Tempted to write your website content with AI?

Where AI copy often misses the mark

You’ve been painted a picture of instant, polished (and maybe even SEO-optimised) results. Sounds incredible, right!?

When I first found ChatGPT, everything sounded amazing. Poetic. I loved it at first. But now, I’m starting to build up a sense of resentment toward unedited AI content. Here’s why:

• Everyone sounds the same: Everyone is using the same words, the same sentence structure, the same emojis… the same everything! It becomes generic, and obvious that you didn’t write it. (This becomes especially clear if you meet people in person and sound nothing like online.)
• You lose personality: Closely related to the point above, removing yourself from the process makes you faceless. Your personality gets lost, and that’s a real waste.
• It gets fluffy: AI is quick, sure. But it also quickly adds a bunch of filler that adds no value.
• It’s written for… someone: But I often wonder who that someone is. Unless you clearly define your audience (via good prompts and iteration), AI will do a poor job speaking their language. It can point out some pain points, but it rarely hits the emotional mark.

How to most effectively use AI (as support)

I use AI to help with content, debug code, brainstorm, all that stuff. But I use it as a supportive tool, and here’s how you can too.

1. Use solid prompts

Don’t go with generic prompts like:

That’s way too vague. You want to provide as much context and detail as possible.

Add personality to your prompts by considering:

• How do you want to sound? (Professional, casual, like a mate?)
• How do you want people to feel when reading this page?
• What makes you different from similar companies?
• What do you want people to remember about you?
• Who are your customer demographics?
• What’s unique about your background?

There’s much more you can add, but hopefully that gives you the idea.

2. Human editing

Even with the best prompts, the content probably won’t fully sound like you. So spend some time editing.

Make sure, for example, that…

• you understand every word (i.e. you’ve used it in a real conversation)
• everything is true (remember that fluff?)
• the language reflects your brand

3. Read it out loud

This one’s my favourite. Reading things out loud instantly highlights every sentence (or word) that feels cringe, or that you struggle to say in your natural flow and tone.

Long sentences. Random questions before the next point. Both are typical with AI, and if you feel weird saying it, it probably isn’t the right voice or words for you. Change it.

… here’s how I do it

Even for this post!

1. I start with my own outline: What I know I want to say, and the key message. This is often based on Google searches and my own take on/experience with the subject.
2. I give that outline to ChatGPT, asking for more ideas and to add it into my outline so that it flows well.
3. I update the outline with only the bits I agree with (filtering out filler).
4. I personally write the content for each section.
5. I give ChatGPT the full content and ask it to check for grammatical issues, flow, or anything that doesn’t make sense. I also ask it to add emotion (when appropriate), but to keep my tone and formatting intact.
6. I compare both versions, keeping the best of both while keeping my voice.
7. Then I read it out loud and edit more if needed.

But can you even tell it’s been written by AI?

Oh yes, you can. I could go on forever, but here are a few things I see everywhere these days:

• “Ready to dive into the exciting world of…” – Sorry, but unfortunately, it’s not usually that exciting. And it’s not like we’re diving deep in a LinkedIn post, is it?
• “We’re not just X, we’re also Y!” – Did anyone ever say you were just X?
• Big lessons from tiny situations – AI tends to over-dramatise small events as life-changing (but they’re forgotten the next day).
• “We deliver tailored solutions…” vs. “We help first-time founders build pitch-ready MVPs in 6 weeks” – The first is vague (because people don’t give enough detail in prompts). The more specific you are, the more memorable you become.
• Poetic or far-fetched synonyms – You don’t need to say “bespoke synergy matrix” when you mean “custom process.”
• “The result? {result}” – These dramatic punchlines often just interrupt the flow unnecessarily.

You can tell it’s AI if you read it and start questioning it:

If they don’t—and you don’t—then don’t let your website copy do it either.

Okay, but… does it matter?

Yes. Because people make decisions based on trust. And if it’s obviously AI-generated, they might lose trust in you, or simply not get the information they need, because it’s all fluff.

The amount of content you need is a whole separate topic.

But either way, plenty of poor content won’t get you far. Even if it does get you traffic, people won’t stay until they make a purchasing decision if they’re confused or get overwhelmed by excessive synonyms and “we don’t just do X, we do Y”.

Write real, honest website copy

Final takeaways:

• AI can help you get started, but don’t let it replace you
• Use AI as a tool, not a crutch: Your copy will stand out in the best way
• Your website should sound like a person your customers want to talk to

Writing your content with AI might save you time during production—but it could cost you leads, trust, and reputation in the long run.

Find it overwhelming? Get in touch, and Healthy Pixels can help with your website content.