Authenticity in the Age of AI: What Your Website Might Be Missing
A therapist reached out to us recently after building her own website with a popular template and AI-generated copy. It was beautiful, functional, and technically “checked all the boxes.” But she couldn’t get excited about it, because it didn’t sound or feel like her.
We’re seeing this more and more: therapists, coaches, and soulful business owners trying to bootstrap their sites using DIY templates and GPT’d copy, only to realize the end result was a nice website with words that doesn’t really feel like them or convey the essence of what makes their work truly unique and valuable. And this creates a block. It makes it impossible to feel confident sharing what you do, and it confuses potential customers who can’t connect and won’t stick around to try.
We’re being conditioned to think that everything can be had fast, easy, and cheap…AND be super high qualilty. 😂
When so much of our reality feels fake, it’s more important than ever to be real.
The website looked great, but something felt off.
The woman I spoke with had chosen a modern, mobile-friendly Squarespace template. She tasked Chat GPT with distilling her ideas into a concise message that felt true. She sourced gorgeous stock photos. But once it was done, she stood back and felt… a tiny bit disappointed.
She wasn’t embarrassed by it. She wasn’t even unhappy.
She just didn’t feel connected to it. And if she didn’t feel a connection, how could her potential clients?
For therapists, especially, connection matters. Your website isn’t just a digital brochure — it’s a reflection of your presence. Of how you hold space, how you speak, how you work.
AI and templates can be helpful, but they can’t replace you.
We’re not anti-AI or anti-template. These tools can be incredibly useful. We use them every day because they can create much needed structure, shortcut first drafts, unstick writer’s block, or suggest a starting point.
But they also flatten nuance.
They sound like a smarty pants version of everyone else.
They replicate learned patterns, not lived experience.
Authentic copy doesn’t come from algorithms. It comes from knowing your customers and knowing yourself — and being able to translate that into words that feel like conversation.
Templates can provide a polished layout, but they can’t make people feel like they’re meeting you when they land on your site.
This is the pattern we’re seeing…
That therapist’s story? It’s not the only one.
Lately, we’ve heard similar things from coaches, consultants, and other business owners who care deeply about serving their people as much as they care about cash flow.
They’re doing all the steps they learned from popular infopreneurs.
But it’s not working the way they hoped.
Because even the best-looking stuff falls with a plop if it doesn’t feel real.
What authenticity actually looks like online:
What it doesn’t look like is fast-talkin’ scarcity designed to lure you in lest you miss the boat.
It also doesn’t look like this woman (seriously, is it me, or is she everywhere? When it comes to stock photo popularity, it’s a tight race between her and latté art .) 😂
AUTHENTICITY LOOKS LIKE:
Clear, simple words written the way you’d talk to a friend
Images that look like real people doing real things
Design that flows around your message and effortlessly (efficiently) leads your visitors to key places on your site
Crisp, but lovely copy that understands your customers and quickly enables them to fall in like with you
That’s our priority with every project, from our basic foundation sites to our bespoke designs.
Do you know about our Foundation Sites:
SEMI-CUSTOM + SPEEDY TURNAROUND (WITHOUT SACRIFICING STRATEGY OR SOUL)
They’re perfect for business owners who want a beautiful, effective website with gentle guidance during the project and built-in basic SEO at an affordable price.
Each Foundation Site includes thoughtfully designed pages with sections that can be reorganized (and customized) to fit your brand and sales strategy.
They’re semi-custom designs that enable us to hit the ground running on your project.
You complete your prework
We help you select the right foundation for your vibe and vision
We set up your site in as little as two weeks
You end up with a site that feels bespoke but was built on a budget (that’ll be our secret)
At the end of the project, we provide videos and support so you feel comfortable moving forward and managing your site.
The hidden cost of a site that doesn’t convert…
We get it — hiring a professional for your website is a big decision, especially if you’re early in your business or building momentum.
But here’s the question we often ask:
What is the cost of putting up a site that doesn’t convert visitors into clients?
It’s more than just lost revenue. It’s lost confidence. Lost energy. Lost opportunities.
When your website reflects your voice and vision clearly, it becomes a true partner in your practice, not just a placeholder online.
Less robot. More real.
If your website doesn’t feel like you…
If it looks fine but feels flat…
If AI or a pretty template got you part of the way there…
YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
You probably don’t need a complete brand overhaul. Maybe you just need to bring more of you into things.
We’d love to help you do that.
About The Author:
Deana Ward is an experienced Squarespace website designer and professional copywriter. Over the past decade, she’s helped thousands of business owners ditch the DIY hellscape so they can stop tinkering and start taking action. Want to shine up your brand so you feel proud? Overhaul your message so you say the right words instead of all the words? Or soup up the SEO engine under the hood of your website? You’re in the right place!
Tired of feeling lost in DIY-ville? I’d love to help you.
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