How to write website copy that doesn't sound AI-generated
AI copy sounds generic because it describes the category, not the business: every bakery is "passionate", every agency offers "tailored solutions". To fix it, go line by line and replace each general claim with a fact only you could state. The method below takes about an hour for a five-section page.
Why it reads as machine-written
Language models predict likely words. The likeliest description of a dentist is the one that fits every dentist, so a first draft lands on safe abstractions: quality, care, excellence, solutions. Readers have now seen thousands of pages built that way and skim straight past them. The tell isn't any single word; it's a page where nothing could be checked. There's no number, no name, no place, no detail that would be wrong for a competitor.
A few structures give it away as well: the three-adjective list ("fast, friendly and reliable"), the rhetorical question as an opener, the "Whether you're a beginner or a pro" sentence, and a closing line that restates the heading.
The rewrite, line by line
- Print or paste the draft into a document so you're editing words, not a design.
- Mark every sentence that a competitor could publish unchanged. Be strict; on a first draft that's often most of them.
- For each marked sentence, ask what it's trying to claim, then find the evidence: a number, a time, a place, a named product, a real customer type, a process step.
- Rewrite with the evidence as the subject. "Quality ingredients" becomes "Flour from Shipton Mill, butter from a dairy ten miles away".
- Swap abstract verbs for physical ones. Not "we deliver solutions" but "we fix leaking boilers, usually the same day".
- Cut what has no evidence. If you can't back up a claim about prizes or ratings, the sentence goes.
- Read it aloud. Anything you wouldn't say to a customer at the counter, rewrite until you would.
Stock phrases and what to write instead
| Filler | Why it fails | Write instead (example) |
|---|---|---|
| We're passionate about… | Every business says it; no one can check it | What you do that costs you effort: "We still hand-stitch every collar" |
| Tailored solutions for your needs | Says nothing about what's sold | The actual service and who it's for: "Bookkeeping for sole traders with under 200 invoices a year" |
| Your one-stop shop for… | A claim of breadth with no list | The three things people most often buy from you |
| Whether you're a beginner or a pro… | Tries to address everyone | Name the person you serve best |
| State-of-the-art equipment | Undated and unverifiable | The equipment by name, or what it lets you do |
| Transform the way you… | Promises change without saying what changes | The before and after in plain terms: "Invoices sent in two minutes, not twenty" |
| Discover the difference | A button that says nothing | What the button does: "See this week's menu" |
| Crafted with care | Every product claims it | One concrete detail of how it's made |
Headlines and buttons
The headline carries the most weight and attracts the most filler. A useful test: remove your business name and see whether the headline could belong to a business in another town or another trade. If it could, it's too general. Good small-business headlines often just say what you are, where, and one distinguishing fact: "Sports injury physio in Headingley, seen within 48 hours".
Buttons should describe the action and its result. "Book a 45-minute assessment" or "Get the price list" set an expectation; "Get started" and "Learn more" don't. Avoid the "X, not Y" headline formula and the habit of recolouring one word in the headline; both mark a page as templated.
A worked before and after
- Before
- "Welcome to Brightside Plumbing, where we're passionate about delivering exceptional service. Whether you need a quick repair or a full installation, our dedicated team provides tailored solutions to meet your needs."
- After
- "Brightside Plumbing: two plumbers covering Stockport and south Manchester. Leaks and boiler faults fixed the same day if you call before noon. Bathroom fits quoted in writing within three days of a visit."
The second version is shorter and every sentence could be wrong, which is exactly what makes it believable.
How Anticode helps, and where it stops
Anticode's Critic flags stock AI phrases in every build, along with habits such as the formula headline, the single highlighted word and heavy use of em dashes. The design gate also blocks publishing a page that still contains stock phrases or placeholder text. The nine design tells guide covers more of these patterns.
Checks can find known filler; they can't supply your facts. The model writes from what your brief contains, so the most effective step is a brief full of specifics (see how to write a website brief for an AI builder), then your own line-by-line edit in the visual editor. Anticode writes in English only.
Questions people ask
Is it wrong to use AI to write website copy?
No. It's a fast way to get a draft and a structure. The problem is publishing the draft unedited, with no facts only you could add.
Does Google penalise AI-written copy?
Google's guidance focuses on whether content is helpful and made for people, not on how it was produced. Generic copy tends to fail that test whoever wrote it.
What if I don't have impressive facts?
You don't need impressive ones, only specific ones. Opening hours, the area you cover and how quickly you reply are facts visitors actually want.