Digital Asset Management

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Overview

Gradial’s Asset Management workflows handle the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that slow down your DAM operations. Instead of manually tagging assets, writing alt-text, or tracking down duplicates, Gradial’s agents do the work for you—applying your naming conventions, taxonomy, and metadata standards automatically. With Asset Management, you can:

• Upload assets with automatic metadata tagging and naming conventions
• Generate and validate accessibility-compliant alt-text
• Update asset metadata in bulk
• Swap assets while preserving links and relationships

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Upload Asset

Upload images, PDFs, and other assets to your AEM DAM with automatic metadata enrichment.

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How It Works

1. Create a task describing what you want to upload and any relevant context (campaign, brand, usage).
2. Attach your assets to the task request.
3. Gradial’s agents process the upload:
   • The AEM Authoring Agent uploads assets, applies naming conventions, and populates metadata
   • The AEM QA Agent validates that all assets meet guidelines
4. Review the results in the Artifact Preview panel.

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What Gradial Does Automatically

When you upload assets, Gradial:

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Understanding Asset Status

In the Artifact Preview, each asset displays a status badge:

• Newly Uploaded — Asset was added to the DAM for the first time
• Reused from DAM — Asset already existed; Gradial linked to the existing version instead of duplicating

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Viewing Asset Details

Click any asset in the Artifact Preview to see:

• File information: Format, dimensions, file size
• Description: Auto-generated description of the asset content
• Tags: All applied metadata tags (typically 10-15 tags per asset)
• Location: DAM folder path where the asset is stored
• Created date: When the asset was added
• Open in AEM: Direct link to view and edit the asset in AEM

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Example Task

Task Request:

“Upload these holiday assets for our Holiday campaign 2025”

Result: Gradial uploads the assets with proper naming following your conventions (e.g., Brand-Global-HolidayHero-2025), generates descriptions based on image content, and applies relevant tags from your taxonomy—typically 10-15 tags including brand, campaign, season, theme, asset type, and geography.

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Update / Validate Alt-Text

Ensure your image assets have accurate, accessibility-compliant alt-text.

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Why Alt-Text Matters

Alt-text is required for accessibility compliance (WCAG, ADA) and improves SEO. Without it, screen reader users can’t understand your images, and you risk audit failures.

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How It Works

1. Create a task requesting alt-text validation or generation for specific assets or folders.
2. Gradial scans the assets to identify missing or inadequate alt-text.
3. Alt-text is generated following accessibility best practices.
4. Review and approve the generated alt-text before it’s applied.

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Alt-Text Generation Standards

Gradial generates alt-text that:

• Describes the content and function of the image
• Stays concise (under 125 characters when possible)
• Avoids redundant phrases like “image of” or “picture showing”
• Includes visible text and brand elements
• Distinguishes informative images from decorative ones

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Example

Asset: Holiday campaign hero image featuring seasonal product photography Generated Alt-Text:

“Product bottle held against red background with seasonal decorations; Holiday Campaign 2025 key visual.”

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Update Asset Metadata

Keep your DAM metadata accurate and consistent with bulk updates and automated governance.

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How It Works

1. Create a task describing the metadata changes needed.
2. Specify the scope: individual assets, folders, or assets matching certain criteria.
3. Gradial updates the metadata according to your request and taxonomy.
4. Review changes in the task results.

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Common Use Cases

• Campaign ended: Update campaign status metadata across all related assets
• Taxonomy change: Replace old terms with new controlled vocabulary
• Rights expiration: Flag or archive assets approaching license expiration
• Missing fields: Populate required metadata fields that were left blank
• Bulk corrections: Fix inconsistent tagging across a set of assets

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Metadata Fields

Gradial can update any metadata field in your DAM schema, including:

• Title and description
• Keywords and tags
• Brand and campaign associations
• Usage rights and licensing
• Geographic and language targeting
• Asset type and category
• Custom fields specific to your organization

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Asset Swap

Replace an existing asset with a new version while preserving all DAM links, metadata relationships, and downstream references.

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How It Works

1. Create a task identifying the asset to replace and providing the new asset.
2. Gradial validates that the new asset meets specifications.
3. The swap is executed:
   • DAM link/Asset ID remains unchanged (URL stability)
   • Metadata is reviewed and updated as needed
   • Alt-text is regenerated for the new image
4. Downstream systems receive the updated asset automatically.

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Swap Options

Option A: Upload New File Attach the replacement asset directly to your task. Gradial uploads it as a new version of the existing asset. Option B: Link to Existing DAM Asset Reference another asset already in your DAM. Gradial creates a redirect from the old Asset ID to the new one.

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What Gradial Handles

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Post-Swap Verification

After a swap, Gradial confirms:

• New asset renders correctly in the DAM
• Alt-text is present and accurate
• Metadata is complete
• The asset is accessible via its original DAM link

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Asset Search & Discovery

Browse, search, and discover assets in your AEM DAM directly from Gradial.

Early Access — Asset Search is an evolving capability. Current functionality focuses on folder browsing, with expanded search features on the roadmap.

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Current Capabilities

List Assets in a Folder View all assets (images, PDFs, content fragments) within a specific DAM folder path:

1. Request a folder listing by specifying the DAM path (e.g., /content/dam/brand/campaigns/2025).
2. Gradial returns the assets in that folder with key metadata: filename, asset type, dimensions, and last modified date.
3. Use the results to inform content updates, identify assets for swaps, or audit folder contents.

This is useful for:

• Auditing what assets exist in a campaign folder before launch
• Finding assets to reference in content update tasks
• Identifying outdated assets that need replacement
• Verifying uploads landed in the correct location

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Roadmap

We’re actively expanding Asset Search capabilities. Planned enhancements include:

• Metadata-based search — Find assets by tag, campaign, brand, or custom metadata fields
• Visual similarity search — Locate assets that look similar to a reference image
• Content fragment search — Search across content fragment text and properties
• Expiring assets report — Surface assets with upcoming rights expiration dates

Have a specific search capability you need? Share feedback with your Gradial team to help prioritize the roadmap.

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Tips for Best Results

Be specific in your task requests. Include campaign names, brand guidelines, and any special requirements so Gradial can apply the right metadata. Use consistent terminology. Reference campaigns, brands, and asset types using the same terms defined in your taxonomy. Review before publishing. While Gradial handles the heavy lifting, always review generated metadata and alt-text before final approval. Check for duplicates. Watch for the “Reused from DAM” badge—it means Gradial found an existing match and avoided creating a duplicate.

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Related Workflows

• Content Updates — Update existing AEM pages
• New Page — Create new pages from various sources
• Batch Updates — Apply changes across multiple pages

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