Generative AI in CMSs: the future of content creation

Defining artificial intelligence, usually shortened to "AI," accurately is far from simple. That's why it helps to look at the definitions offered by the giants of the tech industry.

NVIDIA, currently the AI hardware leader, explains that artificial intelligence is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think, learn and take actions without being explicitly coded.

Amazon defines artificial intelligence as technology with human-like problem-solving capabilities. AI simulates human intelligence, with the ability to recognize images, write poems and make data-driven predictions.

IBM adds that artificial intelligence is the technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy.

Although they use different words, these definitions all focus on what AI can do, since that seems to be the best way to understand this fascinating technology.

In recent months, AI has become the central topic in the IT industry, largely thanks to the introduction and spread of generative artificial intelligence.

The Artificial Intelligence Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano defines generative AI as "a type of Artificial Intelligence that uses Machine Learning algorithms to generate new content that previously relied on human creativity. This content can be, for example, text, audio, images, video and computer code."

In other words, generative AI is a specific form of artificial intelligence that creates original content, such as text, images, music and much more, from simple inputs. Its ultimate goal is to produce results that simulate human creativity.

This technology has revolutionized the way online content is created, profoundly transforming the entire creative process. Tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E have made producing text and images easier and faster, with ever more powerful and sophisticated new services hitting the market every day.

Generative AI is widely used across industries such as marketing, social media content production, publishing and advertising. Specifically, Gartner estimates that by 2025, 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organizations will be AI-generated.

As you have probably gathered, and likely already experienced, artificial intelligence, and generative AI in particular, can deliver significant gains in operational efficiency and productivity.

Recent advances in AI mainly concern content creation. So integrating generative AI directly into your CMS (Content Management System), the software used to manage and create content, can only bring further benefits.

In particular, these benefits include:

• Faster workflows: AI automates repetitive tasks, letting the editorial team focus on strategic work and shortening content production and publishing times.
• Less page switching: with the AI interface available right inside the CMS, there's no need to keep jumping from one platform to another.
• Beating blank page syndrome: Blank page syndrome is the creative block you feel when facing an empty page. It's easy to overcome with AI-generated suggestions and draft text.
• More personalization: new generative AI models can produce tailored content, adapting text and images to your audience's specific needs to boost user engagement.
• Fewer errors and oversights: AI-based tools such as LanguageTool or Grammarly can spot typos and grammar, style or formatting errors, and even fix them automatically. The result is better overall content quality before publication.

It's time to explore the possible applications of generative artificial intelligence in a CMS. We'll use DatoCMS as our reference, one of the most popular and technologically advanced headless CMSs on the market.

Specifically, the screenshots show AI-based plugins available for this well-known content management system. Let's dive in!

Creating text contentOne of the main advantages of services like ChatGPT is that they can be integrated directly into existing systems. In a CMS, this enables text content creation in a range of scenarios, such as populating the fields of a specific record.

For example, the AI Content Generator plugin for DatoCMS lets you use ChatGPT to quickly generate realistic content based on specific keywords:

With an extension like this, you can fill in text fields quickly and intuitively from a simple prompt. Thanks to ChatGPT's great flexibility, you can get coherent, relevant text that perfectly matches the tone you want.

Optimizing SEO
Generative artificial intelligence can support content SEO, helping you rank higher in search engines. Specialized plugins analyze keywords, suggest titles, generate alternative text (alt) for images, meta descriptions and SEO-optimized copy.

AI can also provide detailed content performance analysis, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities. This approach helps you maximize online visibility, attract more visitors and increase engagement, especially in an omnichannel strategy.

Creating images with artificial intelligenceAccording to a study by Everypixel Journal, more than 15 billion images were created with text-to-image algorithms between 2022 and 2023. To put that in perspective, it took photographers several decades, starting from the first photograph taken in the early 1800s, to reach the same milestone.

Plugins such as DALL-E Asset Source let you generate images from a text prompt and have them available right in the DatoCMS media library:

This means you can create custom images for your content without having to contact a designer. The benefit is a significant saving in time and resources.

Assisting with content creation
One of the most common applications of artificial intelligence in online services and physical devices is the virtual assistant. Similarly, when applied in a CMS, AI proves a valuable ally, providing smart, targeted suggestions for writing and formatting.

This feedback is essential for creating quality content that meets your goals. That's how AI not only simplifies the work but also sparks creativity in the writing process.

Translating content automatically
One of the most tedious tasks in content internationalization is translation. In the past, this required experts able not only to translate content literally but also to adapt the text to the cultural specifics of the target audience.

With plugins like Translate, content translation has become instant:

By integrating with AI-based translation systems such as Yandex Translate, DeepL and OpenAI, you can now automatically translate any text field with a single click, right in DatoCMS.

DatoCMS proves to be a powerful content management tool, able to take full advantage of its synergy with generative AI. This is just one of the many reasons it's part of the technology stack of Cantiere Creativo, a company with years of experience in web development and technology innovation.

Now, artificial intelligence may seem like magic, but using it always and everywhere may not be a winning approach. It's essential to understand where, how and when to integrate it to maximize the benefits, especially in terms of productivity and effectiveness.

In fields that demand a high degree of customization and top-tier design, such as web design and brand design, AI can certainly speed up some processes, but it can't replace every creative process. Doing so could compromise your brand identity and, as a result, harm your business.

To get the most out of this technology, it's essential to have the support of a digital partner with a broad portfolio of successful projects.

Explore our case studies to learn more!

In this article, you learned what artificial intelligence is and how its generative offshoot has changed the content creation landscape for good. The most effective way to harness this new technology is to integrate it directly into an advanced content management system like DatoCMS.

Of course, relying blindly on artificial intelligence isn't advisable. On the contrary, it's essential to have the guidance of a cutting-edge digital partner that can support you in integrating generative AI so you get the most out of this extraordinary tool.