Keeping your brand voice when AI writes the first draft

One of the quiet conveniences of an AI website builder is that it writes as well as designs. Ask for a site and you get headlines, introductions and button labels along with the layout. For many people, that first draft of copy is a relief: writing about yourself is hard, and a starting point helps.

The risk is that the draft becomes the final version. AI-written copy tends to be clear and competent, but it also tends towards a neutral, agreeable middle. Your voice, the particular way you talk to the people you serve, is easy to lose. This post is about keeping it.

Voice and tone are not the same thing

It helps to separate two ideas that writers and brand designers have long distinguished.

Voice is who you are. It stays fairly constant: your vocabulary, your sense of humour, how formal you are, whether you say "we" or "I".

Tone is how that voice adapts to a situation. You might be playful on your home page and more serious on a page about refunds. Same voice, different tone.

When AI writes a first draft, it usually gets the tone roughly right for each section, because it recognises the situation. What it can't know is your voice, unless you tell it.

Write a tiny voice guide

Large organisations often have detailed brand voice guidelines produced by skilled writers and strategists. You don't need anything so elaborate. Half a page is plenty, and it will improve every piece of text you ever write, not just your website.

Try answering these questions:

How do you refer to yourself?

"I", "we", or your business name? Solo practitioners sometimes default to "we" because it sounds bigger, but "I" is often warmer and more honest. Pick one and stick with it.

How formal are you?

Imagine a scale from a legal letter to a text message to a friend. Where do you sit? Do you use contractions ("we're", "you'll")? Do you ever start sentences with "And" or "But"?

Three words that describe you, and three that don't

For example: straightforward, warm, a bit dry but not bubbly, corporate, pushy. The negative list is often more useful than the positive one, because it tells you what to cut.

Words you use, and words you'd never use

Every business has its own vocabulary. A garden designer might talk about "planting" rather than "landscaping solutions". A tutor might say "lessons" rather than "sessions". Note down a handful of each.

A sample paragraph in your real voice

Write a short paragraph as if you were explaining what you do to someone at a party. Don't polish it. This is the most valuable part of the guide, because it shows rather than tells.

Give the guide to the tool

Once you have your notes, use them when you ask for copy. You can include a short version in your first prompt:

"Write in the first person, informally, with contractions. Straightforward and warm, a little dry. Never salesy or corporate. Say 'lessons' not 'sessions'. Here's an example of how I talk: [your paragraph]."

Then, when you ask for changes later, refer back to it: "This section sounds too formal compared to my example. Make it more like the way I wrote about myself."

Giving a sample of your own writing is particularly effective. Descriptions of a voice are open to interpretation; an example is concrete.

Edit the draft with a sharp pencil

Even with a guide, plan to edit the copy yourself. A useful approach is to go through the text in three passes, each looking for something different.

Pass one: phrases that could belong to anyone

Look for sentences that would be equally true of any business in your field. Lines about being "dedicated", "passionate" or "committed to excellence" are common culprits. Either cut them or replace them with something only you would say.

Pass two: words you wouldn't use

Check the draft against your "never" list. Watch especially for inflated vocabulary: "elevate", "seamless", "curated", "unlock". If you wouldn't say it aloud to a customer, it probably shouldn't be on your site.

Pass three: rhythm

Voice lives partly in sentence length. If you naturally speak in short, direct sentences, a draft full of long, balanced ones won't sound like you, even if every word is fine. Break up long sentences, or join choppy ones, until the rhythm feels familiar.

A quick comparison test

Here's a simple way to judge whether the voice is right. Open an email you recently sent to a customer, or a social post you wrote yourself. Read it, then immediately read your website's home page.

Do they sound like the same person? If the email is friendly and plain-spoken and the website is polished and distant, visitors will feel that gap when they first contact you. Aim to close it.

Places voice matters most

You don't need to labour over every word. Focus your attention where voice has the most impact:

• The main headline and the line beneath it. This is your first impression.
• The about section. People read it to decide whether they'll like dealing with you.
• Button labels. "Book a chat" and "Submit enquiry" create very different expectations.
• Error and empty states, if your site has forms. A kind, plain message is a small sign of care.
• The footer sign-off. A human closing line is a nice final touch.

What AI is genuinely good for here

None of this means you should avoid AI-written copy. It is very good at certain jobs:

• Giving you a structure to work from when you're stuck.
• Suggesting several versions of a headline so you can choose or combine them.
• Tightening a rambling paragraph you've written yourself.
• Checking that a section answers the questions a visitor is likely to have.

The trick is to treat it as a capable assistant with no knowledge of your personality. It can draft and tidy. The voice has to come from you.

When to bring in a writer

If your brand depends heavily on its words (a publication, a brand with a distinctive personality, a business in a crowded market where tone is the main differentiator), a professional copywriter can do things no tool can: interview you, find the story you didn't know you had, and craft a voice that will carry across everything you produce. That is a real craft, and for some projects it's worth every penny.

For most small sites, though, a short voice guide and a careful editing pass will get you a long way. The first draft may come from a machine; the finished site should sound like you.