There’s a certain style. Slightly too-smooth gradients. A hero photo of someone who doesn’t exist (and probably shouldn’t – they aren’t even smiling at anything). Consistently mismatched icons. A design choice that was once considered progressive has become a clear indication of a lack of focus.
The signs of AI design aren’t always obvious. It’s not usually one clear sign or indicator. It’s usually 2-3 small signs that, when put together, attract attention. A well-executed gradient? Fine in moderation. A font pairing designed to meet a team’s word count? Probably not something you’d write home about. A visitor will notice the signs of AI design, even if they can’t verbalize what’s wrong.
Real design changes we’d make:
Replace the fake ‘hero image’ with, at the very least, a plain photo. A real photo is infinitely better than a fake one.
Use a more creative design layout and avoid the default three-column feature grid.
Remember to read what you’ve written out loud. It’s a great way to see if you’ve written what you wanted to say without the use of self-summary.
Using AI to write copy is fine. It’s just bad design when this is the only editing pass, think of design tools like AI as just a draft.