Since I’m a website copywriter, I get asked all the time what I think of AI.
I get that this is the question of the decade, but OMG, right now, I’m so over it.
And yeah, I know AI isn’t going away. It’s the future or whatever….
But, right now, I’m very concerned that the average business owner is putting way too much on AI’s shoulders instead of learning things that will actually impact the quality of their business long term.
On the other hand, I don’t want to be a fear mongerer and say that if you use AI to write your website or sales copy, you’ll automatically be killing your business. You probably wouldn’t trust me if I said something that drastic either, since I stand to benefit from you being scared of using AI to write copy.
However, I don’t think I’m doing anyone a service to mince words about what I’m actually seeing with AI.
Point blank: AI copywriting is bad compared to human-written copy.
It’s made worse by the fact that people think they can just use AI instead of learning copywriting themselves or hiring an expert.
So, without exaggerating or being dramatic about it, here are the unintended, but very real, consequences of using AI to write your website copy.
1. AI doesn’t push back when your ideas are bad
Let me be clear, AI’s job is to get you to keep using AI (so companies get more money.)
Also, you know the assumptive-text you have in your phone? LLMs are basically a more complex version of that.
Would you trust that assumptive-text machine on your phone to come up with a strategy that benefits you and your ideal clients? Absolutely not.
And listen, if you get some good ideas from AI, that’s great.
But if you’re using AI to craft the bulk of your messaging and copy, I’m sorry to tell you, but it’s almost always going to give you the most basic answer possible, and even affirm ideas that are genuinely going to be bad for your strategy.
You are too close to your business to rely on a yes-man robot for your copy. You need someone who’s looked at hundreds of websites to tell you what will actually work for you (because it might be something that neither you nor AI would think of.)
2. Word-salad copy vs engaging copy
A sort of compelling argument for using AI for website copy is that most people skim the websites they read — so it doesn’t need to be that thought out, right?
Technically, depending on your niche, you could have some really garbage copy on your site, and it might not even hurt you that much because not a lot of people are actually reading it. (Not my recommendation, to be clear)
But when you take 2 seconds to dig into a website that was written by AI, you realize it falls… flat.
AI-written website copy is essentially prop-food on a TV show: it looks good, but inside it’s all foam and plastic.
The danger with this is that, even though the copy will sound relevant to your business, it becomes a chore for the reader to read. It doesn’t actually move the reader closer to buying because it was written to fit a vibe rather than a strategy.
AI essentially writes word-salads, not copy.
3. AI makes you put too much (and not enough) on your website
AI is so wordyyyy.
It breaks one of the cardinal rules of writing – say what you need to say in as few words as possible.
AI will use 100 words when 10 will do. It will convince you to put stuff on your website that is just reiterating what you said earlier, or things that aren’t actually that relevant at all.
Additionally, AI will skip the stuff that actually matters when it comes to conversion.
This is because AI is pulling information from the majority of websites.
But guess what? The majority of websites are bad. A very few percentage have actually been written by a professional copywriter.
AI is not a reliable source for your copy or website strategy because what it’s pulling from is objectively mediocre. The reason why copywriters have jobs is to help you stand out from all the mediocrity.
4. You end up sounding like everyone else in your niche
Again, AI is just pulling from the majority of websites. If someone else in your niche is also using an AI tool to write their website copy, AI is using the same sources for their copy as well.
AI will have you convinced that you have to sound a certain way, speak to certain talking points, and solve a certain problem in order to convert.
Aaaaand it’s telling everyone else in your niche the same thing, even if you give it the specs about your own business.
It might not sound like it to you, but it will only become more obvious as more people use these tools.
Which leads me too…
5. AI kills your innovation
Sometimes the best strategy for your website copy is something that comes completely out of left field.
AI specializes in being generic. You have to be better than generic in order to stand out in the age of AI.
And as someone who writes words for a living, I know how deep the process of writing can go. The self doubt, the writing blocks, the floundering for good ideas… it’s all part of the process of creating something good.
AI offers people a way out of the most uncomfortable parts of writing. It also takes the parts out that lead to the best ideas.
It’s a very shiny object — to just have something on the page instead of stressing about what to write.
For people who have not developed their skills in copywriting, this temptation to opt out of the discomfort is usually too much for them.
And it’s that part that kills innovation.
Relying on AI for your copy is taking the innovation out of communicating about your business.
OK.
These are my honest takes about AI and copywriting. I hope you’re feeling slightly uncomfortable, but also more optimistic about creating really freaking great copy for your business (because it won’t be that hard if everyone else is using AI.)
Now, to be honest, I’m not going to get all in a tizzy if AI happens to write some good copy for your business. Use it! Just don’t rely on it, because it will result in worse business results over time.
If you need help writing copy that actually helps move the needle in your business, check out my copywriting services here.
