Vanilla JS remains relevant today, even as frameworks like React and Angular dominate the web development landscape. And with the rise of AI-powered features, many developers now explore how to implement AI in vanilla JS-based WYSIWYG editors. These editors can use AI to suggest better phrasing, correct grammar, summarize paragraphs, or generate content drafts in real time.
However, many documentations and tutorials focus primarily on integrating AI into popular JS or TypeScript frameworks. This can give the impression that vanilla JS integrating with AI-powered editors is harder than it really is. In reality, you can achieve the same AI features in a plain JS environment with equal ease.
That’s where this discussion comes in. By understanding how plain JS editors can also integrate easily with AI, developers can keep providing intelligent experiences in simpler setups.
Key Takeaways
Vanilla JS enables lightweight, framework-free AI integrations.
Developers can add smart text and image features using simple API calls.
Avoiding framework dependencies and large bundles improves performance and flexibility.
You can use vanilla JS for smaller, more static applications or websites. For large-scale apps, frameworks typically provide better structure and scalability.
The simplest architecture often leads to the most maintainable AI-enhanced editor.
Why Vanilla JS Still Matters
Vanilla JS remains valuable because it prioritizes performance and control. Without the abstraction layers that come with frameworks, developers decide exactly how and when scripts run. This makes applications faster to load and easier to debug.
Frameworks bundle extra logic to manage states and components. While this helps large-scale apps, smaller ones like websites and editing tools benefit from staying lean. Every additional library increases bundle size, meaning more kilobytes for users to download, which could translate to slower load times.
Vanilla JS also gives full control over how APIs interact with the DOM. You can manage your AI requests, button clicks, and text insertions directly without adapting to framework-specific actions.
Additionally, vanilla JS doesn’t break when frameworks update. Framework lock-ins often force developers to rewrite integrations after major version changes. By staying independent, your editor turns framework-agnostic, making it future-ready and easy to embed across projects.
Remember when Google rewrote AngularJS and produced Angular (2+) because of the former’s performance and scalability issues? It changed its primary language from JS to TypeScript (JS but with static typing) and transitioned into component-based architecture. This move, while beneficial in the long run, caused several migration challenges and headaches for AngularJS developers.
Tip: If you’re maintaining a small site or lightweight CMS, a vanilla JS editor can cut load times and reduce maintenance costs significantly. Better yet, the best JavaScript WYSIWYG editor solutions integrate well with plain JS and React, Vue, Angular, and other frameworks.
The Problem with Framework Dependencies
Frameworks simplify complex applications, but they can overcomplicate simpler projects. For example, using a React WYSIWYG editor may require wrapping it in components, managing props, and handling state updates. On the other hand, integrating a WYSIWYG editor in vanilla JS might appear simpler.
If your editor relies on React and the React API changes, your integration could break. The same applies if you use AI SDKs for specific frameworks. Developers could spend more time maintaining compatibility than improving features.
Performance could also suffer, as frameworks load virtual DOM engines and internal state systems that simple text editors don’t need. If you need a WYSIWYG editor for a simple application or site, frameworks like React seem like overkill. With vanilla JS, you can achieve the same AI-enhanced results through simpler means.
Note: The discussion above doesn’t mean or imply that using frameworks is bad. In fact, frameworks are excellent tools for developing full-scale modern web applications. Always assess your project requirements first before committing. You can always switch depending on what you need.
AI Features You Can Implement in Vanilla JS WYSIWYG Editors
Adding AI to a vanilla JS editor doesn’t require a full ecosystem. Most features can connect through REST APIs and editor plugins, returning AI responses in real time.
Smart Text Assistance
In-editor AI can refine user input through grammar checks, rephrasing, or tone adjustments. For instance, integrating OpenAI, DeepSeek, or Claude allows a “Rewrite” button to suggest clearer or more natural sentences.
All this could happen through a single fetch() call that sends text and retrieves suggestions. The editor simply replaces the selected text with the AI’s response.
Summarization and Auto-Suggestion
Text summarization in JavaScript WYSIWYG editors
Writers often need quick summaries or title ideas (writer’s block is real). AI summarization tools can process long content and return concise versions. Similarly, an in-editor AI can scan text and recommend headlines based on keywords and sentiment.
You can achieve this by sending editor content through an API endpoint, then inserting the AI-generated summary back into the editor.
Tip: Only trigger API requests when users explicitly click “Summarize,” or “Suggest Headline,” or other editor buttons for AI functionality. This could help avoid unnecessary API costs.
Visual and Accessibility Improvements
Some advanced editors have AI features that can generate alt text (alternative text that describes images). This improves accessibility for visually impaired readers. Some editors can even generate image captions or analyze and enhance image elements from the editor.
For example, in a vanilla JS setup, you can upload an image and send it to an AI service for analysis. Afterwards, you can then inject the generated caption back into the editor.
Code or Syntax Assistance
For developer-centric WYSIWYG HTML editors, AI can serve as a coding assistant. It can explain code snippets, translate them to other languages, or detect syntax errors.
This feature enhances documentation platforms, coding blogs, or repositories by helping authors write more accurate examples with less effort. For example, GitHub Copilot lets developers create, edit, debug, document, and even test code right from their editor.
How Vanilla JS Makes AI Integration Simpler
Vanilla JS keeps integrating AI straightforwardly. As said earlier, you can use a basic fetch() or XMLHttpRequest call to communicate with any AI API. These methods don’t require additional libraries.
If your JavaScript WYSIWYG editor allows it, you can also create your own AI plugin. For example,
The editor detects a text selection.
A “Smart Assist” button triggers an asynchronous function.
That function sends the text to an AI API (like OpenAI) and waits for a result.
The API sends back the result, and the script inserts the revised version into the editor.
Managing state with vanilla JS may not appear as natural as with React, but it is usually simple. Event listeners handle user actions, while native DOM updates ensure everything stays fast and responsive, with no hooks or watchers needed.
If you want to learn more about how you can implement AI in vanilla JS setups, read this article about building a “summarize text” feature with the DeepSeek API. Or, go straight to the coding part and clone this GitHub repo.
Note: You can further extend this setup with promises, async/await logic, and local caching for even smoother performance.
Best Practices When Adding AI to Vanilla JS Editors
AI integration adds power, but it also requires thorough preparation and responsibility. Take note of the quick tips below to help reduce cost and improve performance.
Keep your API calls lightweight. Only send data when necessary, like when a user explicitly requests an AI action. Avoid constant background checks, which can raise latency and cost.
Always consider privacy and data security. Never send entire drafts to external APIs unless required. Instead, process small text segments or anonymize sensitive information.
Cache AI responses where possible. This helps reduce repetitive API calls and speeds up common tasks like text rephrasing or caption generation.
Design modular scripts that users can enable or disable easily. This ensures your AI features don’t interfere with the editor’s core performance.
Many JavaScript WYSIWYG editors offer plugin APIs. These let you add custom AI buttons whether you’re using vanilla JS or frameworks.
Conclusion
Creating intelligent editing experiences isn’t limited to framework-centric applications. With WYSIWYG editors that support vanilla JS and various frameworks, you can build AI-powered features that stay light and customizable.
By using plain JavaScript and an AI-capable editor, you can reduce complexity, avoid version lock-ins, and speed up development. Paired with modern AI APIs, plain JS remains an adaptable and viable foundation.
When simplicity meets capability, even plain JavaScript becomes a powerful base for intelligent editing.
This article was originally published on the Froala blog.
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