From Basic Editor to Workflow Hub: How Web Editors Are Evolving in the AI Era

What is a rich text editor (RTE)?

An editing component that lets users format content directly in the browser, with bold text, tables, images, and more. RTEs are built into most enterprise web applications, including intranets, approval workflows, knowledge bases, CMSs, and email systems.

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Every reporting cycle, files bounce between departments by email, and someone always has to ask who has the latest version.

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You paste a table from Word or Excel into your web app, and the layout falls apart and the formulas disappear.

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AI produces a decent first draft, but reformatting it to fit your system's templates takes longer than writing it did.

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You want real-time co-editing, but security review blocks it because documents would pass through a third-party cloud.

What happens

The result

Departments write by emailing files back and forth

Versions drift apart, and one person gets stuck merging everything

Office documents are migrated by copy and paste

Tables, images, and formatting break and need to be rebuilt

AI output is created in a separate tool and pasted in

Constant tool switching, plus extra cleanup work

Teams evaluate collaboration features hosted on external servers

Data-residency concerns make security requirements hard to meet

TREND 01

AI moves from add-on to co-author

In CKEditor's annual survey of developers and technical professionals, AI-assisted collaboration ranked first for the first time as the most important collaboration feature for the next five years. It edged out long-time favorites tracked changes and revision history.^[1]

Most important collaboration features for the next five years (Source: CKEditor, State of Collaborative Editing Report, Dec. 2025)

A report from Tiny Technologies, the company behind TinyMCE, points the same way. In just one year, AI went from a nice-to-have to a baseline expectation, and 20% of respondents said they want AI to act as a full collaborator.^[2]

Takeaway: The question is no longer "Does the editor have an AI button?" It's "Does AI output fit naturally into how people already edit?"

TREND 02

Co-editing is table stakes. Where it runs is what matters.

In the same CKEditor survey, 73% of respondents rated rich text editors as extremely or very important to their applications. Interest in security also rose noticeably, which the report suggests may reflect concerns about AI-related risks and data leaks.^[1]

CKEditor also noted that because editors are part of the software supply chain, buyers are vetting them more rigorously, and that organizations need the flexibility to decide where and how their editor is deployed.^[3]

Takeaway: In regulated environments such as government, finance, and large enterprises with segmented networks and strict security reviews, whether you can host the collaboration server on your own infrastructure often decides whether co-editing gets approved at all.

TREND 03

The editor becomes the link between people, AI, and documents

CKEditor's report predicts that rich text editors will evolve from standalone tools into hubs that tie entire workflows together.^[4] Tiptap, the open-source editor framework, makes a similar point: as AI moves beyond the chat window and into real documents, the editor becomes the layer that connects AI, documents, and people.^[5]

Two things are getting more attention as a result: Markdown and structured document data. Markdown is the format AI reads and writes most fluently, and sending AI only the structure it actually needs improves both output quality and cost.

Takeaway: The next generation of editors will be judged on how smoothly they let you move between Office documents, Markdown, and AI output in one place.

① Document import

Open and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, as well as ODT, right in the browser, with no extra software. Synap Editor reads each document's structure first and converts it using positional data, so tables, images, and formatting come through with minimal loss. You can also import just a selected area, and work with 290+ Excel functions.

② Real-time co-editing

Multiple contributors work in the same document at once, each writing and reviewing their own sections. Up to 100 versions are kept so you can roll back to any point, and inline comments keep feedback in context. The collaboration WebSocket server is hosted by you, so your documents never leave your environment.

③ AI integration & export

Connect generative AI such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Qwen through our API to draft, summarize, polish, and generate images without leaving the editor. A dedicated API sends AI only the properties it needs, and finished documents export straight to DOCX.

 COMING SOON · JAN 2027 

④ Markdown editing mode

A Markdown editing mode is planned for Synap Editor 3.5.0 (scheduled for late January 2027). Once released, you'll be able to work on AI-generated Markdown drafts and engineering docs in the same editor you use for Office files.

CUSTOMER STORY · SEP 2026

ESG reports that many departments write every year, now in a single browser window

In September 2026, Synapsoft supplied Synap Editor to the ESG disclosure platform of Samsung SDS, the IT services arm of Samsung Group. Companies that adopt the platform can now write and edit their ESG disclosure reports entirely in the browser, with no extra software to install.

ESG disclosure combines numerical data, such as carbon emissions, with narrative sections, such as management strategy, and multiple departments contribute and revise throughout the process. It's a workflow where all three trends above come together.

Read the news coverage (Digital Times, in Korean) →

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Document compatibility: Can it import the formats your organization uses most, such as Word and Excel, without losing formatting?

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Collaboration architecture: Can you host the co-editing server on your own infrastructure? Are version history and restore included by default?

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AI integration: Can you connect the AI models you already license, without being tied to the editor vendor's credits?

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Format flexibility: Can you work with Office documents, Markdown, and AI output in one editor?

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Security fundamentals: Does it offer XSS protection, script and iframe restrictions, and PII detection?

Q. Can Synap Editor import Microsoft Office files?

A. Yes. Synap Editor imports Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, as well as ODT, right in the browser, with no extra software to install. Finished documents can be exported to DOCX.

Q. Does co-editing store our documents on an external server?

A. No. Co-editing in Synap Editor runs through a WebSocket server that you host yourself, so you can set up collaboration on your own servers in line with your security requirements.

Q. Do we need a separate AI subscription to use the AI features?

A. Yes. Synapsoft provides an integration API for generative AI services such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Qwen, and you purchase the AI service license as needed. The upside is that you can connect the AI accounts you already use.

Q. When will the Markdown editing mode be available?

A. It's planned for Synap Editor 3.5.0, scheduled for late January 2027. Once released, it will be useful for refining AI-generated Markdown drafts and for co-editing technical docs that engineering teams maintain in Markdown.

Q. Can we try it before we buy?

A. Absolutely. You can explore every feature on our demo page, and our sales team is happy to help with deployment questions.

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