AI in TT Web Design: Progress or Pitfall?

While you stand in line to pay Property Tax and fill out immigration forms with pen and paper, the letters you’re hearing lately are AAY EYE. In America, it slices and dices, mows your lawn, grates your cheese; here in T&T, it ties your goat and wraps your roti. What used to be science fiction is now daily reality; Tesla already unveiled Optimus Gen 2, its next generation humanoid Robot. Artificial intelligence is reshaping everything, except our public service of course, they’re still struggling with basic intelligence. Of course we Trinis have embraced it like, well, Trinis to the bone; the most obvious are in social media posts copied wholesale from everybody’s favorite AI, your friendly neighborhood ChatGPT.

As a web design and digital agency, good practice dictates that Forward Multimedia do good business- all trends, especially those digital, should be explored and evaluated for implementation. Off the bat, it can’t totally write our blogs… not yet at least. For the time being, blogs remain generated from our head, in ole-fashion Trini.. our internal ChatTTT.

AI in web design are smart algorithms that can help design, optimize, and improve websites automatically. AI can generate design elements, suggest content, and even create entire websites based on user inputs. Basically it’s so we don’t have to stare at a blank page and create from scratch; but those days were long gone anyway— website templates have been giving novices and professionals such a headstart for more than a decade. Even templates evolved to providing multiple versions tailored for specific industries.

But templates always included placeholders for text, you know, the famous ‘Lorem ipsum’ dummy text, which can now be replaced via AI, including images and other content elements, plus technical elements like code and meta data, similar to what you are all using for your social media content.

AI web design come integrated in DIY web platforms you know like Wix and Squarespace, and even design platforms Canva and Adobe. Generally the AI asks you a few questions about your business and then creates a customized website based on your answers.

But that’s for DIY’ers. Those who use such platforms (Wix, Squarespace) are mostly individuals and small businesses. No ‘real’ company worth it’s salt in Trinidad & Tobago will consider such platforms if they want to be competitive— they will use a robust platform and hire a professional web design company. Mainstream web platforms like WordPress and Shopify make use of AI to write text and product descriptions, generate images, even generating custom code, and many third party page builders (which we use) also have AI built in.

But text, product descriptions, images are bottom rung AI. AI-driven design allows websites to adapt dynamically to each visitor, creating custom experiences based on data like browsing history, location, and behavior. It’s similar to the “you might also like” , and “related products” recommendations when shopping online. AI, when doing its thing, is learning about each user and serving up content that’s tailored just for them. Technically, there’s been a lot of AI already in play for years, like your Facebook news feed, YouTube suggestions, Google Ads, except now the level has grown exponentially.

With the rise of the ‘true AI’, this means businesses can deliver hyper-personalized content, whether that’s product suggestions, blog posts, or landing pages— it’s actually very likely your website visitors may see slightly, or totally different homepages. For example, based on the user, the Forward Multimedia homepage may feature services like social media, video production with related blog posts to one, while show E-Commerce and SEO to another. Imagine two people on the phone discussing a website and seeing different things. That’s just an example, we haven’t implemented this… yet.

Chatbots have been around for years as well, but had to be configured with answers to predetermined questions. Most companies never had time to provide for basic content for their website so would never even get around to implementing a chatbot even if they thought of it. AI-powered chatbots are now little conversational wizards can handle customer inquiries, take orders, provide product recommendations, and even crack a joke or two.

You probably looked at your website’s analytics and felt your brain melt a little. Even Google’s monthly search report can be a bit intimidating, and imagine seeing that data directly from Google’s Search Console. Understanding and then analyzing that data is a time consuming job, and then so too would be presenting it in a report. AI-powered tools like Google Analytics’ Smart Insights and others, use machine learning to track user behavior and suggest improvements—whether that’s tweaking your call-to-action buttons or optimizing your site for mobile users.

Premium AI services, i.e., the kind you pay for, allow you to upload your own data, spreadsheets etc., to analyze and organize into reports, saving you from doing it yourself.

At the moment, we’re using AI to generate content and images for the mock-up phase of website when client content is pending, or if we have only basic company information (which is mostly the case). This is to be able to present an initial version of the site to the clients that looks complete, i.e. has only company information, no demo content, to provide a visual reference for refinement.

How much will we use it? We’ll use as needed. In addition to expertise and experience, what we have is wisdom. In this information and technology age, there is always a case for being nimble and proactive, but there are universal truths about how the human brain works no matter what shiny new toy it’s presented with. These truths have existed long before the invention of the wheel, and will remain long after, as my mother says, ‘yuh dead like a nit and gone’. Youngsters, look up that Trini phrase.

We haven’t yet used it for data analysis, we still manually look at reports, insights etc., and make our own analysis and recommendations to clients.

That being said, we are judiciously evaluating and implementing this trending trend, giving it the due diligence as required.

Only in the movies and your dreams. AI handles the repetitive, formulaic tasks that bog down the design process, but it can’t replicate human creativity and intuition. You really think you can get AI to think like a Trini? Well maybe you can, we know anything’s always possible. For now, AI takes care of the heavy lifting, but it’s the designers who add the finishing touches—like the artistry, strategic thinking.

While AI has undeniably brought a wave of innovation to web design, it’s important to remember that it’s just that—a tool. It can’t magically create the perfect website at the push of a button. From the prehistoric days of computer programming, there’s been the fundamental concept of Garbage In, Garbage Out. AI requires prompts; you have to frame the terms and parameters very specifically to get the best output.

Bottom line, AI is not a magic wand, it’s a tool, and it’s only as good as the one using it. While it does magic, it doesn’t do magic.

Web design still requires thoughtful planning, a deep understanding of your target audience, and a strong sense of branding. AI may assist with efficiency, but it can’t replace the human elements like creativity, empathy, and strategic decision-making that turn a decent website into an exceptional one.

Relying on AI alone won’t ensure that your website resonates with users, converts leads, or stands out in a crowded digital landscape. It’s a valuable assistant, but in no way the master architect.

AI is no longer the future; it’s very much the present and from the looks of it, it’s going to be permanent. It’s still in the trend phase, you know, that honeymoon period where we’re all giddy in love… not that anything’s wrong with that. For our Trini businesses that want to stay competitive in the digital world, incorporating AI into their web design strategy is essential. Whether it’s writing company documents (like company profiles, brochures, newsletters) personalizing user experiences, using chatbots to streamline customer service, or leveraging AI-powered analytics, these tools can save time, improve performance, and create better outcomes for your website.

While AI can’t (and won’t) replace the human touch entirely, it’s changing the game for businesses of all sizes, and Trini businesses know very well how valuable a website is to be competitive these days.