Bringing Drupal AI into Your DNA: Boosting Drupal Search with AI Without Hallucinations

Imagine you are looking for something on a website, but you are not sure which exact word to type. You try a few keywords, but nothing helpful appears. This is a common problem. Traditional search only works well when you already know the right words.

In this session of the Drupal AI series, we explored how AI can make search feel more natural and more helpful.

We began with a simple example. On the Umami demo site, searching for “Italy” showed no results. However, there were recipes clearly inspired by Italian food. The problem was that the word “Italy” did not appear anywhere in the text, so the search could not find it.

When we turned on AI-powered search, it understood the idea of Italian cuisine and immediately found the right recipes. It recognised meaning, not just letters.

Next, we looked at how this can help real teams. Many Drupal users struggle to find the right modules. If you do not know the module’s name, traditional search can be frustrating. The new AI module finder solves this. You simply describe your problem, and the AI suggests modules that might help, and explains why. It feels like asking advice from a colleague who knows Drupal well.

One of the most important parts of the session was how to use AI without hallucinations. Instead of letting the AI invent answers, it can be set up to only select information that already exists in the Drupal database. For example, when searching through public research records, the AI reads your question and quietly applies the correct filters behind the scenes. The results are accurate, trustworthy and based only on real data.

This approach keeps the best parts of AI while maintaining reliability and control.

We also looked ahead to how Drupal will use AI for more advanced tasks. Soon, Drupal will be able to work with AI agents that can research topics step by step, and connect safely to external tools. This opens the door to smarter, more helpful digital services.

The main message of the session was simple. AI search is not here to replace Drupal search. It is here to make it more helpful and more human. Instead of forcing people to think like computers, AI allows Drupal to understand people better. It is one more way of bringing AI into the everyday life of Drupal sites, slowly and responsibly, at the pace that works for your organisation.

If you are interested in knowing more, you can rewatch the session here.