Anyone considering or planning to build a new website these days will definitely come across various pages or platforms speaking about how AI is taking over traditionally developed websites. The promise of it being quick, effective and affordable lures unsuspecting businesses and individuals to think it will be a complete solution.
And why not… it is truly fascinating! Imagine typing a few words about your business into an AI assistant and bam! In a matter of a minute, a website template appears with everything you asked for. Sounds like magic, right? Here at Summit 7 Marketing, we celebrate the ability of AI and its growing capabilities, yet building websites with AI can prove to be a double-edged sword. Let’s have a deeper look into this topic below.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence by machines, enabling them to learn, reason, problem-solve, and understand language. At its core, AI is data-driven and aims to empower computers to perform tasks that traditionally require human cognitive abilities. Chances are, you’re already using AI in your day-to-day without even realising it. AI is everywhere!
When it comes to websites, AI can be the smart and over-achieving friend who builds websites super-fast and makes it look easy in the process.
Yes, you can. But – as we joke here in our office – it can be like entering a drag competition with a wardrobe malfunction… risky but potentially fabulous. You can use a glue gun to make a pretty outfit, but if not properly stitched something is bound to come loose.
Based on our own research, the easiest way for anyone who knows little to nothing about building websites is to use an AI-powered website builder. Some of the better-known AI Builder options include Wix, Durable and Squarespace. What is a website builder? Think of playing Lego or Tetris – just click, drag, and drop! Your website comes together, but AI does it for you while you sip your coffee after entering your prompt. This literally takes minutes.
AI is a wonderful tool (like an assistant) in your website building journey and can code your functions, structures or any other snippets of code for you. AI is smart, but not flawless. You, as a human, still need to double-check when it really matters.
You might be wondering: if I can do this myself using AI, why do I need someone else to do it for me? As we all know, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This is where authentic intelligence comes in.
What is Authentic Intelligence? For the irony of it, let’s ask AI to answer. Gemini (AI) defines authentic intelligence as “the unique human capabilities that complement and enhance artificial intelligence, by using and applying emotional intelligence, creativity, and critical thinking.” The human touch still counts. At the end of the day, it’s people we are trying to reach, not machines.
We need authentic intelligence in the marketing and design industries to make better decisions, for quality assurance, and to better understand our goals. We need to set our tone and create or reflect our brand voice in a way that artificial intelligence just cannot perceive or understand yet. Read our article about using brand voice correctly here.
Let’s delve into 8 critical points of using AI to build websites, exploring the efficiencies and accessibility it offers against concerns regarding customisation, originality, and long-term viability.
Using an artificial intelligence builder to create a website is very fast. If you know what you want and what the result should be, this can be done in hours or even minutes! Compare this to having someone build a website for you: It can take a few days or even a few weeks, depending on the size of the website. While artificial intelligence can do this very quickly, it might not be as accurate as you would like it to be. AI builds your website in no time. A human designer takes longer but adds all the special touches.
The website builders used by artificial intelligence work in a similar fashion to template-based or pre-built websites used in traditional website builders. At some stage, using artificial intelligence, websites will look overly familiar, and they will become repetitive and boring. Precise control is not available using only AI for your websites (at least not yet), so here it is a big advantage to use a professional to build your website for you. AI gives you a ready-made look. A web designer makes it truly unique to your business.
AI website builders are very cost-effective. They normally work on a subscription basis, so you will have to pay for it monthly or yearly. You are also locked in with that subscription forever and a day to keep your website live. Having your website built for you by a professional company (like us!) might seem to cost a lot more, but it’s really saving you a lot of time and effort in the long run. A website, especially a professionally built one, is an investment for your business. We will spare the reasons why you need a fantastic website for a different day, but it speaks for itself.
If you are a DIY go-getter and you really want to build a website using AI, you are not going to have any trouble at all. However, you are bound run into some limitations when it comes to customisation. As mentioned before, web design or development companies most likely use website builders too, but not necessarily with AI. The process of building a great website takes time and precision. Although these website builders are easy to use, they are very powerful and support way more functionality if you are a seasoned or experienced developer.
Artificial Intelligence website builders also offer content creation. Who hasn’t run to ChatGPT or CoPilot to quickly write content for a social media post, or something of the sorts? While these builders use the same mechanisms, you might want to reconsider using the content as is, because (depending on the prompt) it might end up very generic or even cause copyright violations. And, as with the designs, it might also end up being static with no authentic intelligence being present. Read our article about content creation with AI here.
As with the layout and design, the features and functionalities of an AI-generated website are very limited. For example, if you want to set up an online store, using artificial intelligence alone is not going to cut it. It’s like asking a real-life robot to set up your physical, walk-in store and expecting it to look and work exactly the way you want. There are many aspects to be kept in mind! A website developer has a great advantage here understanding human expectation. A web developer will also ensure that everything in their control works seamlessly.
AI can track data and metrics better than any human can do – so it has a clear advantage here. BUT the custom optimisation applied from this data is something that still needs human input. After you have built your shiny new AI-generated website, who is going to look after your ongoing SEO optimization and website performance? Do you know how to do it yourself? Or are you going to leave it to a professional company like Summit 7 Marketing to make your investment (your website) deliver long-term results…
Both artificial intelligence website builders and web development companies offer maintenance and support. The AI website builders ensure that everything is updated for you automatically and you can contact them (probably through an online chat bot) for any enquiry you might have. You won’t really know how long it might take for them to get back to you and you will feel like a number. Whereas a web development company (like Summit 7 Marketing), there are a bunch of humans you can call, email, WhatsApp or walk into our offices and you will be greeted with a smile.
Ultimately, the decision lies with you! You can decide on whichever path you want to take in creating a website for your business based on your needs.
The TLDR of this article is: if you don’t really have a budget and need something quick, an AI website builder might be appealing. Be aware that it has some shortcomings. If you want a website that mixes smart tech with real human creativity, trust a professional to build it for you. Invest in your business and let’s build something amazing together!
We have said it many times: Summit 7 Marketing is not against using artificial intelligence. In fact, we are embracing it. Like in a lot of other industries, we are looking to streamline our processes and provide excellent services while still upholding our quality of work and professionalism. Artificial intelligence is a tool, not a complete replacement for any person or job. While AI is only getting more powerful, our aim is to keep things humanly authentic.
Reach out to us to discuss your website needs. We are eagerly waiting to assist.
