Inside Sitecore Stream: what it is, how it works, and what’s coming next

Inside Sitecore Stream: what it is, how it works, and what’s coming next

Sitecore’s vision for Stream

On day 2 of SUGCON Europe 2025, Sitecore provided more information on Stream, their evolving vision for embedding generative AI across their digital experience ecosystem. Everything shared was forward-looking, subject to change, and offered under the usual roadmap caveats. But what’s clear is that Sitecore is investing heavily in AI to enhance content creation and delivery, positioning Stream as an enhancement layer across its platform stack.

So, what is Sitecore Stream?

Sitecore Stream isn’t a standalone product, it’s a collection of AI-powered services designed to enable content generation and optimisation features throughout Sitecore’s products. It acts as the backbone for generative AI functionality, supporting everything from content rewriting to variant creation.

Stream is available to customers running Sitecore XM, XP, or XM Cloud, with version 10.2 or higher. Ultimately, we will see Stream embedded in all Sitecore’s products. It’s aimed at streamlining editorial workflows and improving efficiency in high-content environments.

Access & installation

To access Sitecore Stream, organisations need:

• An active Stream subscription
• A valid XM, XP, or XM Cloud licence
• Access to the Sitecore portal

Unlike traditional modules, Stream isn’t available via standard documentation or public download. Once subscribed, the module can be accessed through the Sitecore portal’s Stream dashboard. From there, the package can be downloaded and installed in your Sitecore environment.

For more on brand kits, see the Sitecore Stream documentation site: https://doc.sitecore.com/stream/en/users/sitecore-stream/create-a-brand-kit-in-sitecore-stream.html

Configuration

Stream supports brand-aware content generation through Brand Kits. These define tone of voice, colour preferences, and brand style, allowing AI-generated content to align with the organisation’s identity. Multiple brands can be managed in the Stream portal, each with a unique ID and configuration.

Post-installation, several steps are required to configure Stream correctly by modifying Sitecore.AiCloud.config:

• Client ID and Secret credentials must be added to the Stream connection string, these can be generated via the Sitecore portal, note these are only visible once so copy them at generation time
• Add your brand kit IDs

Key use cases today

Stream’s initial feature set is focused on editorial support and copy enhancement:

• Spelling and grammar correction
• Tone adjustment
• Copy expansion or summarisation
• Variant generation (e.g., multiple versions of hero text for testing)

These capabilities are available across both deployment models (cloud and on-premise).

Roadmap

Sitecore outlined a two-phase roadmap, covering both short- and long-term development:

Next

• Translation: Auto-generation of content in other languages at the item or site level, with options to embed translation into editorial workflows
• Content auditing: AI-powered analysis for accessibility, SEO, and legal compliance as examples
• Component generation: Tools for developers and authors to create front-end components. My guess is this dovetails into front-end as a service (FEAAS) but let’s wait and see

Later

• Hypothesis generation
• Personalisation suggestions
• Split test suggestions

Limitations & open questions

While the roadmap is ambitious, there are limitations today:

• No API access: Currently, there’s no way to manage Stream or Brand Kits via API, although this is on the roadmap
• Brand Kit restrictions: The free version of Stream does not support brand-aware content generation
• Image generation: Although on Sitecore’s radar, this is at least 12 months away
• Page context aware generation: Generation now appears to be at the field level, without knowledge of the wider context of the page i.e. what content exists on other fields on the item? What content exists in other components on the page? What is site section that this content lives in about? Etc.

The bigger picture: future of content creation

Generative AI is no longer a luxury, it's fast becoming essential in modern CMS platforms. Sitecore’s investment in Stream reflects this trend. What stands out is the collaborative nature of its development, with the company actively seeking feedback from MVPs, customers, partners and the wider community.

That said, I believe there's an opportunity for Stream to go further. Current features assume the content direction is already known. But the earlier phases, ideation, audience discovery, competitive research, remain underserved. Building AI capabilities that guide content strategy could be the next logical step.

Sitecore Stream represents a major step forward in AI-native CMS evolution. While still early, its focus on improving and accelerating content creation is clear. With its hybrid deployment model, brand awareness features, and expanding roadmap, Stream has strong potential to become an enabler for digital teams.

For those ready to experiment, a free version is available, just speak to your Sitecore account manager.