AI can help with website design, writing, code and review. The tool name does not tell you whether the resulting website describes the business correctly, delivers enquiries or handles data safely. Judge the result and the evidence.
AI can propose architecture, brand direction and business strategy too. It needs relevant inputs, and its proposals need assessment. An AI-built website does not automatically harm SEO, and automation does not guarantee time savings. Before launch, verify content, customer journeys, accessibility, security and operations.
What to delegate and what to check
Copy and translation: provide the real offer, audience, constraints and approved prices. Check every company claim, technical term and the tone. Fluent language does not prove accuracy. Have important translations assessed by someone who understands both the language and the subject; there is no universal number of languages that can be delivered in a few minutes.
Structure and design: request alternatives based on the visitor's task. A repair service may start with describing a fault; a magazine with opening an article. Assess actual content and mobile usability rather than the number of effects. See why AI websites can look similar.
Code: an assistant can prepare a component, propose architecture or fix a bug. Review the changed code and actual behaviour. A success message does not prove an enquiry was delivered. A login screen does not prove server-side authorization.
Images: AI illustrations can work when readers understand their origin. Do not present them as evidence of real projects, employees or product properties. Edits to product photos must preserve the actual product. The AI photography guide covers concrete prompts and checks.
What Google actually says
Google allows useful applications of generative AI, including research and structuring content, while emphasizing accuracy, quality and relevance. Scaled content abuse concerns pages produced primarily to manipulate rankings, regardless of how they were created.
This does not mean every unedited AI article will disappear from results. Nor do I have evidence that Google identifies a particular page as AI-written from a short visit or a sentence pattern. Human editing or an AI label alone does not guarantee rankings. Check whether the page serves its purpose and whether its claims match the sources.
A practical company website workflow
- Collect inputs. Services, service area, real prices, contacts and documented references. Mark missing information for completion.
- Design the customer journey. What must visitors know before enquiring, and what happens next? Use that to structure the pages.
- Prepare a draft. Give AI the inputs, expected format and an explicit prohibition on inventing references. Compare the draft against the brief.
Worked example: AI drafts. An editor compares.
illustrative example
| Field | Draft | Editorial check |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Bicycle repair Ostrava | Wo rkshop | Fix typo: Workshop |
| H1 | Bicycle repairs in Ostrava | Matches the offer |
| Description | Brake and gear adjustments | Verify actual services |
| Canonical | example.com/repairs | Wrong: use /bicycle-repairs |
Compare the draft with actual content and the intended URL.
- Verify implementation. Check mobile and desktop, keyboard use, form errors, confirmation and delivery. Check integrations for permissions, failure handling and protection of secrets too.
- Hand over operations. Assign owners for the domain, accounts, backups, support, recovery procedure and measurement of qualified enquiries.
Worked example: When the real service is missing
ORIGINAL EXAMPLE · FICTIONAL DATA
| Input | Draft | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Brief: bicycle service | "We repair every e-bike." | Repair types unconfirmed. |
| Clarification: brakes and gears | "We adjust brakes and gears." | Matches the brief. |
| Contact: service enquiry | "Choose a repair" button | Check the form journey. |
AI must not invent an unsupported service.
When a builder may be sufficient
A builder can serve a simple website in the long term. Before choosing one, check content editing, integrations, export, recurring costs and maintenance. A larger budget or custom code does not guarantee a better commercial result. Compare actual constraints with the cost of a targeted improvement or rebuild; see the AI builder guide.
Ask suppliers to describe deliverables and how they will verify them. "We use AI" does not explain who is responsible for accurate prices, secure forms or future changes. My web development service uses an agreed scope and handover; tools support that work.
What to assess after launch
Check whether people find the information they need, complete the intended action and receive a response from the business. For search, inspect specific URLs in Search Console and compare relevant queries over time. The number of published articles or how they were written does not by itself explain traffic changes. Make changes in response to findings rather than a promised payback date.