Wix announces AI-designed websites

Ben Moss.
June 08, 2016
Wix announces AI-designed websites.
Website builder Wix has just announced the release of a system it has dubbed “Artificial Design Intelligence”—or “ADI” for short—that it’s marketing as “The Future of Website Building”. Wix ADI claims to be an AI-driven service that not only designs your site for you, it will even gather your content. Wix refers to it as the first AI website builder to reach the market—which discounts The Grid (still in restricted beta after its announcement back in 2014). There’s been a creeping awareness amongst The Grid’s early adopters (those people who paid up front, sight unseen) that The Grid’s marketing may have over-promised a tad. Certainly the extended beta period has run on and on, despite substantial funding, with mixed reviews and no end in sight. It seems inevitable that the release of Wix ADI will revive the blog-hysteria that AI has made designers obsolete; however the fear is as unfounded now as it was the last time. Wix have not created an AI. Wix have adopted the term artificial intelligence because it suits their marketing. When AI arrives, it will be heralded as an integral part of NASA’s first Mars mission, or introduced by IBM as a way to interpret big data; it will not be knocked up, in just two years, as a template vendor’s side project. AI, as developed by Wix, and The Grid, and (one presumes) several other bandwagon jumpers who haven’t announced their version yet, is no more artificial intelligence than robots on an automated assembly line constitute skilled craftsmen. Like The Grid, Wix ADI is marketed at small businesses that cannot afford the services of a web designer. They’re not taking a shot at the web design industry (although naturally, they would if they could). Most small businesses don’t understand the term “dynamic template” so “AI” gives them a better picture of what they’re buying into. You, as a web designer, need not be fooled. Wix ADI doesn’t need AI, it needs clairvoyance, because it generates a site based on just five questions, and one of those is “What’s your name?”. The other questions are: “What will the website be used for?”, “Do you need any special features or capabilities?” “Where is the business located?”, and “What design style do you want?”. From the answer to these questions Wix’s Nir Zohar believes Wix ADI will produce a professional standard site:
Each is custom-made, designed as if by a pro and absolutely unique. There are billions of different options, so your site will not look anything like the next guy’s

Once you’ve answered the five basic questions, the process works like this: Wix ADI creates ‘structures’ which are basically your content, it then edits out anything that wouldn’t make sense to a human (how it knows is unclear), then you pick one of a few hundred themes. And there’s the key: you pick out a theme. Wix ADI is an elaborate template browser. So how good is it? Well, we’ll have to wait and see, because although it will be rolling out to Wix users in the next couple of months, it isn’t available globally just yet. Wix have released one site: jesskellytrainer.com has been designed by Wix ADI, and it’s not too bad; the design is uninspiring, the code has a few obvious fails, and the SEO is atrocious, but I’m certain I’ve seen worse sites that cost a lot more. Although a price point has yet to be announced, one of Wix’s main selling points is cheapness, so it’s safe to assume they’ll be keeping it affordable. For clients looking to spend under $100 on a site, it’s an ideal option. It’s unlikely to provide competition for freelancers or agencies, although a few PSD to WordPress services may be getting hot under the collar. As a designer it’s difficult to accept automation when it is perceived as a devaluation of design, but we should actually be celebrating releases like Wix ADI because they highlight they extra value designers bring to clients. And Wix should be applauded for bringing a product to market—actually getting any product to sign-off is an achievement. It’s not AI, not even close, but it looks likely to make picking a template easier, and for some businesses, that’s the limit of the help they want.

Ben Moss

Ben Moss has designed and coded work for award-winning startups, and global names including IBM, UBS, and the FBI. When he’s not in front of a screen he’s probably out trail-running.

Read Next

10+ Best Resources & Tools for Web Designers (2024 update)

Is searching for the best web design tools to suit your needs akin to having a recurring bad dream? Does each…

3 Essential Design Trends, April 2024

Ready to jump into some amazing new design ideas for Spring? Our roundup has everything from UX to color trends…

How to Plan Your First Successful Website

Planning a new website can be exciting and — if you’re anything like me — a little daunting. Whether you’re an…

15 Best New Fonts, March 2024

Welcome to March’s edition of our roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes…

LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration

Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…

20 Best New Websites, March 2024

Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024

The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…

Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond

It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…

6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024

There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…

Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design

So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…

20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality

Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…