Regulation is raising the bar for technical documentation
Better documentation operations are valuable on their own. New EU requirements add urgency for teams that need technical information to stay controlled, traceable and current.
EU machinery
The EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies from 20 January 2027. It strengthens requirements around technical documentation, including risk assessments, design information and manufacturing information. It also sets specific conditions for providing instructions digitally. Technical documentation must remain available to market surveillance authorities for at least 10 years - increasing the importance of controlled, traceable and maintainable content.
Cyber resilience
The EU Cyber Resilience Act introduces reporting obligations for actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents from 11 September 2026, with its main requirements applying from 11 December 2027. Manufacturers of products with digital elements will need cybersecurity risk assessments, technical documentation and documented vulnerability handling - making structured, current and continuously maintained product information increasingly important.
This is not legal advice. Applicability should be checked with the relevant compliance team.
Bring technical documentation into the AEM ecosystem
AEM Guides brings structured technical content into Adobe Experience Manager, connecting authoring, review, reuse, translation and publishing with AEM Sites, Assets and Edge Delivery Services.
Instead of content being spread across files and systems, documentation teams get a more structured way to manage versions, reduce duplication and move approved content across channels.
Already using AEM
Extend your existing AEM platform with AEM Guides to manage technical content, workflows and publishing in the same ecosystem. Reuse governed content across channels and connect documentation more closely with the rest of AEM.
Starting fresh
Build AEM and AEM Guides together from the start, creating one foundation for technical documentation and digital experiences. Design content, workflows and delivery together from day one.
What AEM Guides changes in practice
AEM Guides adds a component content management system, or CCMS, to Adobe Experience Manager. Instead of treating a manual or other document as one large file, teams work with smaller structured DITA topics such as procedures, warnings, product descriptions and troubleshooting steps. Those topics can be created in AEM, reused where needed, moved through controlled workflows and published to different channels from the same source.
Authoring
Author directly in AEM
Writers can create and manage structured DITA content directly in AEM Guides using the built-in editor. AI-assisted capabilities can help with tasks such as improving, reusing, translating and tagging content. Everything stays in the AEM repository alongside other digital assets.
Content management
Reuse content instead of copying it
Create structured content once, then reuse it wherever it is needed. Updates are made at the source, helping teams keep content consistent without maintaining multiple copies.
Efficiency
Build review and automation into the process
Create review and approval workflows directly in AEM, assign reviewers, capture real-time comments and track progress in one place. Workflows can also support repeatable translation and publishing processes with less manual coordination.
Workflow
Publish the same content in different ways
Use the same approved source for AEM Sites, Edge Delivery Services, PDF, HTML5, EPUB, JSON and other configured outputs. The content stays controlled in AEM Guides while the delivery format changes for each audience or channel.
Governance
Know what changed and what was approved
Version history, labels and baselines help teams trace changes, identify approved content and understand which version was used for a specific release.
Publishing
Give search and AI better source content
Search and AI experiences work better with structured, current and governed content. AEM Guides uses metadata and tagging to make content easier to find, filter and use across AI search, chatbots, self-service support and other AI-powered experiences.
Localization
Manage translation and localization
Connect translation to the structured source content so multilingual documentation can follow the same controlled process. Reused content can also reduce the amount of material that needs to be translated again.
AI & search
AI-ready
Search and AI experiences work better with structured, current and governed content. AEM Guides uses metadata and tagging to make content easier to find, filter and use across AI search, chatbots, self-service support and other AI-powered experiences.
Deep expertise across the full AEM Guides implementation lifecycle
From assessment and migration to implementation, launch and ongoing support, we help make technical content easier to create, manage and deliver.
01 Assess
Review your content, tools and workflows to identify duplication, manual work and publishing bottlenecks.
02 Design & plan the solution
Define the content model, reuse, workflows, automation, integrations, migration and publishing approach.
03 Migrate & implement
Migrate and structure existing content, configure AEM Guides, set up workflows, publishing, integrations and search.
04 Launch
Train teams, go live with the new process and launch the required documentation channels and experiences.
05 Support & evolve
Support day-to-day operations, refine workflows and extend the solution with more automation, integrations and new experiences.
Want to understand AEM Guides in more detail?
Explore practical guidance on improving technical documentation with AEM Guides - from structuring and reusing content to publishing across channels and preparing documentation for AI-driven experiences. Use the health check to see how your current documentation setup is working, where there is room to improve and where AEM Guides could help.
Technical Documentation Health Check
Answer 10 questions about creation, reuse, versioning, review, translation, automation and publishing. See what is working well, where there is room to improve and where AEM Guides could help.
Common questions about AEM Guides
Questions that usually come up when teams start evaluating AEM Guides, migration effort and the impact on existing documentation processes.
Is AEM Guides only relevant for companies already using AEM?
No. Existing AEM customers have the most direct path because AEM Guides extends a platform already in place. Organizations not using AEM can also evaluate AEM and AEM Guides together as a broader platform for digital experiences and technical documentation.
What actually moves into AEM Guides?
The focus is usually technical content that benefits from structure, reuse, version control and controlled publishing. This can include manuals, product instructions, procedures, service information, troubleshooting content, knowledge articles, learning and training materials and other product documentation. Images and other digital assets can continue to be managed closely alongside the documentation through AEM Assets and DAM.
How does AEM Guides work with the rest of AEM?
AEM Guides does not need to sit on its own. It uses the AEM repository and works closely with AEM Assets for DITA files, images and other digital assets. Structured content can then be published into AEM Sites or Edge Delivery Services for web delivery, while the same governed source can also feed PDF, HTML5, JSON and other outputs. Combining Guides with the wider AEM platform connects technical content management with the digital experience delivered to end users.
Does all existing documentation need to be migrated at once?
No. A migration can start with one product line, one document family or one publishing use case. Existing content can be assessed first to determine what should be migrated, restructured, reused, archived or left where it is.
What happens to content in Word, FrameMaker, InDesign, websites or other systems?
Existing non-DITA content can be converted into structured DITA as part of the migration. The approach depends on the source content, its quality, volume and how much structure and reuse should be introduced. Existing DITA or FrameMaker environments can also be considered as part of the migration strategy.
Will documentation teams need to change how they work?
Usually yes, but the goal is to remove unnecessary work rather than introduce more of it. Authors can work directly in AEM Guides. Reviews can happen in the browser. Reusable content reduces copying. Workflows can automate parts of review, translation and publishing. The implementation should be designed around the people using it, not only around the technology.
Can the same content be used for websites, PDFs, portals and AI experiences?
Yes. Structured content can be published to several outputs from the same governed source, including AEM Sites, Edge Delivery Services, PDF, HTML5, JSON and other configured channels. The same structured content and metadata can also provide a stronger source for search, AI assistants, retrieval-based experiences and self-service support.
Where does AI fit into an AEM Guides implementation?
AI can play two roles. First, AEM Guides as a Cloud Service includes AI-assisted authoring capabilities that help authors work with content inside Guides. Depending on the enabled features, this can include suggestions for reusing existing content, improving or translating selected text, creating short descriptions, restructuring content and AI-assisted tagging. Second, the structured and governed content in AEM Guides can become a strong source for semantic search, retrieval-based assistants or custom LLM solutions that help end users reach the right information faster.
How long does an AEM Guides implementation take?
There is no single timeline. It depends on the amount of content, migration complexity, workflows, languages, publishing channels and integrations involved. A focused first rollout can be much smaller than a full documentation transformation. The assessment phase is used to establish realistic scope, timeline and cost.