What is the Drupal AI Initiative?
The official launch of the Drupal AI has been announced. This initiative aims to make Drupal the benchmark for ethical, transparent, and powerful AI in open-source digital experience platforms. It’s not about slapping ChatGPT onto your CMS; it’s about embedding AI-driven capabilities into the core of Drupal in ways that are robust, auditable, and genuinely fit for government and enterprise.
Key priorities include:
Trust and Compliance: Built-in audit trails, transparent governance, and flexible model selection (“bring your own LLM”) to meet the unique requirements of the public sector.
Practical Utility: Tools for content creation, multilingual publishing, compliance, and digital accessibility—moving beyond hype to solve real pain points.
Open Source Collaboration: A community-driven funding and delivery model for accelerating AI capabilities, outpacing proprietary content management systems.
This is a significant investment by the global Drupal ecosystem, targeting $1.5M in funding and in-kind contributions by late 2025, with development and roadmap control overseen by an independent leadership team and advisory board.
Who’s Involved?
The Drupal AI Initiative is led by a coalition of globally recognised open-source digital agencies and technology leaders:
Leadership Team: Jamie ( ), Baddý ( ), Christoph ( ), Dominique De ( ), and Kristen (Salsa Digital).
Delivery Team: Marcus (Technical Lead) and others to be recruited for project management, release management, and user experience.
Advisory Board: Dries (Drupal Project Lead), representatives from the Drupal Association, and major funding partners (“Makers of Drupal AI”) such as Salsa Digital, FreelyGive, Acquia, Dropsolid, and 1xINTERNET.
Community and Track Leads: Delivery and technical team members are drawn from contributors and “makers” who demonstrate both operational excellence and a commitment to responsible AI. Our initial leads include our marketing track leads, Paul (1xINTERNET) and Frederik (Dropsolid).
Cross-Team Collaboration: We are working closely with the Drupal CMS leadership , Experience Builder leadership , and the Drupal to align and prioritise features and community efforts.
Organisations can get involved at multiple levels—providing funding, dedicating staff time, and contributing directly to product development and governance. Every major decision is subject to transparent reporting and open documentation, an important step for any government or risk-averse agency.
A special thank you to Jamie, Marcus, Baddý, Christoph, Paul, Dominique, Frederik, Lauri, Dries, and the Drupal Association for the hard work in helping organize this initiative. We look forward to accelerating AI innovation in Drupal together and with the broader Drupal community.
Kristen Pol’s Role and Salsa Digital’s Involvement
As part of the AI Initiative’s founding leadership team, I (Kristen Pol) am directly responsible for coordinating contributors, supporting community engagement, and aligning cross-team efforts to ensure smooth project operations. My remit is not just operational but strategic: advocating for public sector needs and ensuring that government standards around accessibility, privacy, and transparency are baked in from the outset—not added as afterthoughts.
Salsa Digital’s involvement is more than symbolic. We are founding funders and active contributors to the day-to-day management of the initiative. We believe government agencies must have a real seat at the table to keep AI development honest, practical, and open. Our goal is to drive an approach where public value, ethical standards, and Australian digital priorities are front and centre.
Why This Matters for Government and Digital Leaders
The rise of AI in digital platforms is inevitable. The real question for the Australian public sector is whether you will shape the technology, or simply consume it on someone else’s terms. The Drupal AI Initiative is your opportunity to help steer the agenda, demand high standards of governance and compliance, and ensure that open-source digital transformation continues to serve the public good—not just the interests of global tech vendors.
We’ll be sharing more details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you want to discuss how you or your agency can be involved, reach out directly. This is an open invitation to shape the next era of public digital infrastructure.