Writing Website Copy

Using ChatGPT or Claude to Write Website Copy That Doesn't Sound Generic

Published June 2026

By Mark Reeves · Field Guide Sites

You asked an AI to write your website headline. It came back with "Quality Service You Can Trust." Or "Your Partner for Excellence." Or "We're Committed to Your Success."

You could have typed those yourself. You've seen them on a hundred websites. They mean nothing because they could describe any business on earth.

That's not the AI failing. That's a context problem. You gave it nothing to work with, and it generated the average of everything it has ever seen. This is fixable. Here's how.

Why AI copy sounds generic

AI tools generate based on pattern. When you ask for "a headline for a plumbing business," the model pulls from everything it has seen about plumbing businesses. The output is the mean. The middle. The thing that is true of all plumbing businesses.

Specific copy is specific because it's true of one business. It names a real neighborhood, a real customer type, a real thing that happened, a real number. The AI cannot generate that because you haven't given it that material. It doesn't know your business. It knows what plumbing businesses in general sound like.

The solution is not to find a smarter AI. The solution is to brief it properly.

The briefing block

Before you write a single prompt asking for copy, fill out this block. It takes 15 minutes. It changes everything that comes after.

Business name: [your name]
What we do (one sentence, no buzzwords): [be concrete]
Who our best customers are (specific: homeowners over 55, restaurants
with 20 seats or fewer, solo dentists...): [be specific]
What they were dealing with before they found us: [a real problem]
What happened after they worked with us (a real result, not "they were
satisfied"): [be concrete: "the leak was fixed in one visit and the
ceiling dried out", "bookings went from 3 to 9 a week", "they stopped
spending 40 minutes a day on scheduling"]
What we won't do that other businesses in our space do: [be honest]
How we talk to customers (pick 2-3 words: plain, direct, no-BS,
warm but not fluffy, technical but clear...): [your actual tone]
Our location and service area: [specific]

Paste this block at the start of every AI working session. Tell the AI: "This is the brief for my business. Use this context for every piece of copy I ask you to write today." Now it has real material.

The prompts that produce useful copy

For a homepage headline

Bad prompt:

Write a homepage headline for a plumbing business.

Better prompt:

Using the business brief above, write five homepage headlines for our
website. Each headline should be under 10 words and should be specific
to our actual service area and customers. Avoid anything that could
apply to every plumbing company. No claims we can't back up. No
"trusted" or "quality" or "excellence."

Read the five. One will be closer than the others. Ask the AI to write five variations on that one. Now you're iterating toward something real.

For a service description

Bad prompt:

Write a description for our drain cleaning service.

Better prompt:

Write a 3-sentence description of our drain cleaning service. The
first sentence should name the specific situation our customer is in
when they call (clogged drain, sink backed up, slow drain in the
master bath). The second sentence should say what we do that others
don't. The third sentence should say what the customer gets at the end.
No jargon. Write it like you're explaining it to a neighbor.

The constraint forces specificity. "What the customer gets at the end" is not "peace of mind." It is "a drain that clears in under four seconds" or "no standing water after the first test" or "a two-year guarantee on the work."

For the About page

The About page is where most business owners write about themselves the way they wish they were perceived rather than how they actually operate. AI makes this worse unless you control it.

This prompt works:

Write a short About page (150-200 words) for our business using the
brief above. Do not mention how long we've been in business unless I
specify it. Do not say we're "passionate" about anything. Focus on
who we serve, what we do for them, and what we won't do. End with
one sentence about how to get started. Tone: plain, direct, no-nonsense.

After you get the draft, replace any sentence that sounds like every other About page with a real fact about your business. "We have never missed a same-day appointment" is better than "we pride ourselves on reliability." One is specific. One is a claim everyone makes.

The specificity pass

After the AI gives you any draft, run a specificity pass. Read each sentence and ask: "Could this be true of every business in my category?"

If yes, rewrite it. Replace the generic version with a specific one. You're the only one who knows what makes your specific situation true. That's the work the AI cannot do for you.

Some replacements:

These are not writing tricks. They're true facts about real businesses. The AI generated the placeholder. You fill in the truth.

What to do when the draft is still off

If the AI draft is still generic after a good brief and a specific prompt, you have two options.

First: give it an example to match. Find a sentence on your own site, in an email you've sent to a customer, or in a review someone wrote about you, that sounds like you. Paste it and say: "Write the rest of the homepage in this tone."

Second: interview it. Say: "What would you need to know about my business to write a more specific headline?" Let it ask the questions. Answer them. Then ask for the draft again.

Specificity comes from information. The AI is not withholding it. You just haven't given it yet.

Want copy that sounds like you, not like everyone else?

Field Guide Sites writes the copy, builds the site, and keeps it current. Starting from $750 for a full launch. Managed sites from $1,500.

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