AI website builders are all the rage right now, but what do they actually do?
There’s more than one way that the best AI website builders can help you build a website. These AI-powered platforms can help you generate design ideas, create content at scale, or even automate workflows crucial to your business. By using a combination of generative AI and machine learning (ML), the best website builders can take away a huge amount of workload that goes into building an online presence from scratch.
But not all AI platforms are cut from the same cloth. Some are better at certain things than others, while some choose to include features that others simply don’t have. If you want to get a good grasp of all the ways that AI can help you in your website creation process, with examples of tools for each, keep reading.
1. Auto-generated templates
AI-generated templates streamline the website creation process by providing pre-designed, intuitive, customizable layouts that cater to various industries and aesthetic preferences. These website templates save time and effort, allowing users to focus on content and functionality rather than design from scratch.
For example, Appy Pie’s AI Website Templates Generator allows users to describe their desired website and have the AI generate a custom layout tailored to their needs, with the added option to customize it further using a drag-and-drop editor.
Two other platforms with this feature include TeleportHQ and Mobirise, both of which offer an extensive collection of templates built by AI. TeleportHQ, for one, features an AI generator that can build entire websites from scratch using a ChatGPT-powered conversational interface. Mobirise goes the more traditional route, offering a collection of templates to choose from based on your preferences.
2. Design recommendations
AI tools can analyze design trends and user preferences to provide smart design recommendations, enhancing the website's visual appeal and user experience. These tools can suggest layouts, color schemes, and typography that align with the latest design standards.
Elementor’s AI Copilot is a notable example of this, with the ability to suggest different layout combinations to customize the look and feel of your website. For example, it can create different variations of designs for you to experiment with inside a container, generate unique content based on various prompts, and even write custom code to power various use cases.
Another example of a good AI design assistant is Wix, which lets you generate custom HTML and CSS based on simple prompts to use in your AI-generated designs. You can also ask Wix’s AI to modify and tweak your existing code, to make it more optimized and accurate.
3. Content creation
AI-powered content creation tools can generate high-quality text, images, and videos, significantly reducing the time and effort required to produce engaging content. These tools use natural language processing and machine learning to create content that resonates with the target audience.
Jasper and Copy.ai are popular AI content creation tools that help generate blog posts, social media updates, and ad copy. Jasper, for example, offers over 50 templates for various AI-generated content types, ensuring consistency and relevance across all platforms.
Apart from these dedicated solutions, AI website builders like Wix, Hostinger, and GoDaddy all come with AI-powered content creation tools integrated within their development suite. You can use them to generate well-researched text, create compelling visuals, and more.
4. Performance analytics
AI-driven performance analytics tools provide deep insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates. These tools can identify patterns and trends, helping website owners make data-driven decisions to optimize their sites.
Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics are leading AI-powered analytics tools that offer comprehensive data analysis and reporting features. Google Analytics 4 (GA4), for example, enhances cross-platform tracking and reporting. Meanwhile, Adobe Analytics uses machine learning to identify profitable segments and improve user experiences.
AI website builders like Hostinger and Shopify also feature their own analytics tools. Hostinger has an AI heatmapping tool that lets you predict user behavior. Shopify, on the other hand, has a suite of predictive analytics tools to help ecommerce websites forecast their business volume.
5. SEO optimization
AI tools for SEO optimization help improve a website's visibility on search engines by analyzing keywords, content structure, and user intent. These tools can suggest keyword opportunities, optimize on-page elements, and track performance metrics.
SEO.AI and MarketMuse are examples of AI-powered SEO tools that provide actionable insights and automate optimization tasks. SEO.AI identifies SEO gaps and suggests improvements. But, MarketMuse uses AI to generate topic clusters and content briefs that enhance search engine rankings.
As generative AI continues to evolve, traditional SEO platforms like Ahrefs and SEMrush have also begun incorporating AI features into their roster. Meanwhile, Keyword Insights, Content Distribution, and Machined.ai are specialized tools to help with building content clusters to rank programmatically for various keywords.
How does an AI website builder work?
AI website builders are tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help users create websites quickly and easily, without needing to know how to code. Here's a high-level overview of how they typically work:
- User input: The process starts with the user providing some basic information and preferences about the desired website. This could include the website's purpose, industry, color scheme, features needed, and any existing content like text or images.
- Design generation: Using the input data, AI models generate a variety of website design options that match the specified criteria. They draw upon a vast library of website templates, themes, layouts, and UI elements that have been pre-designed by professional web designers.
- Intelligent customization: The user can review the AI-generated designs and select one to further customize. As the user makes edits and provides feedback, AI systems intelligently apply those changes.
- Content population: For the text content, AI website builders often include writing assistance powered by natural language generation (NLG). Some of these AI builders can even help create basic logos and select stock photos based on the site's purpose.
- Final deployment: Once the user is happy with the design, the AI builder generates the necessary HTML, CSS and JavaScript code to make the website functional. It can then help publish the site, connect a custom domain, and assist with ongoing maintenance.
