If you’ve ever asked ChatGPT how to fix something technical - your TV, your boiler, your Wi-Fi - you probably know the moment. It starts confidently. Step one, step two… sounds reasonable. Then halfway through you realise: this doesn’t match what I’m looking at. Your model is different. Your setup isn’t the same. Something’s off.

Now imagine a technician reading those instructions. They’d spot the problem instantly. “Yeah… that doesn’t apply here.”

The issue isn’t that AI is useless. It’s that it doesn’t understand context the way an expert does.

And the exact same thing is happening right now with people using AI to build their own websites.

AI Can Build You a Website. That Doesn’t Mean It’ll Build You a Good One.

Tools like Figma (with AI features like Figma Make) or Wix AI can generate a website in minutes. You give it a prompt, it gives you a layout. Done.

Except… not really.

Because what you’re getting is the equivalent of those wifi repair instructions. Generic. Pattern-based. Technically correct in places - but completely disconnected from your specific users, your business, and what actually makes a website perform.

To test this, I gave both tools a very simple brief:

Design me a website for my tour guide business. We offer guided hiking and biking tours, as well as some occasional special tours like stargazing, photography courses. I want my website to feel outdoorsy and modern.

Sounds clear enough, right?

Here’s what actually happened.

What AI Gave Me (And Where It Fell Apart)

Figma Make: Looks Like an App, Not a Service

What I got back looked more like a landing page for a startup app than a service-based tour company.

• No meaningful way to filter tours

• No structure for different types of experiences (hiking vs. stargazing vs. courses)

• No information on guests actually need

• “Book now” = a basic contact form

• And funnily enough- it decided hiking and biking tours means motorcycle!

None of this is wrong technically. But it completely misses how people actually choose and book tours.

There’s no mention of:

• Skill level or prerequisites

• Whether it’s child-friendly

• What to bring

• Duration, difficulty, logistics

And here’s the key problem: AI didn’t forget this. It never knew it mattered.

A small business owner using this output wouldn’t necessarily know what’s missing unless they’ve done proper research - or already have experience in the industry.

Wix AI: Generic, Blog-Like, and Shallow

The Wix version had a completely different issue.

• The design felt blocky and generic - closer to a blog than an outdoor experience brand

• “Outdoorsy” translated to… green colours and AI generated outdoor imagery

• The structure was extremely basic: hero, list of tours, about section

That’s it.

No filtering. No categorisation. No decision-making support for users.

Even worse, it was clearly designed desktop-first and then squeezed into mobile. In reality, most users booking tours are doing it on their phones, often on the go.

Again, nothing here is technically broken. But it’s strategically empty.

The Big Misconception: “AI Will Figure It Out”

This is where things go wrong.

AI doesn’t:

• Know your customers

• Understand their expectations

• Anticipate their concerns

• Or design around real behaviour

It predicts patterns based on existing data. That’s it.

So when you say “outdoorsy,” it doesn’t build a tailored experience. It maps that word to visual clichés - green, nature photos, maybe a mountain in the background.

A human designer, on the other hand, would:

• Ask for references

• Build a moodboards

• Compare competitors

• Translate “outdoorsy” into something specific to your audience

Same word. Completely different outcome.

“But I Still Want to Use AI” - Good. Just Use It Properly.

This isn’t a “don’t use AI” argument.

AI is a great tool. In the right hands, it speeds things up massively. Even designers use it - for ideation, prototyping, or getting unstuck.

But if you’re a small business owner trying to replace the entire design and strategy process with AI, you need to go in with realistic expectations.

Because what you’re really doing is taking on the role of:

• Researcher

• UX designer

• Copywriter

• Strategist

AI won’t do those jobs for you. It’ll just give you a starting point, or make up something that simply won't fully work for your business.

If You’re Building Your Website With AI, Watch Out For This

Before you hit publish, here’s what you actually need to think about:

1. AI Doesn’t Know Your Users (You Need To)

What are your customers trying to figure out before they book?

If you don’t know:

• What questions they have

• What hesitations they feel

• What information they need

Your website won’t convert - no matter how “nice” it looks.

This means doing at least basic competitor research and user thinking before generating anything.

2. Structure Matters More Than Looks

Most AI-generated websites fail here.

A list of tours isn’t enough. People need help choosing.

Think:

• Filters (difficulty, duration, type)

• Clear categories

• Comparison between options

If your site doesn’t help users decide, they won’t.

3. “Book Now” Isn’t a Strategy

A contact form is not a booking system.

Depending on your business, users might expect:

• Availability calendars

• Instant booking

• Clear pricing and inclusions

If that’s missing, you’re creating friction, and friction means losing potential customers.

4. Mobile Isn’t an Afterthought

If your AI-generated site looks like it was designed for desktop and then squeezed into mobile… that’s a problem.

Your users are likely:

• On their phones

• On the move

• Making quick decisions

Your design should reflect that from the start.

5. You’ll Need to Iterate (A Lot)

This is the part people underestimate.

If you go the AI route, be prepared to:

• Rewrite content

• Adjust layouts

• Test different versions

• Watch analytics and fix what’s not working

AI gives you version one. You still have to do versions two through ten.

So… Is AI Enough?

It depends on what you expect.

If you want:

• A quick, basic online presence → AI can get you there

• A website that actually converts visitors into customers → that’s a different game

Because just like with fixing your appliances, the instructions might look right… until they don’t.

And knowing when they don’t - that’s the difference between guessing and actually knowing what you’re doing.

Is your website not performing as it should? I help you identify issues without costly redesign through my Diagnose service.