If you couldn’t make it to DrupalCon Vienna, here’s what you missed in the DriesNote.
Dries just delivered a DriesNote that marks a true turning point for Drupal — and the message couldn’t be clearer: we’re not just adapting to AI, we’re accelerating straight into it.
With 69% of Google searches now resulting in zero clicks, AI is fundamentally changing how people interact with the web. This is a new challenge for developers and agencies alike — but Dries says this can be an opportunity for Drupal.
Dries said AI isn’t replacing websites, it’s expanding their importance. Websites remain the source of truth — the home of trust, authenticity, and brand identity. AI agents will always need to cite and link back to authoritative sources.
Drupal's strategic investments in modern APIs, versioning, and configuration management have made it one of the most AI-ready frameworks in the world.
When AI agents make mistakes, you need systems that can roll back safely — and that’s exactly what Drupal excels at.
With innovation in the Drupal community doubling over the past year, the project is ready to run toward the storm. As Dries put it: AI is the storm, but AI is also the way through the storm.
Major Announcements from the DriesNote
Drupal Canvas 1.0 - Release candidate is OUT (as of this week). Full release November 2025. This is the no-code visual site builder that's been in development across multiple DriesNotes. It includes integrated CKEditor, Metatag support, Webform compatibility, content templates, and even code components for JavaScript developers. Canvas will become the default experience in Drupal CMS 2.0.
Site Templates & Marketplace - The Drupal Association Board unanimously approved funding from their Board Vision Fund for a curated marketplace on Drupal.org. The first template "Byte" (built by Media Current) gets you from install to complete B2B SaaS site in under 3 minutes with the Mercury theme and design system. 10-15 more templates are coming from Drupal Certified Partners during the pilot phase. Soon, designers will be able to create and export templates with no code required.
Drupal AI Initiative - In the past 6 months, the AI Initiative raised $1M in combined funding ($200K cash + $800K in FTE hours from 22 agency partners) — the biggest fundraising effort in Drupal's history. Major features demonstrated:
- AI-powered full page generation with dozens of components in Canvas
- Context Control Center - teach AI your brand voice, target audience, product info, and messaging for consistent outputs
- Autonomous background agents that work while you sleep, updating content based on product changes
- Design-to-code workflow with Figma MCP server integration (demonstrated by student contributor Witze)
- Hybrid workflows mixing deterministic logic with AI steps
Drupal CMS 2.0 - Launching January 2026, potentially on Drupal's 25th birthday. Will ship with Canvas as the default out-of-the-box experience. Major marketing push planned for March 2026, with site templates and marketplace becoming a primary focus throughout the year.
Orchestration as "DXP 2.0" - Dries introduced a vision for internal orchestration (ECA improvements) and external automation tools (like ActivePieces) working together. ECA will get a major UX overhaul to make it more accessible. External tools can trigger Drupal AI agents and ECA workflows, creating powerful hybrid automation. This could redefine what agencies build and how they generate revenue.
Who This Benefits
This isn't all just for no-code site builders. Developers get powerful APIs and code components. Agencies gain new service offerings through AI and orchestration tools. Enterprises get the governance, security, and scalability they need with modern experiences their teams can actually use.
Thank You to the Community
Dries thanked the Drupal community. He pointed out that innovation in Drupal has doubled in the past year, and said that doesn't happen by accident. The community rallied around the Starshot project (Drupal CMS), contributed to strategic initiatives, and built these tools together. The 22 agencies funding Drupal AI, the Drupal Certified Partners building templates, leadership from people like Tiffany Farris on the marketplace — this is what makes Drupal different.
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