Although years in the works, artificial intelligence (AI) seems to have come out of nowhere. Technology descended on the web like an alien spaceship. And we are all scrambling to find ways to use it to our advantage.
Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard can certainly help streamline our workflow. They help us debug code, build plugins, and do research. But it can also be used to improve your website.
There is plenty of experimentation going on. We are in the early stages. But AI is being enlisted to help improve everything from chatbots to generating blog posts.
Today, we’ll look at a few areas where AI is already being leveraged on everyday websites. Take a look and you might find something that moves your site to the next level!
Note: This article mentions specific products that use AI. We do not endorse these products. We also cannot guarantee their quality or accuracy. As always, do your research thoroughly before using them.
Helping Users Find What They’re Looking For
The concept of chatbots makes sense. You are not available to answer user questions 24/7. Therefore, these automated features can always act as a customer service representative.
But too often, chatbots don’t measure up. Their user experience (UX) can frustrate the most patient among us. Accuracy is not always a strong point. And it can take a lot of “conversation” to get what you want.
AI is about to change that. Several tools have been released that promise to improve the experience.
Take DocsBot AI, for example. It uses your website’s content and documentation to “train” a bot through ChatGPT.
This approach has several positives. First, since it uses your content, accuracy shouldn’t be a problem. This eliminates one of the main disadvantages of AI tools to date.
It also takes advantage of ChatGPT’s chat skills. Previous generations of chatbots struggled with context. Answers often felt like “canned” answers. AI can create a more natural flow for user interaction.
Generate Relevant Website Content
AI tools that generate content seem to be making the biggest splash yet. It has created a buzz. It’s enough that some companies have tried to replace human writers (this writer thinks that’s a bad idea, by the way).
WordPress is fertile ground for these tools. Some of them are integrated in the block editor. Prompt the tool and AI will do the rest. The best part is that you don’t have to leave the back of your website.
This could be a huge time saver. There are no guarantees when it comes to quality or accuracy, however. Therefore, we would not recommend publishing generated content without careful review.
But AI-generated text can serve as a great starting point. And web designers can even use it when working with clients.
Waiting for a client to provide content is a common issue. So why not generate a sample text that a client can review? This could speed up the process considerably. In addition, it definitely uses Lorem Ipsum.
Oh, and we can’t forget images. AI image tools such as DALL-E and Stable Diffusion can produce strong results. They might be a nice alternative to run of the mill stock photography.
Improving Your Website’s Accessibility and Security
Not all website improvements are visible. And what happens behind the scenes can be just as important. Accessibility and security both belong to that category.
Automated Accessibility Tools
Automated accessibility tools have been around for quite some time. They assist with testing during the design and development phases of a project. Therefore, they are aimed more at web designers than everyday users.
But user-oriented tools are also available. And AI is starting to increase its capabilities.
For example, consider software that automatically adds ALT attributes to images. Although it works in a technical sense, it may not provide accurate context. That won’t help users add generic text to an image.
But what if a tool could accurately describe the content of an image? Tools like EveryAlt aim to do this with the help of AI. It might be a small thing. But it could greatly improve the UX for those who use assistive technologies. It is also a boost for search engine optimization (Senior) as well.
A Better Way to Detect Malware
Keeping our websites secure is becoming more complicated and expensive. And despite our best efforts, malicious code still runs wild on the internet. It feels like a losing battle.
A combination of AI and machine learning could be just what we need. Imagine software feeding a steady stream of new threats. As it “learns” the telltale signs of each attack, it can adjust on the fly to detect the code. From there, he could theoretically stop executing it. It could even detect new attack vectors.
Among the tools associated with this approach is MAL{ai}. Early models are focused on detecting malicious PHP. But the technology can be extended to cover languages like JavaScript as well.
Building Better Websites With the Help of AI
A website should provide the best possible experience for users. This means producing quality content and making sure it’s easy to find. And it is also important to ensure that its features are accessible and safe to use. AI can play an important role in all these areas.
None of this is foolproof, however. We shouldn’t rely on AI to do all the work for us. But it can definitely help. Think of it as a collaborator when you’re trying to build a great website.
Furthermore, the above ideas are in their infancy. As tools continue to improve, we will inevitably find new uses for them. So, the small improvements we make today can lead to bigger things.
If you’re an early adopter, feel free to give it a try. The knowledge you gain will help you better engage with this rapidly expanding technology.
