AI in Drupal: From Foundations to Intelligent Digital Platforms

Topic Tracks Development & Performance Audience Intermediate

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday digital work, but many teams still struggle to understand what it really means in practice. This presentation starts with the basics. We look at how large language models work, what AI assistants and agents actually do, and how chatbots, retrieval augmented generation, and AI-powered search differ from one another.

From there, we move into Drupal. We explore how AI can support editorial teams, improve content discovery, enhance internal workflows, and power smarter user experiences. The focus is not only on features, but on architecture and responsibility. Topics such as prompt engineering, cost optimization, data security, and governance are treated as core parts of the discussion, not afterthoughts.

The goal of this session is to provide clarity. By the end, participants should have a grounded understanding of how AI fits into a Drupal ecosystem, what problems it can realistically solve, and how to implement it in a way that is sustainable and aligned with organizational goals.

Notes
This presentation bridges the gap between AI theory and Drupal practice. It is structured to demystify AI terminology while grounding the discussion in practical implementation patterns such as assistants, agents, RAG-based search, cost control, governance, and security. The session avoids hype and focuses on sustainable, maintainable solutions that Drupal teams can realistically implement.