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AI – it’s the talk of the town and you’re likely tired of hearing it discussed already. It would be true to say that most businesses are considering how they can leverage AI in their operations, or at least, starting to consider exactly how its influence might impact them.
We’ve seen strikes in Hollywood using AI as one of its foundational tenets for the future securing of worker’s rights, we’ve seen household names like Microsoft invest billions of dollars integrating these systems into their flagship products, and who knows what tomorrow may bring?
However, within all the talk of exactly what AI could and perhaps should offer, little is said about how it should be avoided. Of course, in some circles this debate is fiercely raging – especially in the academic space – but for the most part, warning against AI in the commercial sector can make you seem like something of a Luddite.
We’ll save the judgments for those with deeper expertise and web design chops; however, it’s important to say that as of the time of this writing (Autumn 2023), avoiding AI in the following website integrations could be ideal:
Gradual Automation
AI is in an exciting place right now, and as such, many companies are experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t. We need only look to Google who have been having trouble, or displaying an unusual amount of reticence, in developing their own AI tools.
However, it’s important to remember that while automating every process (like account management, order booking or service scaling) can seem ideal, this should be mediated in line with the expectations of your audience. It’s important to never take your market’s willingness to use the new tools as a guarantee to replace your own.
If you’re to integrate new automated processes that affect your outward presentation, make sure to correctly test them, ensure they’re accessible, and avoid too much complexity. In notetaking apps like Notion, for example, the AI tools given are still competitive, but rudimentary, never overtaking manual input for legibility and user control.
Blog Content
Many link farms and other less-curated blogs are now awash with AI-generated content, including some companies that have made this a distinct part of their content strategy. Of course, AI-written content can be quite good, but it’s also mostly devoid of personality.
Nothing beats sharing business insights or unique takes relating to your own sense of perspective. Nothing can connect to your audience more than a living human person with real perspective. Sure, article outlines, structure, formats or even references can be assisted with AI – but if you hope to have a human impact, offer human content.
Customer Support
Some AI measures have been fantastic for customer support, but it’s important to allow at least some contact with human agents if this is needed. It may be tempting to implement chatbots in every way, but you should also have a phone number where appropriate, an email capacity for human responses, and even live agents that can be connected to.
Think more of AI chatbots as a tool for organizing support requests into appropriate categories, to refer customers to your FAQ, and offering basic solutions if they haven’t been considered – advanced queries should (for now) lead to human outcomes.
With this advice, you’re sure to have avoided AI-at-any-cost thinking on your website.
