how to make an ai-built website not look ai-generated

why ai-built sites all look the same

AI site builders and coding assistants are trained on the same popular templates and UI kits, so they converge on the same answer: centered hero, gradient, three feature cards, testimonials, pricing, footer. It's a reasonable starting point, and that's the problem. Visitors have seen it hundreds of times, and it reads as "nobody decided anything here".

1. rewrite the hero first

The headline and the line under it do most of the work. Test: could a competitor put your headline on their site unchanged? If yes, rewrite it. Say what the product does, for whom, and one thing that's different. Plain beats clever.

An example. Before: Elevate your workflow with AI-powered insights. The all-in-one platform for modern teams. After: "Find out why trial users don't convert. Session replays and drop-off reports for SaaS onboarding, set up in one script tag." The second one could only be one product.

2. pick a palette on purpose

The purple-blue gradient is the most recognizable AI default. Choose one or two colors that belong to your brand and use them sparingly, for actions and emphasis. A mostly neutral page with one strong accent looks more deliberate than a gradient everywhere.

3. change the type

Swap the template font, or at least set your own sizes, weights and line lengths. Keep body text around 60 to 75 characters per line. Make the hierarchy obvious: one big thing, a few medium things, the rest small.

4. break the three-card grid

If your features come in three identical cards with icons, ask which feature actually matters most and give it room: a real screenshot, a short explanation, an example. The other two can be a line each.

5. show the real product

Replace abstract illustrations and fake dashboards with real screenshots or a short screen recording. It's the single strongest signal that a real thing exists behind the page.

6. add proof only you have

• Founder names and faces, and why you built it.
• Real numbers: users, uptime, response time, price.
• Specific customer quotes with names, or none at all.
• A changelog or a "last updated" date.

7. cut sections that answer nothing

For every section ask: what visitor question does this answer? Pricing, how it works, who it's for, what it costs and how to start are real questions. "Why choose us" usually isn't.

8. check spacing and density

Default spacing tokens give every page the same rhythm. Tighten where things belong together, add space where a new idea starts, and remove filler paragraphs. Less text, said precisely, reads as more confident.

9. keep one weird thing

Templates sand off everything unusual. Keep something that's yours: a strong opinion in the copy, a hand-drawn diagram, an odd color, a page about how you work. Memorable sites usually have one thing that a template would never produce.

a quick checklist

• Headline says what, for whom, and why you.
• One or two brand colors, no default gradient.
• Type and spacing set on purpose.
• Real screenshots or a recording of the product.
• Names, faces, numbers and a price.
• Every section answers a visitor question.

see where your site stands

Paste your URL into slop calculator to get a score for each of these areas, the evidence behind it, and the fixes to make first. If you want a person to go through it, our team also does a recorded human review of every page.