How to use AI to write your website copy
AI website copy saves time, but used badly it all sounds the same. How to get the most from it and what you should never hand over to AI.
Text is what most businesses struggle with when building their website. The blank page is intimidating and AI website copy looks like the perfect solution: you ask it to "write my clinic's website" and ten seconds later you have five sections. The problem is that website could belong to any clinic.
Used well, AI is a huge help. Used badly, it leaves you with a generic website that convinces nobody.
What AI does well with website copy
- Organising ideas. You tell it how you work, in no particular order, and it suggests a structure.
- Giving you a first draft so you do not start from zero.
- Summarising. It turns a long paragraph into a one-line headline.
- Suggesting FAQs you might not have thought of.
- Proofreading for typos, overlong sentences or repetition.
- Proposing variations of a headline or a button so you can choose.
What AI should not write in your website copy
Your experience
What sets you apart (how you treat clients, which cases you see most, why you started) only you know. If you do not tell it, AI fills the gap with generalities that fit everyone.
Facts
Prices, hours, qualifications, years of experience or results. AI can make them up with total confidence. Check them one by one.
Promises
No "the best in town" or "guaranteed results" because a chatbot suggested it. Beyond not being credible, in some sectors (health, for instance) it can be a problem.
How to ask AI for website copy
Instead of "write my business website", give it context:
- Who you are, what you do and for whom.
- How you talk to clients: formal or casual, warm or businesslike.
- Three or four concrete things that set you apart, with examples.
- The questions clients ask you most.
- What you want readers to do: call, book, request a quote.
Then ask it to write short, clear and free of clichés, and to ask you for anything missing instead of inventing it.
Signs of "AI copy" that put people off
- Phrases like "in today's fast-paced world" or "in an increasingly competitive landscape".
- Lists of three empty adjectives: "professional, friendly and committed".
- Everything sounds fine and says nothing concrete.
- The same structure as your competitors.
Read it aloud: if you would not say it that way to a client, change it.
Does Google penalise AI-written website copy?
Google has said that what matters is that content is helpful and made for people, not the tool used to write it. What it does treat badly is generic content mass-produced just to rank. A reviewed, specific text with your experience in it does not have that problem.
How I do it
When I build a website at Nueva Página, the text starts from what you tell me in a conversation. I use tools to organise and polish, but what matters comes from you: how you work, what clients ask you and what makes you different. More about the process in how I work.
An example of AI website copy done right
Imagine you run a physiotherapy clinic and want the pelvic health page. Instead of asking "write a page about pelvic health", tell the AI what you know: who you treat, what the first session is like, what it costs and the three questions you hear most. Then ask it to organise that into sections with clear subheadings.
The draft you get will be yours where it matters, because you supplied the facts. Even so, read it aloud and change anything you would never say. Google explains in its post on Google Search and AI-generated content that what counts is whether the text is helpful, not how it was produced. To see how to organise it for search, read copy for Google and AI. AI organises; you bring the experience.
On a related note, you may also find AI website builders useful.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use ChatGPT for my "about" page?
To organise it, yes. But that page has to sound like you; ideas in how to write an about page.
And to translate my website into another language?
It is a good starting point, but have someone fluent review it, especially headlines and buttons.
Do I have to say I used AI?
There is no general obligation for commercial website copy, but what you publish is your responsibility: review it as if you had written it yourself.
Do you use AI to write website copy?
To organise and polish, yes; what matters comes from what you tell me about your business. More in how I work.