Documentation AEM as a Cloud Service User Guide

Generate Variations - Integrated in AEM Editors

Last update: April 22, 2025

Topics:
Generate Variations

CREATED FOR:

Admin
Developer
User

If you are looking for a way to optimize your digital channels and accelerate content creation, you can use Generate Variations integrated into the AEM editors.

Generate Variations uses generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create content variations based on your input. After creating variations, you can use the content on your website, and also measure their success using the Experimentation functionality of Edge Delivery Services.

This helps accelerate content velocity by quickly creating on brand content in minutes. This in turn helps improve conversion with new copy variants.

You can access Generate Variations from the following editors (once they have been configured):

within the Sidekick of AEM Edge Delivery Services; for document based authoring
within the Universal Editor
within the Content Fragments Editor

IMPORTANT

This page uses document based authoring as the base for examples, but the principles apply to the other editors.

NOTE

In all cases, to use Generate Variations you must ensure that the access prerequisites are fulfilled.

NOTE

It is recommended that you use this version, as although the standalone version of Generate Variations can still be directly accessed, it will be deprecated in the future.

You can then:

Select the content you want to work with - from existing blocks of your content
- The selected block steers what is shown and the actions available
Describe the changes you want
Generate variations of your content, then take further actions if wanted
Select and use a variation
Review your history
View your favorites

Legal and Usage Note

Usage of Generate Variations is tied to the consumption of generative actions.

NOTE

See the Security Fact Sheet for details related to Generate Variation in AEM.

Overview

When you open Generate Variations integrated into an editor, you see the extension as a floating panel that has three tabs.

Generate Variations - document based authoring overview

The editor:
- This shows the content flow in the editor.
- Here you can select a block of content for use in Generate variations.
Generate variations:
- Is a floating panel with three tabs, that can be relocated as you want
- Generate:
  - Shows the content you have selected.
  - Provides sample Suggestions for changes.
  - Allows you to describe the changes you want.
  - Allows you to Generate new variations.
  - Shows the generated variations.
  - Take further actions on a variation.
  - Use a generated variation.
- History:
  - Shows your recent history of generations.
- Favorites:
  - Shows results from previous generations that you have flagged as Favorites.
- Adobe Generative AI terms: Links to Adobe Experience Cloud Generative AI User Guidelines.

Get Started with Generate variations

The interface guides you through the process of generating content. After opening the interface, the first step is to select the block of content you want to use.

Select the content

From the main content flow of the editor, select the content for which you want to generate variations. This Selection will be shown in the Generate tab.

Describe the changes you want

To generate variations of the content you need to describe the changes you want. You can either select one of the Suggestions given, or provide your own description.

You can also specify Modifiers to provide more context:

Reference a web page
Provide a URL for more context.
Upload content brief
Update a .docx file containing details of the content brief (10MB or less).

Generate Copy

After you have described the changes you want, select Generate to see responses from generative AI.

Generate Variations - document based generate copy

Take further action on a variation

When you select a single variation, you can use the following actions:

Edit
- You can edit the text of the generated variation.
  - Your updates can be previewed in the web page.
- Save your changes for later use.
Favorite
- Flag this variation for future reference.
- Once flagged, it will be shown under the Favorites tab.
AI Rationale
- For additional transparency, this provides a short description of why generative AI generated that particular variation.

Use a generated variation

To use the content generated with generative AI, you must first select and Export to CSV.

After exporting, you can use the content elsewhere; for example, when authoring content for your website. You can also run an experiment.

NOTE

When Generate Variations is accessed from either the AEM Universal Editor or the AEM Content Fragment Editor, then the selected generated content is automatically saved to AEM.

History

This tab shows your past activity as after you select Generate. a History entry is added.

If, at a later point, you select the same content in the main flow and open the History tab, then you see all generated variations for that block.

Favorites

After reviewing the content you can save selected variations as favorites.

Once saved they are shown under Favorites. Favorites are persisted (until you Unfavorite them, or clear the browser cache).

You can Edit, Unfavorite or show the AI Rationale for an entry.
Once a variation is selected, you can also Export to CSV.

Generative Action Usage

Usage management depends on the action taken:

Generate Variations

One generation of a copy variant is equal to one generative action. As a customer, you have a certain number of generative actions that come with your AEM license. Once the base entitlement is consumed, you have the ability to purchase additional actions.

NOTE
See Adobe Experience Manager: Cloud Service | Product Description for further details about base entitlements, and reach out to your account team if you would like to purchase more generative actions.

Access Generate Variations

After fulfilling the prerequisites you can access Generate Variations from AEM as a Cloud Service or the Sidekick of the Edge Delivery Services.

Access Prerequisites

To use Generate Variations you must ensure that the prerequisites are fulfilled:

Access to Experience Manager as a Cloud Service with Edge Delivery Services

Access to Experience Manager as a Cloud Service with Edge Delivery Services

Users who need access to Generate Variations must be entitled to an Experience Manager as a Cloud Service environment with Edge Delivery Services.

NOTE

If your contract for AEM Sites as a Cloud Service does not include Edge Delivery Services, you will need to sign a new contract to get access.

You should reach out to your Account Team to discuss how you can move to AEM Sites as a Cloud Service with Edge Delivery Services.

To grant access to specific users, assign their user account to the respective product profile. See Assigning AEM Product Profiles for further details.

Access from the AEM Sidekick for document based authoring

Access from the AEM Sidekick is used for document based authoring.

Some configuration is needed before you can access Generate Variations from the Sidekick (of Edge Delivery Services).

NOTE

See the document Installing the AEM Sidekick for how to install and configure the Sidekick.

To use the Generate Variations in the Sidekick (of Edge Delivery Services), include the following configurations in your Edge Delivery Services projects.

Enable our app in:

tools/sidekick/config.json

This must be merged into your existing configuration and then deployed.

For example:

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "id": "aem-genai-variations",
      "titleI18n": {
        "en": "Generate with AI"
      },
      "environments": [
        "preview"
      ],
      "includePaths": [
        "**.docx**"
      ],
      "event": "aem-genai-variations-sidekick"
    }
  ]
}

Create:

/tools/sidekick/aem-genai-variations.js

You must create this file with the following content:

(function () {
  let isAEMGenAIVariationsAppLoaded = false;
  function loadAEMGenAIVariationsApp() {
    const script = document.createElement('script');
    script.src = 'https://experience.adobe.com/solutions/aem-sites-genai-aem-genai-variations-mfe/static-assets/resources/sidekick/client.js?source=plugin';
    script.onload = function () {
      isAEMGenAIVariationsAppLoaded = true;
    };
    script.onerror = function () {
      console.error('Error loading AEMGenAIVariationsApp.');
    };
    document.head.appendChild(script);
  }

  function handlePluginButtonClick() {
    if (!isAEMGenAIVariationsAppLoaded) {
      loadAEMGenAIVariationsApp();
    }
  }

  // The code snippet for the Sidekick V1 extension, https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/aem-sidekick/ccfggkjabjahcjoljmgmklhpaccedipo?hl=en
  const sidekick = document.querySelector('helix-sidekick');
  if (sidekick) {
    // sidekick already loaded
    sidekick.addEventListener('custom:aem-genai-variations-sidekick', handlePluginButtonClick);
  } else {
    // wait for sidekick to be loaded
    document.addEventListener('sidekick-ready', () => {
      document.querySelector('helix-sidekick')
        .addEventListener('custom:aem-genai-variations-sidekick', handlePluginButtonClick);
    }, { once: true });
  }

  // The code snippet for the Sidekick V2 extension, https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/aem-sidekick/igkmdomcgoebiipaifhmpfjhbjccggml?hl=en
  const sidekickV2 = document.querySelector('aem-sidekick');
  if (sidekickV2) {
    // sidekick already loaded
    sidekickV2.addEventListener('custom:aem-genai-variations-sidekick', handlePluginButtonClick);
  } else {
    // wait for sidekick to be loaded
    document.addEventListener('sidekick-ready', () => {
      document.querySelector('aem-sidekick')
        .addEventListener('custom:aem-genai-variations-sidekick', handlePluginButtonClick);
    }, { once: true });
  }
}());

Update:
- /scripts/scripts.js
This must be updated to include the following statement in the loadLazy()function:
import('../tools/sidekick/aem-genai-variations.js');
This ensures that /tools/sidekick/aem-genai-variations.js is loaded as part of the lazy loading process.
You may then need to ensure that users have Access to Experience Manager as a Cloud Service with Edge Delivery Services.
You can then access the feature, by selecting Generate with AI from the toolbar of the Sidekick: