Why do AI-generated websites often look the same?

You ask AI for a modern website. The result has a large headline, rounded cards, a gradient background, and a button inviting visitors to “Get started.”

It might look polished, but would you know which business it belongs to without reading the name?

Start with the purpose

A request like “build a modern website” leaves the audience, content, and important actions open to interpretation.

Imagine you are creating a website for a local bakery. Asking for a beautiful landing page says little about what its customers need.

Some visitors want to check opening hours. Others want to order a birthday cake, find the shop, or see whether gluten-free options are available.

Those needs give the design a purpose. They help you decide which information should appear first and which actions deserve attention.

Before asking AI to design the page, describe the business, its customers, and the main task the website should help them complete.

Bring real content

Actual words, photos, and product details help you judge whether a layout fits the business.

A short placeholder heading can make almost any design look tidy. Your real heading might take three lines on a phone.

The same applies to product cards. “Chocolate cake” fits differently from “Chocolate celebration cake with personalised decoration.”

Give AI representative content early. For the bakery, that could include opening hours, cake prices, collection instructions, and a few real customer questions.

Use the business’s own photos when available. A layout built around wide studio photographs may need changes if the available images are mostly portrait shots taken inside the shop.

Content is part of the design work. Waiting until the end to add it can reveal problems you could have caught earlier.

Show what already exists

Your existing colours, components, and examples give AI clearer guidance than broad style descriptions.

If the bakery already has a logo, packaging, or printed menu, use those materials to explain its visual identity.

Maybe it uses cream backgrounds, dark green text, and simple photography. That is more useful direction than asking for something “premium and unique.”

For an existing web product, share the buttons, form fields, spacing rules, and page patterns already in use. Ask AI to follow those choices.

References help most when you explain what matters about them. You might like one website’s readable menu and another’s clear collection instructions. Say that directly, rather than expecting the AI to infer which details you want.

Give specific feedback

Describe what feels wrong and what should improve. “Make it better” gives little direction for the next revision.

Suppose the bakery’s homepage looks attractive, but the opening hours are buried near the bottom. Ask to move them beside the address and make both easy to find on mobile.

If customers mainly order cakes, explain that the cake enquiry button needs more attention than the newsletter form.

Work through one problem at a time. Review the content order, then the layout, then the smaller visual details.

You can also ask AI to explain a proposed change before applying it. That gives you a chance to check whether its reasoning matches the business’s needs.

Check the finished experience

A distinctive page should also help people complete their tasks. Appearance alone cannot tell you whether it works.

Try using the bakery website as a customer. Find tomorrow’s opening hours, check a cake price, and send an enquiry.

Repeat those tasks on a small screen. Use the keyboard. Check that text is readable and that form errors explain what to fix.

These checks may lead to less dramatic design changes than another background effect, but they directly improve the experience.

My take: AI is easier to guide when you have something specific to communicate. You do not need to become a designer before asking for help. Start with the people, content, and actions that matter.

The goal is a website that feels appropriate for the business and works for its customers. Clear direction gives you a better way to get there.

Thanks for reading. #AI #FrontendDevelopment #WebDesign #WebDevelopment