Build with AI
How to stop AI-generated websites looking generic
A practical way to improve AI UI design through real content, reference annotations, explicit constraints and focused revisions.
Find the unresolved decision
Generic AI design often starts with an underspecified task. A prompt asks for a modern dashboard, but never says who uses it, which information they compare or what action matters. Before changing the typeface, write down the decision the screen should help someone make.
For a repair shop’s booking page, that might be choosing a service and a time. A large promotional header could delay both. For a reporting tool, a compact table may be appropriate because comparison is the job. The same visual treatment will not serve both products equally well.
Bring content before decoration
Use realistic headings, record counts and labels in the first version. An interface built around three short placeholder names may break with a real customer list. Include a long title, a missing image and an empty result before approving the layout.
Choose references for a reason you can describe. Instead of ‘copy this style,’ say ‘keep the filter visible while the list scrolls’ or ‘use this separation between the summary and the detailed rows.’ Taste’s annotations let you retain that reasoning beside the reference.
Make the boundaries explicit
Tell the agent what already works: navigation, reusable controls, spacing rules or brand colors. Explain what may change. Asking for an entirely new design on every revision makes consistency harder to assess.
Before editing, identify the main user task and the three decisions this screen needs to support. Inspect the selected Taste references and my notes. Explain one useful detail from each. Keep the existing navigation and component system. Replace placeholder copy with the supplied content. Build one revision, then check narrow layouts, long content, keyboard focus and empty states. Do not add decorative sections without explaining their purpose.
Keep a record of the decisions that worked
After reviewing the result, write a short note about what to preserve. ‘Keep row actions adjacent to status’ will help the next screen more than ‘make everything premium.’ Save the reference and its role in the project’s collection.
This is an iterative workflow, not a promise that a single prompt will produce a finished design. If the task remains confusing, revisit the information order before polishing shadows or animation.