What About AI: AI Websites
What About AI ...
This is part of a series of independent blogs about the impact of AI on our world, especially in the field of writing and communications. It reflects my personal view and is based on my experiences. I am not an endorser of any AI product.
I recently received my first email from Seona, who describes herself (itself?) as “your dedicated AI assistant, specially designed to help small businesses like yours optimize their SEO.” I stumbled upon it when I responded to a LinkedIn message that I thought was a job posting but turned out to be a sales pitch.
I was glad to have made the mistake.
During a 30-minute phone call with a sales rep, I learned about new AI products that can build websites and provide SEO assistance. The technology is fascinating.
I watched a website created instantly – seriously, it was less than 5 seconds – after the representative typed in a few sentences about a mock marketing firm. Poof, it appeared like magic with headlines, subheads, photos and all. To change the photo theme, she simply typed in the desired theme – sports, outdoors, etc. – and the photos changed instantly.
Now, this was a simple site, similar to my own on Squarespace. (The prerequisite for the call was having your own website to try out the AI tools.) There was no heavy commerce or content. Still, the speed in which it created the content and design was remarkable.
The creativity? Well, that was lacking. Particularly in the content. (I’m sure graphic and web designers could quibble with the design as well, but that’s not my area of expertise.)
The shortcoming with using this tool, at least at the moment, is that everybody’s website could look and sound the same. The benefit, it could be argued, is that this tool serves as a starting point, a draft for humans to tinker with and add their own creative twist.
I haven’t worked enough with it yet to determine how much of a benefit that really is because I don’t know:
How much rewriting or reworking it will take
How much research will be needed to ensure content is accurate
The bigger shortcoming, as I see it so far, is in its writing. I am a writer by profession, so I am sensitive to AI taking my place or worse, showing me up. So far, I’m pretty safe in the latter area.
Here’s what Seona sent me for content as part of a proposed blog to boost my SEO:
Storytelling, an art woven into the fabric of human existence, has traversed centuries as an essential form of communication. It has seamlessly transitioned from the whispers of ancient myths and legends to the grand stages of modern novels and cinematic masterpieces. Stories possess a unique ability to whisk us away into realms of imagination, kindle a symphony of emotions within, and spark the flames of inspiration that lead to transformative actions.
Bleck! I would never write this.
That’s why I denied Seona posting this on my website. (I was told I need to instruct her not to make any changes on my website until I deny or approve the proposed changes.)
This brings up another dicey part of AI writing for you: Is it OK to represent it as your own? Or are we required to put a note at the top or bottom of a post that says something like: “Influenced by AI” or “Written in part by AI”. I would argue the latter.
Seona is working on boosting my SEO – which is pretty lousy right now – with content and coding changes. We’ll see how she does. More on that next time.
Image courtesy of Freepik