Drupal + AI: How to Add Intelligent Content Recommendations

In the digital experience world, content is everywhere—but not every user wants the same thing. Modern websites need to understand behavior, adapt quickly, and suggest the right content at the right time. That is where AI-powered content recommendations shine.

If you are using Drupal, you can implement intelligent recommendation systems that guide users through personalized journeys based on their interests, behavior, or past interactions. In this blog, you will learn how to integrate AI with Drupal to build content recommendations that feel smart, relevant, and scalable.

Why Content Recommendations Matter

Content discovery is essential to engagement. If a visitor lands on one article and leaves, you have lost the opportunity to increase their time on site, brand affinity, or conversion. Intelligent content recommendations can help:

• Boost session duration
• Increase page views
• Improve content relevance
• Personalize the user experience
• Raise conversion or lead generation rates

Drupal's Strength: Structured Content

Before diving into AI, it is worth noting that Drupal’s architecture already gives you an edge. Because it relies on structured content and taxonomy, it becomes easier to categorize, relate, and surface content based on tags, topics, or user preferences.

That structure is what AI can build on top of.

Approaches to AI-Powered Content Recommendations in Drupal

There are multiple ways to bring AI into your Drupal site for intelligent recommendations. Some methods are simple rule-based systems, while others leverage machine learning or external AI services.

Let’s break them down.

Rule-Based Recommendations Using Taxonomy

The most basic approach is showing content with similar taxonomy terms. For example, when a user reads a blog tagged with "AI", you show them more content with the same tag.

Modules like Views and Contextual Filters allow this easily.

While not AI per se, this is a good starting point for relevance-based recommendations.

Using Drupal Modules for Content Recommendations

Modules like Smart Content or Personalize offer behavioral targeting. These modules track users and show content based on factors like:

• Referrer
• Device type
• Location
• Time on site
• User role

This setup provides personalization, and with the right configuration, it feels intelligent.

Integrating with AI APIs (OpenAI, TensorFlow, etc.)

To create truly smart recommendations, you can use external machine learning APIs. Here’s how:

1. Track user behavior (what they read, how long, etc.) using analytics or custom events

2. Store or push that behavior to an external service like OpenAI, TensorFlow, or a recommendation engine (e.g., Amazon Personalize)

3. Fetch content suggestions based on predicted preferences

4. Display those suggestions inside Drupal using blocks or Views

This requires technical setup but provides powerful, evolving recommendations based on user behavior patterns.

AI on Decoupled Drupal

If you are using Drupal as a backend with a React or Vue frontend, you can pass user behavior to an AI system in real time. The frontend queries the AI and displays recommendations from the Drupal API accordingly.

This gives you freedom to combine Drupal’s content modeling with modern AI logic and faster rendering.

Example Use Cases

Here are some real-world examples where Drupal with AI-powered content recommendations adds value:

• News sites recommending trending or related stories
• E-learning platforms showing next logical lessons or courses
• B2B portals suggesting relevant whitepapers
• Ecommerce sites offering product content based on browsing behavior
• Membership platforms highlighting content based on member tier

Tools That Help You Get Started

To implement this, you can use:

• Google Cloud Recommendations AI
• OpenAI’s embedding API for semantic similarity
• Apache PredictionIO (open-source)
• Recombee or Amazon Personalize for turnkey solutions
• Smart Content or Personalize modules for native Drupal-based targeting

Analytics and Testing

To ensure your recommendations are working, track:

• Click-through rate on recommended items
• Time on site after engagement
• Repeat visits
• Conversion rate improvements

Use Google Analytics or heatmaps to see what content is gaining traction due to your AI suggestions.

How Drupalify Can Help

At Drupalify, we specialize in building intelligent Drupal ecosystems. Whether you want to start with simple behavioral personalization or go deep with AI integrations, we build tailored solutions that convert.

Our services include:

• Drupal-AI API integration
• Recommendation logic planning
• Content architecture optimization
• Performance tuning for large content libraries
• Smart blocks and dynamic UI creation

You can get started here:
👉 Explore Our Drupal Services
📅 Book a Free Consultation

Final Thoughts

Content is only valuable when it reaches the right person at the right time. Drupal, when combined with AI, becomes more than a CMS—it becomes a content intelligence engine.

If you are ready to make your Drupal site smarter, more engaging, and more effective, content recommendations are a great place to start.