The top 5 content management trends in 2025

1. Generative AI

ECM vendors have increasingly embedded GenAI tools into their repositories, typically in the form of AI assistants, McKinnon said. GenAI has many ECM use cases, such as improving enterprise search, transforming content from one form to another and creating first drafts. ECM tools with GenAI let users interact with their content repositories in a natural, Q&A style.

"Right in the context of where they're already working with their documents, they can click some kind of icon and be able to start engaging with content in different ways, using prompts," McKinnon said.

For example, Microsoft 365 offers a GenAI assistant called Copilot. In SharePoint -- the company's ECM tool -- Copilot lets users design intranet sites and draft text content with natural language prompts. A user might ask the tool to create an employee directory webpage with a blue and white theme and feature the company logo at the top, and the tool can generate a draft that users can edit.

Cheryl McKinnon

Many vendors have also enhanced their GenAI assistants to more accurately understand the context in which users work, McKinnon said. For instance, these tools can respect the security permissions, access controls and classification labels that organizations use to protect sensitive information.

Additionally, these tools can understand the content structure within specific workspaces, such as different project folders, to offer more relevant responses to prompts. For example, an HR specialist working in a folder with information about employee benefits packages might ask the assistant to summarize the company's health benefits for a new hire. The tool can then use information in that folder to generate a response. This targeted approach provides users with information most relevant to their own work context.

2. Agentic AI

Some ECM vendors have begun to experiment with agentic AI, which refers to advanced AI models that can make decisions and navigate complex scenarios. By early 2025, organizations can expect more development in this area, according to McKinnon.

"We're starting to see at least a couple of vendors in this space … looking at ways for these AI assistants to work with other assistants," McKinnon said.

Agentic AI tools, also known as autonomous agents, can take on various personas, such as content management specialists or HR assistants, to create and automate ad hoc workflows. For example, Microsoft offers Copilot Studio, a low-code platform to create various types of autonomous agents, such as finance assistants and IT support agents. These agents can handle specialized tasks, collaborate across departments and work with other AI assistants in third-party tools, such as CRM and ERP systems, to execute complex workflows.

3. Platform expansion

Most content platforms and ECM systems offer core content management functionalities, like document and records management. However, vendors have begun to expand their capabilities into new markets, such as robotic process automation, intelligent document processing, e-signature and document generation, McKinnon said.

This evolution lets organizations replace standalone tools with broader, more integrated capabilities from their existing ECM vendors. For some organizations, this approach can simplify business operations and help employees become efficient.

4. Line-of-business involvement

In the past, IT leaders made most of the decisions around ECM purchases and implementation, because the systems focused mostly on back-end operations. However, as vendors expand their offerings to include more automation features, organizations have begun to involve other business leaders to identify areas or processes to automate.

"We're definitely seeing line-of-business leaders taking a bigger role at the table, especially when they have very specific business applications or business challenges they need to solve," McKinnon said.

For example, an HR rep might want an automation in the ECM system to create and send onboarding documents to new hires. To help that user and other nontechnical staff design custom workflows themselves, organizations can invest in ECM systems that offer low-code and no-code development capabilities. These tools offer intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces to help business users who lack coding knowledge design workflows.

5. Predictive analytics

Many ECM systems offer analytics dashboards to track content usage and compliance. For example, an organization's ECM system might show which HR documents employees view the most and least. These insights can help content managers enhance their strategies and remove redundant, outdated and trivial content.

However, as ECM vendors integrate AI more deeply into their offerings, content managers can expect content analytics to become more predictive and proactive in nature, McKinnon said. For example, an AI-powered records management tool might notice employees only refer to past employee performance reviews for three years, yet the retention policy mandates the organization keeps them for a full seven years. The tool could then suggest the records management team reevaluate the records retention schedule.

Predictive analytics can help organizations optimize their ECM strategies, improve operational efficiency and make data-driven decisions across all content management processes.

How AI will affect content management in 2025

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Key takeaways

AI is the key theme for content management in 2025 and underpins many of the top trends, such as GenAI, agentic AI and predictive analytics. Organizations that have yet to create a GenAI strategy can evaluate the tools and pricing options on the market.

Many vendors license GenAI on a per-user basis, which presents a barrier to entry for some organizations. However, a few vendors added AI assistants directly into their enterprise tier business bundles, according to McKinnon.

"Expect to see more and more getting embedded right into the platform if this starts to become a competitive space," McKinnon said.

Tim Murphy is associate site editor for TechTarget's Customer Experience and Content Management sites.