Why I’m seeing a backlash against AI website copy in 2026

This is the first blog post I’ve had time to write for myself in 2026, as I’ve been fully booked with website copywriting projects since the first week of January. 

I’m not telling you this to point out my poor marketing strategy (do as I say, not as I do!). I’m telling you this to show that consistently for months now, I’ve had clients coming to me wanting to invest in human-led copy – and it’s no coincidence. 

Too many business owners are seeing the backlash of using AI website copy. From generic home pages with ‘supercharge your life’ language, people are fed up.

We’re all so heightened to the signs of AI now. We can’t use words like ‘quietly’ without suspicion – and don’t get me started on ‘Not X, not Y, just Z’ phrasing… 

Several clients came to me saying the same thing: AI website copy got them by for a while, but now they’re noticing the effect. Enquiries have slowed, the wrong people are getting in touch, or their rankings have dipped.

For what it’s worth, I’m not anti-AI. I use it myself. But there’s a difference between using it as part of a writing process and handing it the wheel entirely. If your brand voice isn’t clearly defined to begin with, AI copy will only highlight this. 

So let’s talk about it. As a strategic website copywriter, here’s my take…

What good website copy does for your business 

It’s the difference between a restaurant with a clear menu in the window and one where you’re squinting through the glass trying to work out if it’s even open.

With good website copy, you make it easy for the right people – people who want and need what you sell – to buy from you. Your ideal customers will feel seen and understood, so they think, “YES, this is who I need”. 

It also pre-qualifies people for you. So instead of fielding enquiries from people who aren’t quite right, you get fewer, better conversations with people who already understand your value before they’ve even reached out.

The trend: Convenient AI-generated copy isn’t working anymore

A couple of years ago, everyone was ‘wowed’ by the fact that tools like ChatGPT and Claude (which I’ve now switched to, btw) could write copy in seconds. The technology really is impressive. 

And I’m here to agree – mostly. AI tools have some real strengths: 

• You can turn a voice note into a first draft in seconds 
• You can tidy up notes written at 11pm on your phone into a coherent email 
• You can use it as a sounding board when you’re going round in circles on a decision
• You can even use it to plan your week, shopping lists, and exercise plans.

AI copy can be a great starting point for many people, especially if you’re newer to business or are testing ideas out. 

But I’ve found people are now realising that while things sound ok on the surface, their AI copy didn’t really say anything. It’s generic, fluffy, and not them. As a result, it’s not making that true connection with their ideal clients that great copy can achieve.

The problem with AI copy for experienced business owners 

When written from a vague prompt without extra context or personal insight, AI web copy sounds like it could have been written by anyone. When you give AI loose, unstrategic briefs, you get back vague, predictable copy. 

And the root of the issue is that most business owners aren’t marketers, so briefing AI properly isn’t straightforward. “Write an about page for my website” with a rough bio pasted in isn’t going to cut it.

What AI can’t do is know your business. It doesn’t know why you started, what you’ve learned the hard way, which clients you do your best work with, or how you’d describe what you do when someone asks at a dinner party. 

It doesn’t have your humour, your stories, or the knowledge you’ve built over your life and career. And unless you know how to ask yourself the right questions, you’ll stay surface level… because the deeper stuff feels obvious to you, so it doesn’t occur to you to include it.

When I work with someone as their website copywriter, I ask a lot of questions. I regularly get told “that’s a great question” – not because I’m asking something particularly clever, but because having someone there to draw the right things out of you is so valuable. 

You don’t quite get there with AI. Even with good source material, it’s working from assumptions based on what everyone else is saying on the internet. You end up sounding like everyone else, because in a sense, you are.

Your customers know better in 2026 – and AI copy is rarely good for SEO 

If you’re working in a B2B environment, your customers are likely rolling their eyes every time they see “In today’s fast-paced world…” or “Unlock your potential” just as much as you are. 

One client came to me knowing exactly what the problem was. A competitor of hers (who was also a friend and someone she knew well) had a website that was getting regular high-quality, pre-qualified enquiries. Hers wasn’t. The only people getting in touch were ones she’d already met offline.

When we looked at her copy together, the issue wasn’t that it was bad. It was just… nothing. Competent, covered the basics, but it could have been anyone. There was no sense of how she thinks, what she notices, or why her clients stay. The stuff that makes the right person read it and feel like they’ve found exactly who they were looking for.

It also wasn’t doing anything for her search rankings. Nobody was finding her. She’d heard Google was penalising AI content and wanted to know if it was true. Google’s official line and the reality on the ground don’t quite match up. Officially, they say they don’t penalise AI content. 

In practice, the sites that have taken a hit tend to share one thing in common: there’s nothing human in there. No expertise, stories, or personality. And both search engines and real people are getting better at spotting it.

So your AI copy might not be visible, and even if it is, it’s unlikely it’s converting. 

Ready for strategic, human-written SEO copy?

If you’ve been looking at your website and wondering whether it’s working as hard as it should be, I’d love to have a conversation. You can find out more about working with me on your website copy here, or contact me for a chat.