Sitecore will officially deprecate Experience Editor in SitecoreAI on January 1, 2027, and Page builder becomes the supported editing experience. Sitecore has not said whether Experience Editor stops working on that date, so the safe plan is to finish the move before it. The checklist below shows what to do, in order.
Experience Editor carried over from XM Cloud as a legacy editor. It's mainly still in use on older SitecoreAI sites built with JSS in chromes mode, since sites on the newer Content SDK only work with Page builder.
What Changes on January 1, 2027
Sitecore announced the change on June 10, 2026, in a developer changelog entry. It says Experience Editor "will be officially deprecated" and that Page builder "will be the supported editing experience in SitecoreAI." "Deprecated" is not defined, so it is not entirely clear if Experience Editor will be removed or just stop getting support. Additionally, as of this writing, the entry is still marked scheduled and not yet released.
So what do you need to do? Sitecore's Page builder readiness guide says legacy edit frames from Experience Editor do not function in Page builder, and that the chromes integration Experience Editor depends on has been removed from the Content SDK. Note: The change applies to SitecoreAI.
What Is Replacing Experience Editor
Experience Editor is being replaced by Page builder, which is the editing tool in SitecoreAI. Page builder has two modes: Editor mode and Content mode. Editor mode is where authors edit a page visually, with a floating panel on the right, drag and drop on the canvas, and Layers to see the page structure. Personalization and A/B/n testing are also managed there. Content mode lets authors create and edit content separately from how it looks on a page, with versioning and publish controls. Content mode also replaced Explorer, which Sitecore deprecated on October 1, 2026.
Sitecore says Page builder "covers everything you previously relied on Experience Editor for and more." Every team works a little differently, so it's worth having your authors try their usual tasks in Page builder early. My understanding is that a few things will change for them. In Page builder, the datasource picker filters by template compatibility, so authors find datasources by template and location instead of folder names or icons. If your authors use Content Editor, it is staying, but only for advanced configuration and system setup.
For developers, the main change is how the front end talks to the editor. Page builder works with Metadata Mode, and Sitecore's changelog warns that JSS teams still running chromes mode will lose their only WYSIWYG editor. Sitecore recommends the Content SDK for JavaScript front ends and the ASP.NET Core SDK for ASP.NET Core apps.
What to Do Before January 1, 2027: A Practical Checklist
- List every SitecoreAI site and note how its front end connects to the editor: chromes mode, Metadata Mode or something else.
- Audit and write down what depends on Experience Editor: edit frames, custom inline editing and Experience Editor-only rendering parameters.
- Retire components nobody uses instead of migrating them.
- Upgrade any JSS app still in chromes mode to the Content SDK and Metadata Mode.
- Refactor edit frames and move custom fields to Marketplace custom fields.
- Replace folder-name conventions with structured templates, and split bloated templates into modular datasources.
- Test complex components such as accordions, carousels and tabs in Page builder.
- Configure the new Rich Text Editor for internal links, media embedding and formatting.
- Test personalization and regional content in Page builder before pages go live.
- Confirm your authors' security roles include Page builder access.
- Schedule author training on versioning, publishing and workflow indicators.
- Set an internal deadline at least a month before January 1, 2027, and use the gap to test with real authoring tasks.
What Happens If You Do Nothing
Sitecore has not said what happens on January 1, 2027, so we don't know when Experience Editor will stop working. After that date, though, it's no longer the supported editing experience in SitecoreAI, so your authors would be relying on a tool Sitecore has moved away from.
Front ends on the Content SDK have no way back either, because the chromes integration Experience Editor needs has been removed from it. Teams running JSS in chromes mode have a bigger problem. Page builder supports only Metadata Mode, so they would lose their only WYSIWYG editor until they upgrade.
Time is a risk. A JSS upgrade, an edit frame refactor and author training cannot be squeezed into the last week of December.
How We Can Help
Steps 2, 3 and 6 are inventory work, and that is where most teams lose time. Our Sitecore audit uses Kajoo.ai to produce a component inventory, template hierarchy, rendering usage map and migration flags. Its content analysis agents scan your content tree and count active versus unused renderings. That gives you the list of dependencies to refactor and the components you can retire. You get a report that ranks every issue by severity, with estimated effort.
If you want help with the work itself, our implementation team can take on the refactoring and upgrades. After launch, Super Care covers version upgrades and platform evolution.
FAQ
When is Sitecore Experience Editor being discontinued?
Sitecore will officially deprecate Experience Editor in SitecoreAI on January 1, 2027. Sitecore has not said whether it will be removed or stop working on that date.
What replaces Sitecore Experience Editor?
Page builder. Sitecore says it will be the supported editing experience in SitecoreAI.
Does this affect Sitecore XP?
No. The deprecation applies to SitecoreAI. Experience Editor is still part of Sitecore XP, and it isn't on the list of deprecated features for XP 10.5.
Do I need to upgrade my JSS app?
If it runs in chromes mode, yes. Page builder supports only Metadata Mode, and Sitecore recommends the Content SDK for JavaScript front ends.
Do edit frames still work?
No. Sitecore's readiness guide says legacy edit frames from Experience Editor do not function in Page builder, so they need to be refactored.