A 10 minute news update at DrupalCon Rotterdam 2026: everything that shipped for CKEditor in Drupal since Chicago - custom AI Reviews and AI Chat Shortcuts, the Context Control Center bridge between Drupal AI and CKEditor AI, the Export to PDF v2 engine, and the honest story of the 1.x and 2.x module lines heading into Drupal 12.
Released: Tue Sep 29 2026
What the session covered
In Chicago I showed CKEditor AI in Drupal days after the 1.8.0 release - the ink was not dry, and the team kept shipping the moment that talk ended. This sponsored lightning session was the curated changelog: ten minutes, zero fluff, and a clear picture of what your editors get next.
- AI Reviews and AI Chat Shortcuts (1.8.1) - teach the editor's AI your own editorial checks (tone of voice, terminology, compliance) and turn your team's repeated prompts into one-click chat actions.
- One brain: Context Control Center (1.8.2) - Drupal AI's global context (brand voice, site facts, glossaries) now flows into CKEditor AI. The first real bridge between the two ecosystems: define who you are once, and every AI surface speaks with it.
- Export to PDF v2 and housekeeping - the PDF exporter now runs on the actively developed v2 engine, plus a stability-fix roundup for Premium Features and the Plugin Pack.
- One editor, two lines - the honest 1.x vs 2.x split: Drupal 10.3+/11 sites keep the 1.x line with bugfixes, while the 2.x line (CKEditor 5 v48+, UMD builds, all new features) arrives with Drupal 12. Sequencing: Drupal 12 beta, then 2.0.0-beta, then 2.0.0.
- Sneak peeks - proof-of-concepts for real-time collaboration in Drupal and AI with shared context, plus fullscreen mode continuing its journey toward Drupal core.
Takeaways
- CKEditor AI shipped in Chicago and kept shipping: 1.8.1 and 1.8.2 landed within weeks.
- Drupal AI and CKEditor AI share one context: Drupal handles structure, the editor handles authoring.
- Your CKEditor feature roadmap is now coupled to your Drupal 12 migration plan - the modules will be ready when you are.
- Real-time collaboration and shared AI context are what is cooking next.
The venue
DrupalCon Rotterdam 2026, September 28 to October 1 - the European edition of the Drupal community's flagship event. CKEditor sponsored the conference, and this session ran on the Open Stage, picking up exactly where my DrupalCon Chicago lightning talk from March 2026 left off.