m-series-c-heres-why-it-matters">Storyblok’s CEO Dominik Angerer</a>, whom I’ve spoken to multiple times this year, the core challenges can be traced back to legacy systems that lack flexibility and interoperability – and a move to headless could turn that lump of coal into a diamond.“This survey shows that many companies are hitting the limits of their current CMS,” he said. “They are dreaming of a CMS that’s keeping all their systems in sync without constant workarounds.”And dreaming of sugar plum fairies who deliver an easy transition, right? Therein lies part of the problem: moving to a new CMS can be costly and time-consuming, and embracing composable architectures (more the domain of large enterprises) can take years to fully realize. Time is also tight, and organizations need to move quickly, especially when the holiday blitz is a 'Blitzen. This is why many platforms have embraced a multi-CMS ecosystem – with a strong reliance on headless platforms – to roadmap a more holistic solution. But is headless really the panacea for all these challenges? Let’s unwrap some of the data that Storyblok left under the tree.<h3 id="deck-the-halls-with-integration-frustration">Deck the halls with integration frustration</h3>With customers like Adidas, Netflix, and Disney on its roster, Storyblok has cultivated deep insights around use cases and patterns for headless CMS at a global enterprise level. That was clearly a benefit when conducting the research, which reflects how some of the world’s biggest brands feel stymied by outdated legacy tech stacks that can’t keep pace with their evolving needs.For the research itself, Storyblok surveyed 300 IT and marketing leaders at global businesses, a third of which had stated revenues of over $100 million. Participants were asked a range of questions about their company’s CMS with an explicit focus on the arc for integrating new tools and applications as part of their existing tech stack. One important note, which speaks to the reality of the enterprise market and a smidge of headless bias: all surveyed companies in the report use monolithic CMSes. That’s not a shocker, but it’s a relevant assumption that the data might be telegraphed around inherent criticisms of large enterprise CMS and DXP platforms. To that end, 93% of respondents aired grievances, specifically around the limited integration options with other services and tools in their tech stack. Two in five also stated that they are constantly in need of a better integration experience, while a quarter found integrations “difficult,” illustrating the urgency for more flexible solutions.So much for the “seamlessly integrates” tagline that often accompanies the marketing around many platforms in the ecosystem. Humbug.<h3 id="all-i-want-for-christmas-is-up-to-date-content">All I want for Christmas is up-to-date content</h3>Outdated content is an epidemic, particularly for highly distributed global organizations – and it’s not just at the CMS layer. Maintaining up-to-date digital assets has been a precarious function as well, which is why we’ve seen significant investments in <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/cloudinary-assets-brings-new-ai-powered-features-to-its-api-first-intelligent-dam">AI-powered capabilities across DAMs and PIMs</a>. As Dominik Angerer stated in <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/storyblok-is-writing-its-next-chapter-with-an-80m-series-c-heres-why-it-matters">one of our previous interviews</a>, “A CMS can’t just be a place where your content is sent to die." And yet, it often is for so many companies – something the research also manages to codify. According to the study, frustration over outdated content continues to be a widespread problem. Most respondents reported that 20% to 30% of their CMS content is no longer relevant, with only one-third updating content on a monthly basis – or less. To make matters worse, 37% admitted to not having an audit or update process that works for them. Translation: there’s no reliable governance, which can result not only in poor experiences for users but also financial and even legal liabilities. <h3 id="jingling-with-marketers-and-developers">Jingling with marketers and developers</h3>The elves aren’t playing nicely in the workshop – a fact we’ve been abundantly aware of for quite some time. As headless CMS platforms rose in popularity, marketers were left in the cold, becoming more reliant on developers to modify their digital experiences. At the same time, monolithic CMS and DXP platforms inherited more complexity (often through acquisitions), resulting in a similar paradigm.I’ve been chatting about this with <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/uniforms-enterprise-visual-workspace-unifies-content-data-ai-and-technology-in-a-single-cloud-for-marketers">industry leaders like Darren Guarnaccia</a> for the last few years. In 2023, he noted that while composable headless technologies are a boon for developers and technical audiences, “it’s been kind of horrible for the businesses.” This reality underscored the mad rush to add visual building, previewing, and editing capabilities to CMS tooling – from <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/optimizely-introduces-new-saas-cms-with-visual-builder-for-marketers">Optimizely</a> to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/agility-cms-web-studio-aims-to-streamline-content-creation-and-collaboration">Agility</a> – and nearly every platform now has it as an expected feature. But these new capabilities are still catching up, and technology isn’t the only sore spot. According to Storyblok’s research, the collaboration between marketers and developers continues to be strained, with 40% saying it’s either “ineffective” or “nonexistent.” That’s a big number, and likely reflects some of the cultural challenges that exist between marketing and IT functions.What’s at the core of this rift? Basic stuff, really. For example, a marketer might want to update a post or make fast edits across multiple pages. Unfortunately, in many legacy CMS deployments, that might require the help of a developer each time (Darren referred to these instances as “tickets,” which those of us with support experience know all too well). This is because certain types of changes in a CMS are often complex and can ripple across an entire site. Of course, this back-and-forth can create huge bottlenecks and delays, utlimately adding months and potentially extra zeroes to the cost of a project. But Dominik feels this is where a modern headless CMS can differentiate and solve the problem. “A headless CMS can eliminate these holdups,” he said. “These flexible, integration-friendly systems meet the needs of both marketers and developers.”<h3 id="last-christmas,-i-gave-you-my-content…">Last Christmas, I gave you my content…</h3>And the very next day? Well, at least some users start a slow, downward slide toward CMS regret. In fairness, the honeymoon might last a little longer. But when you’re sold on the potential of “seamless integrations,” only to find that things aren’t so seamless, it feels like Krampus coming down the chimney. At this time of the year, brands are under increased pressure to drive conversions and sales. Clearly, some teams are disillusioned by their experiences and most of the blame lands in the boots of the tech stack. And yet, the problems persist. Storyblok published a previous study that revealed almost half of all businesses are literally “embarrassed” by their website. Ouch. That same report also found that business leaders estimate a poor website UX leads to $72,000 in lost sales each year.To be sure, there’s some predictable marketer’s lament in all of this (every brand pro is on a quest for what they don’t have). But it does codify how disappointing a legacy CMS experience can be for many users and organizations – despite spending all that previously mentioned cheddar on martech. Looking ahead, integration will continue to scale in importance. This is due to the accelerating growth of new technologies and the persistent need to manage data from multiple systems. According to Storyblok, this must be prioritized – because what’s at stake is the continued erosion of time, money, and resources.There are many choices when it comes to CMS platforms. Most are solid in their own way, and it’s usually not just the architecture or functionality that makes them naughty or nice – it’s how they’re applied as part of a broader stack. In some cases, headless is an ideal solution. But when a decision about any CMS isn’t carefully approached, it can result in a less-than-satisfying outcome.In terms of reaching the limitations, some practitioners might be approaching their problems from the wrong vector – and certain strategies could be employed to resolve the bottlenecks and challenges. In this case, headless CMSes have an advantage when it comes to integrating with other solutions that displace the issues or extend capabilities in the right way. That said, large enterprise DXPs have made significant headway when it comes to delivering more modular solutions for their customers, which can offer some of the same benefits of interoperability and API-driven integration. Do you mine a lump of coal, hoping it keeps burning? Or do you make the leap to something new? This realm of optimization is something that many organizations will be wrestling with as they assess the 2024 holiday season and beyond. The good news: we’re talking about the challenges, and working to overcome them.Who knows? Maybe next Christmas will bring some cheerier numbers. Until then, we'll be making our list and checking it twice. <hr /><h4 style="text-align:center" id="looking-for-guidance-on-storyblok?--talk-to-us.-">Looking for guidance on Storyblok?  <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>

Legacy CMS leaving a lump of coal in your stacking? Research says the best gift could be headless

<hr /> When you deconstruct the word “research,” it literally connotes that one is searching – again. For the past three years, that’s precisely what the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance</a> has been doing: “re” searching its communities of influence to establish the patterns and trends that define the direction of MACH.Each year, the group of independent tech companies advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems has published the results of a global survey it conducts, focusing on IT decision-makers and the role of MACH and composable. Over time, the trend lines have become clearer. This week, the Alliance presented its fourth edition of the annual study, and the findings underscore two key realities: MACH is growing – and it’s delivering a tangible ROI for companies that are adopting it. According to the MACH Alliance, the new survey reveals a heightened level of leadership support for MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud native SaaS, Headless). The report states that 91% of IT decision-makers say MACH and composable technology will be instrumental to their success in the next five years – and 85% see “clear evidence” that they are achieving ROI in their MACH investments.In the heated race to modernize and expand, brands have poured the gas on their digital investments over the last few years, due in part to the elevated force of a pandemic. Now, as the report notes, economic volatility and uncertainty have become factors – but MACH adoption continues to see stable growth despite the drag of market conditions. "MACH technologies are critical to ensuring resilience and agility for businesses navigating swift market changes now and in the future," said <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen">Casper Rasmussen</a>, President of the MACH Alliance. "Sustained adoption is remarkable in an economic climate that at large has put substantial IT projects on hold. The outcomes of this year's survey confirm a steady pivot towards scalable, composable systems that cater to evolving end-user requirements, and those companies are seeing tangible payoffs from their investments in MACH.”’It's worth noting the methodology of the survey, which was completed by 551 IT decision-makers of director level and above. 37% we C-Suite executives. The sample included respondents from the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France, and represented enterprises with at least 5,000 employees.<h3 id="u.s.-pulls-ahead-of-europe-in-pace-of-adoption">U.S. pulls ahead of Europe in pace of adoption</h3>At last year’s <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">MACH Two Conference in Amsterdam</a>, I spoke at length with members of the MACH Alliance leadership team. At the time, it was well-established that Europe was still ahead of North America in terms of MACH adoption. But even then, many saw the U.S. and its total addressable market as a sleeping giant.Fast forward to now, and Goliath is stirring. While the pace of MACH adoption is broadly demonstrating stable adoption, the pace in the United States has slightly surpassed that of Europe. From 2023 to 2024, respondents stated that they had increased the percentage of MACH across their IT infrastructure from 85% to 88% in the U.S., compared to 85% to 86% in Europe. From an industry perspective, it’s clear that retail is the big winner, showing the highest investment in MACH. Retail and commerce have long been the stronghold for MACH applications, with large brands illustrating the benefits through several use cases at last year’s MACH Two Conference. It’s worth noting that both professional and financial services categories were right behind retail in the adoption rankings, evidence that the benefits of MACH are being experienced beyond the core of retail and commerce. <h3 id="leadership-leads-the-way-to-growth">Leadership leads the way to growth</h3>As with all new technologies, consensus is key to adoption. The shift to composable has been met with varying degrees of friction given the cost and complexity for many enterprises – particularly those reliant on legacy systems with siloed data.   But that might be starting to change. According to the MACH Alliance survey, there’s been a notable reduction of internal resistance to adopting MACH architectures. Based on feedback from respondents, there’s been a sizable decline from 33% in 2023 to 26% in 2024. Meanwhile, leadership resistance is eroding. Today, only 18% of respondents cite the lack of board or leadership support as a barrier, as compared to 28% in 2023. What’s driving this shift? As the MACH Alliance report surmises, it could be attributed in part to the realization of sizeable ROI from MACH investments. Additionally, more IT leaders view MACH as a key differentiator and a competitive advantage for improving customer experience and innovating faster. A growing proportion also see MACH as a way to improve their competitive posture, with almost half of all respondents making this observation versus just 39% in 2023.The survey also revealed a number of additional benefits of MACH adoption, with respondents claiming their processes have become more streamlined while increasing revenue. They also pinpointed soft benefits such as increased “volume of achievement,” customer satisfaction, and employee productivity.<h3 id="navigating-the-obstacles-">Navigating the obstacles </h3>The MACH Alliance has taken its fair share of lumps over the last few years. Market watchers have often been critical of its austere criteria for membership, and a persistent lack of transparency has drawn ire. That said, the organization has been fervently committed to responding to feedback – and has deftly managed these challenges as it continues to advocate for composable architectures and practices. One of the biggest obstacles to MACH adoption continues to be education. This is not limited to the core fundamentals of MACH architectures but to the trade-offs between upfront costs and realizing the future benefits of a MACH investment. According to the survey, respondents also voiced concerns about end user and customer resistance to change, as well as reliance on vendors to ensure continuous business operations. These represent key barriers to adoption. To address these issues, the MACH Alliance is rolling out an education program in Q2 of 2024 to help companies face these challenges head-on and mitigate the risk. <h3 id="why-it-matters">Why it matters</h3>The MACH Alliance is more than a cabal of like-minded technologies. From the beginning, it has been committed to building awareness and driving visibility for the MACH movement – and doing so by investing in education and market research.  The data in this survey helps validate the continued motion toward composable and MACH solutions. With four years of data – albeit across relatively modest samples – the trend lines are solidifying. This further reinforces what <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellygoetsch/">Kelly Goetsch</a>, former president of the MACH Alliance, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-two-conference-wrap-six-takeaways-from-the-composable-event-of-the-year">observed at the MACH Two Conference</a>: “MACH now feels like the default.”Why is this important? Because it serves as a barometer for broad change. Clearly, more businesses are paying attention, studying the potential benefits, and weighing the risks and rewards that come with the composable journey. For those already on the path, the results are paying off. This is where the numbers help tell the story. In my year-end wrap with Casper Rasmussen, we discussed his predictions for 2024, which included the concepts of “continuous everything” and composable M&amp;A (<a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/whats-ahead-for-mach-in-2024-read-these-3-predictions">you can read about them here</a>). Both are gaining visibility, but the one I’ve reflected on most as it relates to this research is the notion of MACH expanding to new industries. In this year’s research, retail continues to have the strongest magnetic pull toward MACH. But the emergence of professional and financial services as close contenders underscores demonstrable growth in novel areas. Casper sees MACH evolving beyond retail and CPG in a big way, particularly in sectors that are not driven by commerce or transactional activities – including automotive.Research is vital to every organization, and we can’t always do it alone. We rely on proven authorities to help augment our understanding of the patterns and trends, and we put our trust in established bodies with a clear commitment to advancing the industry as a whole. Composable may not be the right choice for every business, but education can help leaders better understand what’s at stake and make the best decisions. Instead of resisting, we should be researching. And this is where the MACH Alliance continues to deliver value to its members – and the market.

On Your MACH, Get Set, Grow: New Research Reveals Expanding Support, ROI for MACH

<hr /> Humans love to muse about the future. And why not? It’s veiled in mystery, replete with speculation, and full of plot twists. That makes it both exciting and terrifying. Like… a horror movie.Along those lines, a word in the composable lexicon conjures some of the same exhilaration and fear: future-proof. While fairly intuitive, it's all about anticipating what might happen and developing strategies to minimize the shocks and stresses of possible future events.It sounds great, but it also presents a bit of a quantum entanglement. How can tools or processes remain malleable enough to adapt to unpredictable changes? How do organizations accurately predict and avoid the pitfalls (and classic horror movie tropes)?This is where the past and the present can help untangle the uncertainty, and it's precisely why software platforms conduct research: to help guide a future-proof strategy and thwart any potential nightmares. To that end, <a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/">Hygraph</a>, a headless CMS known for its content federation, recently published an insightful survey on the state of <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/what-is-a-content-management-system-cms">content management</a> and what the future might look like. There are some terrific data points, and here's the big one: according to the report, 84% of organizations believe their existing CMS limits their ability to unlock the full value of their data and content. It further suggests that only 35% of current data and content is being used effectively. If this translates to a larger scale (the sample includes 400 engineering and product professionals in the US, UK, and Germany), the numbers represent a stagnant dissatisfaction with current CMS deployments. But these figures are just scratching the surface.I recently spoke to <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/content-management-for-a-new-reality-a-conversation-with-hygraph-ceo-michael-lukaszczyk">Michael Lukaszczyk</a>, co-founder and CEO of Hygraph, about the findings. It’s all part of what his company calls the “Future of Content” report, which pulls back the curtain on CMS challenges many businesses face when delivering modern digital experiences. The survey includes real-world input from tech leaders and prescribes a few strategies for overcoming some of the industry’s key obstacles.  While no one has the exact prescription for tomorrow, Hygraph’s report provides critical insights around trends and patterns, which might prove invaluable when selecting a CMS that’s future-proofed for what’s ahead – and maybe make things a little less scary.<h3 id="siloed-data-and-content-are-major-limitations">Siloed data and content are major limitations</h3>I asked Michael what he gleaned from the “Future of Content” research, specifically around the impact of value on organizations. Most of us in the content management field recognize a ubiquitous perception of the grass always being greener when users are asked about their satisfaction with a tool or stack. “We had 84% of people being dissatisfied with the current architecture and stack,” he codified.  “Well, it's been like this forever, and we want to change it. But a lot of companies and larger organizations struggle with the change management.”In that sense, the real challenge lies in the escape vector. Stakeholders might be keenly aware of the issues but are held back by the risks associated with implementation or migration. Along with this general malaise around unlocking value from their existing setup, Hygraph’s report also indicates that 92% of organizations say their content and data sources are siloed – with nearly 40% describing it as “very siloed.” As we’ve discussed in many previous articles, data from diverse sources and legacy systems have resulted in expensive and laborious integration code, which presents a drag on growth and innovation. This is where composable strategies and technologies are emerging as solutions – with many vendors, Hygraph among them, participating in the ecosystem as members of the <a target="_blank" href="https://cmscritic.com/mach-alliance-publishes-first-annual-report-showcases-industry-impact-and-plans-for-2024">MACH Alliance</a>. <h3 id="custom-software-is-an-innovation-bottleneck">Custom software is an innovation bottleneck</h3>It’s always easy to blame the CMS. It is, after all, the elder statesman of the stack – and a relatively broad target due to its essential role across a myriad of systems and requirements. While any given CMS might perform a wide range of duties out of the box, it will inevitably fall short in some areas, forcing it to be stretched in different directions based on architectural dependencies. One of the biggest obstacles has been the need to tap multiple content and data sources. To that end, the “Future of Content” report revealed that 77% of respondents need to build and manage custom software to connect diverse content and data sources with their existing CMS. The survey respondents also concurred en masse that these integrations – which, as we know, can be very complex – create an innovation bottleneck with potentially severe consequences. <h3 id="cms-challenges-negatively-impact-productivity-and-revenue">CMS challenges negatively impact productivity and revenue</h3>With just a third of respondents stating that their CMS is effective at “underpinning new digital services,” there’s clearly a gap around readiness. But the report digs deeper into the details. According to the research, over three-quarters of respondents say that the difficulty of exposing and using existing data and content in their digital services has restricted their revenue opportunities. This is where the buck stops, shining a light on the most tangible result of a limited CMS. From a productivity perspective, 76% of respondents also say that technology constraints prevent them from empowering more content creators within their organization. At the CMS level, this is just as pronounced, with almost half of respondents saying that changes can only be made by a few users with essential skills. Michael noted that these limitations underscore the need for content federation, one of the key tenets of Hygraph’s position in the headless CMS market. He said this approach – alongside a headless CMS – could accelerate both innovation and revenue opportunities.“To compete in the content economy, organizations need to unlock value from content without bottlenecks or migration and duplication issues,” he said. “Content federation leverages all data sources across business infrastructure, and delivers it exactly where needed.”<h3 id="future-proofing-cms-for-a-world-of-content-rich-applications">Future-proofing CMS for a world of content-rich applications</h3>As Michael indicated, many of the existing challenges can be rolled up to having the right tool for the right use case, particularly as the market evolves to include more content-rich applications beyond websites. In his opinion, this shapes how users and organizations choose the platforms to build, manage, and ultimately future-proof their needs. “In the ‘Future of Content’ report, I observe two main trends [in the CMS market],” he explained. “The first is that headless CMSs are being reverted to become way more visual again. That is sort of the Storyblok and the Uniform stake, and this is to try and catch the demand of the business personas. It's really the static experiences that you build at the end of the day, like websites. But there's also the other direction, such as hybrid CMSs, that are more complex in data modeling and help you build really content-rich applications.” But how are content-rich applications evolving the charter? The example Michael gave is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.onepeloton.com/">Peloton</a>, which has two key properties in its digital ecosystem. The first is the corporate website, which is most likely owned by a marketer – someone who prefers a static build experience. But Peloton is chiefly experienced through its app, where users engage on stationary bikes and treadmills in video-based classes. These experiences also need a layer of content management.“Over the past couple of years, there’s been an increasing demand for this, and we see more and more companies with requirements for content management in their applications,” Michael said. “One of my predictions is that this will become more important. And if you want to build a more complex, content-rich application, then you wouldn't build the workout application of a Peloton with a website builder using a visual component. It's an application.”<h3 id="leveraging-the-benefits-of-content-federation">Leveraging the benefits of content federation</h3>Hygraph’s evangelizing of content federation cuts through clearly and continues to be one of its unique market differentiators. Its federated content platform represents what it calls the “next generation of content management,” evolving beyond a headless CMS to help power a many-to-many relationship between different content sources and devices. With Hygraph, you can effectively federate data from various sources, streamline content processes, and eliminate the need for a separate experience composition solution or custom middleware. This is also made possible through Hygraph's robust <a target="_blank" href="https://graphql.com/">GraphQL</a> content APIs.In an increasingly dense field of headless players, Michael and his team have trumpeted the benefits of content federation via real-world use cases, specifically around the ever-present challenge of migrating legacy content and data – and tapping composable capabilities to realize the potential.“Our recommendation is not to do a one-off migration, but rather replacing pieces out of the stack and modernizing step by step what you can,” he said. “If you use content federation with Hygraph, you can plug in a few of the systems that exist within your stack while the rest live in this monolithic scope. But they can live side by side – and then, as time goes on, you pull more and more pieces out of the old world into the new. So if you use tooling or have this layer that allows you to be the middleware – which is content federation – and it's a much safer migration path.”<h3 id="why-this-report-matters">Why this report matters</h3>It's a sure bet that any vendor-sponsored research will position its own platform as the go-to solution. This is, after all, a function of marketing at some level. But Hygraph’s report provides clear and relevant metrics in the right places while weaving in guidance from technology leaders. It’s worth noting that the survey was commissioned by Hygraph but conducted independently by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.colemanparkes.com/">Coleman Parkes Research</a> in the summer of 2023.Along with the raw numbers, the “Future of Content” report also provides guidance around eliminating bottlenecks, adopting best practices, and future-proofing your content strategy to achieve optimal performance. These additional benefits highlight the report’s emphasis on education across every facet of an organization, from technical to business – which Michael sees as critical for building consensus around the modernization investment.“I think it takes a lot of education for tech leads and architects,” he expressed. “They need to get the message that the technical depth in the stack is holding them back from achieving the business results they want. But if you talk to people who are more on the business side of things about technical depth, they don't see an internal rework as necessarily positive – they see it as pricey. It takes six months to rework all this, [so] they don't push those projects forward. But the report shows that there's also education needed for owners of those architectures, so they understand that modernization will pay off. It takes some time but it will pay off – big time.”And that sounds like a future worth fighting for. To download the full report, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content">https://hygraph.com/resources/future-of-content</a> <hr /><h3 id="upcoming-conferences">Upcoming conferences</h3> <img style="width:29.67%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-connect-2024-logo.png" alt="CMS Connect 24 logo" /><h4 id="cms-connect-24"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmsconnect24">CMS Connect 24</a></h4>August 6-7, 2024 – Montreal, CanadaWe are delighted to present our first annual summer edition of our prestigious international conference dedicated to the global content management community. Join us this August in Montreal, Canada, for a vendor-neutral conference focused on CMS. Tired of impersonal and overwhelming gatherings? Picture this event as a unique blend of masterclasses, insightful talks, interactive discussions, impactful learning sessions, and authentic networking opportunities. <img style="width:29.58%" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2024/01/cms-kickoff-2025-logo.png" /><h4 id="cms-kickoff-25"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff25/tickets">CMS Kickoff 25</a></h4>January 14-15, 2025 – Tampa Bay Area, FloridaJoin us next January in the Tampa Bay area of Florida for the third annual CMS Kickoff – the industry's premier global 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, so secure your tickets today.

Is your CMS holding you back? Hygraph’s survey reveals insights about the future of content

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