DatoCMS has intentionally held back from integrating numerous AI features, despite many other CMS platforms adopting an “AI-first” strategy. They note that while other CMS dashboards are filled with AI writing assistants, SEO optimizers, and image taggers, their users often ignore these additions. DatoCMS believes there’s a practical difference between genuinely useful AI for daily workflows and features added due to industry pressure.
The company is not “anti-AI” and uses tools like Claude Code internally. They also highlight that their APIs and CLI are designed to be AI-friendly, allowing users to integrate their own AI workflows smoothly. DatoCMS has shipped opt-in AI-related features, such as an MCP server for automating projects, AI-friendly documentation, and an AI translations plugin, ensuring these are not forced into the core user experience.
A key concern for DatoCMS, as a European company, is data residency and security when content is routed through LLMs. They are uncomfortable with automatically sending user project data to LLMs without explicit consent, especially for enterprise clients with sensitive content. Their approach prioritizes features that users would genuinely choose to use, are well-integrated, and transparent about data handling.
What are your thoughts on opt-in versus baked-in AI features in development tools?
Source: <a href="https://datocms.com/blog/not-ai-first-headless-cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">DatoCMS Blog</a>

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DatoCMS explains why it has deliberately avoided an 'AI-first' approach despite industry trends. Rather than filling its dashboard with AI writing assistants and SEO tools, the company focuses on opt-in AI features that users genuinely choose to use. Key concerns include data residency and security, particularly for European enterprise clients whose content would be routed through LLMs without explicit consent. DatoCMS does use AI internally (Claude Code) and has shipped AI-friendly APIs, an MCP server, and an AI translations plugin, but keeps these out of the core experience. The post frames this as a principled stance: prioritizing genuinely useful, transparent AI integrations over feature additions driven by industry pressure.

DatoCMS Explains Its Deliberate Non-AI-First Headless CMS Approach