Leveraging AI and Machine Learning in Drupal

Dries Buytaert once predicted that AI bots would provide factual information and communicate with emotions and personality, offering more human-like interactions than websites.
Artificial intelligence technologies have recently begun to be actively used in various fields, including web development. But what exactly? Implementing AI into your Drupal-based website opens up vast opportunities to improve your business's efficiency, significantly improve your customers' service quality, and much more. In this article, you will learn how to achieve success by using AI and Machine Learning in Drupal.

Does Drupal use AI or Machine Learning?

Although AI and Machine Learning are not core features in Drupal. However, developers can integrate these capabilities into Drupal websites using modules or custom options.
We are talking about modules available to enable Drupal Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning features, which we will discuss below. Developers all over the world can use custom modules such as Acquia Lift, Paragraphs AI, or Chatbot API to add AI-based features, such as personalized content recommendations, chatbots, and image recognition functions, to websites built on the Drupal platform.
They can also create custom AI and machine learning solutions to increase the capabilities of their Drupal websites. This way, you can implement advanced features such as natural language processing, sentiment analytics, predictions, and more.

Drupal, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning

Drupal developers expressed interest in machine learning at a conference in Baltimore in far 2017. They discussed the possibility of personalizing content on corporate websites using machine learning capabilities.
Gradually, developers began implementing artificial intelligence tools on Drupal, a significant leap in development. By the end of 2023, Drupal sites will have used 168 AI modules to improve the user experience. 60% of these modules have shown stable operation and are supported by Drupal 9 and Drupal 10 versions.
Today, Drupal 9 offers 97 advanced modules powered by AI. 44% of these modules have already achieved stable status. Drupal 10 currently covers 77 modules, 43% of which are stable.
In connection with the presentation of services such as ChatGPT in 2023, Drupal developers are focused on actively implementing artificial intelligence technology. Thanks to the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies, the capabilities of sites created on the Drupal platform will actively expand in 2024.

Top 3 already created Drupal AI solutions 

The integration of AI into Drupal websites is happening rapidly. Today, there are ready-made Drupal AI solutions that help you personalize your websites as much as possible.

1. Augmentor AI ecosystem

Augmentor AI ecosystem is an AI platform that allows you to easily connect such popular AI services as GPT3, ChatGPT, NLP Cloud, and Google Cloud Vision to your website. The platform offers wide functionality:

• Implementing CKEditor 4/5 is possible. This can be done using a special drop-down button in the toolbar. The webmaster can also choose which of the augmentors should be displayed.
• The Default Widget is ideal for managing a single-value response from the augmentor execution. It is recommended for simple augmentors that require only one response, similar to Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button. 
• Use the select widget to receive multiple result options in a select box. This allows you to choose the preferred option from the available choices. 
• Utilize the Augmentor Tags Widget when you intend to focus on a reference field in tag format, such as a taxonomy term tags field. 
• Also, the user can modify several field values with a single Augmentor execution. For instance, with the google_cloud_vision_labels_detection augmentor, you can assign various keys from the response to multiple fields.

2. OpenAI / ChatGPT / AI Search Integration

OpenAI / ChatGPT / AI Search Integration is a module that provides a whole set of useful tools for integrating OpenAI services into Drupal. You can create and analyze text content, images, and more using this module. OpenAI creates products for popular applications such as ChatGPT, GitHub, DALL-E, CoPilot, and others. Among the included submodules it is worth highlighting openai_audio, openai_chatgpt, openai_ckeditor, openai_content, openai_dalle, openai_devel, openai_dblog, openai_prompt, openai_embeddings, openai_tts.

3. Document OCR (Optical Character Recognition) 

Document OCR (Optical Character Recognition) serves as a bridge between OCR services such as Google Document AI, allowing users to extract text from images and PDF files. Additionally, it can export text as properties if the OCR service supports this feature. The module facilitates the mapping of properties and importing content into Drupal entities. It is highly customizable and offers various methods for data transformation before saving it into Drupal entities. The module includes default transformer plugins like Basic, Pipeline, and OpenAI.

Is Drupal Powerful Enough for AI and Machine Learning?

Drupal's flexible and extensive module ecosystem makes it a powerful platform for integrating AI and machine learning capabilities. Several modules allow developers to integrate AI and machine learning functionalities in Drupal websites. For example, modules like the Document OCR module mentioned above can leverage AI services for text extraction.
Drupal can be integrated with popular frameworks and services such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Google Cloud AI to build more advanced AI applications. By creating custom modules and extending Drupal's functionality, developers can implement complex AI algorithms and models within the Drupal ecosystem that haven't been implemented before. So, yes, Drupal is powerful enough for AI and Machine Learning!

Best 5 AI Modules for Drupal in 2024

If you want to integrate AI modules for Drupal in 2024, you can use various solutions:

1. The Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services module enables Drupal websites to leverage various AI services such as text analytics, speech recognition, and computer vision for advanced functionalities.
2. The Drupal Chatbot module allows you to integrate chatbot functionality into your website, enabling AI conversational interfaces for customer support, lead generation, and more.
3. Acquia Lift is a custom module that uses AI to deliver personalized content to users based on their behaviour, preferences, and interactions with the site. It helps to improve user engagement and conversion rates.
4. Watson Content Hub Connector integrates Drupal with IBM Watson Content Hub, allowing users to leverage AI-powered content management and delivery capabilities. It enables features like image recognition, natural language understanding, and sentiment analysis.
5. The Google Cloud Vision API module allows Drupal websites to use Google's powerful image recognition capabilities for such tasks as labelling images, detecting faces, and analyzing text within images.

Integrating AI into a Drupal website can vary from very easy to more complex solutions, depending on the specific requirements of your project. By leveraging existing modules, APIs, or custom development, you can add intelligent capabilities to your Drupal website effectively.

AI and Machine Learning Functionalities in Drupal Website

Using AI on your Drupal website allows you to increase user engagement, improve functionality, and make the website more user-friendly. Here are a few features you can take advantage of thanks to AI:

• Offer personalized content to users based on their behavior.
• Implement chatbots such as Drupal Chatbot API to provide 24/7 customer service.
• Make searching for information on your website faster and more efficient using AI-powered search features.
• Categorize images and videos to make them easier to find with tools like Google Cloud Vision API.
• Use voice search and navigation capabilities to make it even easier for users to navigate your website.
• Create meta descriptions, summaries, and even full-fledged posts using AI capabilities by specifying only input data.
• Predict possible user behavior with AI tools.
• Modules such as GTranslate can be implemented into Drupal websites to provide multilingual support and automatic translation into the user's native language.

Real-World App with AI Today

In the real world today, many AI-based applications are in use in a variety of areas. Here are some examples:

• In the healthcare sector, AI is used to study patient tests and diagnoses.
• AI is an excellent tool for studying customer behavior and building marketing strategies.
• AI-based applications are used for weather forecasting.
• In the banking sector, AI tools assist banks in addressing customer relations issues, forgeries, credit card fraud, and other security problems.
• In finance, AI analyzes large amounts of data to make forecasts.
• Chatbots are effectively utilized in customer support across multiple industries.

Integrating AI and Machine Learning in Drupal – Why is it Good for Your Company? 

Main question: Why incorporate AI and machine learning into Drupal? 
By leveraging AI capabilities within Drupal, you can create more personalized and engaging experiences for your website visitors. Besides, AI features in Drupal allow you to deliver personalized experiences to your users based on their past interactions with your website. 
Providing personalized recommendations and targeted offers through AI allows you to increase sales and maximize revenue potential. Plus, AI integration in Drupal can automate repetitive tasks, streamline content management processes, and enhance website performance.
By offering advanced features such as chatbots, predictive analytics, and personalized recommendations, you can differentiate your brand, attract new customers, and stay ahead of the competition. Talking about ROI, integrating AI into Drupal can lead to significant cost savings, increased efficiency, and higher revenue generation. Deliver personalized experiences to resonate with your target audience to drive customer loyalty and achieve your business goals.