What is AEM Sites and AEM Assets? Understanding Adobe Experience Manager

Managing and delivering digital content across websites, apps, and channels is a major challenge for modern enterprises. Content files and assets are often scattered across disconnected systems, making it hard to deliver consistent, personalised customer experiences.

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is built to solve this challenge. It combines web content management and digital asset management in one unified, cloud-native platform. While many still think of AEM as just a CMS, it's a suite of solutions. At its core are Experience Manager Sites (the CMS) and Experience Manager Assets (the DAM) — together, they help businesses create, manage, and deliver content-rich experiences at scale.

This article explains what AEM Sites and AEM Assets are, and how they empower marketing and IT teams to deliver exceptional digital experiences.

Jump to:

• What is Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)?
• What is AEM Sites?
• What is AEM Assets?
• Integration with Adobe Experience Cloud and Experience Platform
• Other Adobe Experience Manager solutions
• Bringing it all together
• Frequently asked questions

What is Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)?

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is an enterprise-grade digital experience platform that integrates multiple content solutions into one cloud-native system. At its core, AEM includes a powerful content management system (CMS) and a robust digital asset management system (DAM), allowing companies to manage both web content and media assets from a single place.

In other words, Adobe Experience Manager is “equal parts” CMS and DAM — and more. This unified approach helps organizations regain control over digital content spread across numerous sites, channels, and apps. The result: streamlined operations, consistent brand experiences, and faster time to market.

At the centre of Experience Manager are AEM Sites and AEM Assets. Additional solutions — like AEM Forms, AEM Screens, AEM Guides, and Adobe Learning Manager — are available for more specialised needs. All products are tightly integrated through the Adobe Experience Cloud, giving businesses a connected system to manage their content lifecycle from end to end.

What is AEM Sites?

A modern CMS built for speed, scale and flexibility.

Experience Manager Sites is the content management system component of AEM — Adobe’s enterprise CMS for building and managing websites and digital experiences across any device or channel. It empowers both marketers and developers to work faster:

• Marketers can quickly build pages using drag-and-drop templates and core components.
• Developers can extend site functionality with custom code — or not, thanks to low-code tools.

Omnichannel content delivery made easy.

Experience Manager Sites supports omnichannel content delivery. Content can be authored once and published everywhere — websites, mobile apps, single-page applications (SPAs), IoT devices, and more. The platform also supports hybrid CMS and headless delivery models for flexible front-end development.

Generative AI and automation built in.

AEM Sites includes built-in generative AI features powered by Adobe Sensei and Firefly. These tools help:

• Generate and optimise copy in multiple tones or languages
• Create content variations for different audiences
• Apply design and style changes across all content instances

Always secure, always up to date.

AEM Sites is available as a cloud service. That means your team always has access to the latest features and security enhancements — no manual upgrades or downtime required.

With its scalability, automation, and integration capabilities, AEM Sites is built for teams that need speed and consistency across complex web ecosystems.

Ready to see AEM Sites in action? Book a demo and discover how Adobe Experience Manager Sites can transform your content operations.

What is AEM Assets?

Experience Manager Assets is the digital asset management (DAM) solution within AEM. It provides a centralised, cloud-native repository for managing all your digital assets — images, videos, documents, audio files, 3D models, and more.

All files are stored in one place with version control, permission settings, and usage rights tracking — giving teams a single source of truth.

Find, govern, and deliver at speed.

AEM Assets includes powerful features to automate and simplify asset workflows:

• AI-powered tagging, cropping, and metadata generation
• Smart collections and advanced search
• Rights management and asset expiry controls

It’s designed to reduce manual work and improve governance across teams.

Connected creative workflows with Creative Cloud for Enterprise

AEM Assets integrates natively with Creative Cloud for Enterprise — including tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Express, and Firefly. Designers can edit files directly from the DAM, and marketers can pull assets into AEM Sites or third-party systems without friction.

Content at scale — everywhere your brand lives.

Whether you’re delivering to web, app, email, or in-store screens, AEM Assets ensures the right file format is served to the right channel. Dynamic media capabilities and CDN integration make rich experiences fast — everywhere.

Integration with Adobe Experience Cloud and Experience Platform.

Connected to the entire Adobe Experience Cloud.

AEM Sites and AEM Assets deliver maximum value when integrated with other Adobe tools, including:

• Adobe Analytics – for real-time content performance insights
• Target – for A/B testing and personalisation
• Workfront – for workflow and task automation
• Adobe Commerce – for seamless product and content experiences

This creates a centralised system for orchestrating personalised, data-informed experiences across the entire customer journey.

Powering personalisation with Adobe Experience Platform.

AEM integrates natively with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), which unifies real-time customer profiles and behavioural data across all touchpoints. This enables AEM Sites to deliver personalised experiences to individual users based on real-time signals — without custom integrations.

From predictive content recommendations to automated decisioning, the AEP + AEM combination brings intelligent personalisation to scale.

Want to see how AEP integrates across your stack? Request a consultation to explore the full capabilities of Adobe Experience Platform.

Other Adobe Experience Manager Solutions.

Extend AEM with specialised solutions.

While AEM Sites and AEM Assets are the primary components of Adobe Experience Manager, the full AEM suite includes:

• Experience Manager Forms – for creating and managing digital forms.
• Experience Manager Screens – for digital signage content across physical venues.
• Experience Manager Guides – for product documentation and technical content.
• Learning Manager – for customer and employee training programs.

Each integrates with AEM’s core and the wider Adobe ecosystem. Learn more on their respective product pages.

Bringing it all together.

Adobe Experience Manager, with AEM Sites and AEM Assets at its core, offers a unified content and asset management platform that streamlines collaboration, accelerates delivery, and enables personalisation at scale.

It’s more than a CMS. It’s a foundation for delivering timely, relevant, and brand-consistent experiences — all powered by Adobe’s AI, cloud architecture, and experience ecosystem.

Whether you’re leading digital transformation from IT or driving marketing efficiency, understanding the roles of AEM Sites and AEM Assets is the first step toward unlocking the full value of Adobe Experience Manager.

See how AEM Sites and Assets can work for your business. Book a personalised demo and get a guided walkthrough from our team.

Frequently asked questions about Adobe Experience Manager.

What is the difference between Adobe Experience Manager and AEM Sites?

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is the overarching platform, while AEM Sites is its content management system (CMS) component. AEM Sites is specifically designed for building and managing websites, apps, and digital experiences.

Is AEM Sites the same as a traditional CMS?

Not quite. AEM Sites goes beyond traditional CMS functionality. It supports omnichannel delivery, headless content management, personalization, and AI-powered content automation — all in a cloud-native, enterprise-grade environment.

What makes Experience Manager Sites different from other enterprise CMS platforms?

Many CMS platforms fall short when teams need to move fast at scale — across multiple regions, channels, and roles. AEM Sites is purpose-built to remove the blockers that typically slow content teams down. It comes with:

• A fully integrated digital asset management solution (AEM Assets) to eliminate silos and provide a single source of truth for all content and assets.
• A performance-first architecture that delivers fast-loading experiences to maximise engagement and conversion — without extra tuning.
• Flexible authoring options, including WYSIWYG editing and document-based workflows with Google Docs or Microsoft Word, so marketers and subject matter experts can publish without waiting on dev teams.
• Simplified development workflows with a serverless setup, built-in code previews, and support for standard front-end skills (HTML, CSS, JS).
• And native Generative AI capabilities that help teams create brand-consistent, audience-specific content variations automatically — making personalisation scalable.

Together, these features help teams accelerate delivery, reduce dependencies, and maintain consistency across every experience.

What is AEM Assets used for?

AEM Assets is the digital asset management (DAM) system within Adobe Experience Manager. It centralises your media library (images, videos, documents, 3D assets), streamlines content reuse, and connects directly with tools like Creative Cloud for Enterprise for more efficient creative workflows.

Does AEM support headless CMS capabilities?

Yes. AEM Sites offers hybrid CMS functionality, supporting both traditional page-based authoring and headless delivery via APIs. This allows teams to deliver content across any front end, including SPAs, mobile apps, and IoT devices.

Can I use AEM Sites and Assets without other Adobe tools?

Yes, you can use AEM Sites and Assets as standalone modules. However, they deliver maximum value when integrated with Adobe’s broader ecosystem — including Customer Journey Analytics, Target, and Real-Time CDP — for data-driven optimization.

How does AEM handle localisation for APAC markets like Australia?

AEM supports multi-site management and localisation at scale. You can manage global content centrally while customising for local markets, including region-specific branding, language, compliance, and user preferences.

Is AEM a good fit for mid-sized Australia businesses?

While AEM is designed for enterprise scale, mid-sized businesses in Australia can still benefit — especially those managing multiple brands, complex digital assets, or requiring tight content governance. Adobe also offers flexible licensing and cloud hosting options to fit different business sizes.

What kind of support does Adobe offer for AEM implementation?

Adobe offers a partner ecosystem, onboarding services, and Experience League resources tailored for IT teams and marketers. Implementation support ranges from self-service documentation to Adobe Consulting and accredited solution partners across Australia and APAC.