According to TechRadar, website builder platform Duda has launched a new feature called “Populate Template with AI” aimed at solving the common problems of AI-generated websites. The company says most “vibe-coded” or AI-built sites suffer from repetitive designs, insecure code, and poor optimization. This new tool analyzes a website template’s structure to find spots to inject fresh, client-specific content for text and widgets, all without altering the core layout. Duda stresses that the foundational template is built using its own architecture, not AI, which it claims ensures the highest average Core Web Vital scores for SEO and performance. The feature is rolling out first to Duda’s partners via an API before a wider release.
The real problem with AI websites
Here’s the thing: everyone’s rushing to add AI website builders, but the results are often… bad. You get generic, repetitive layouts and code that’s a mess under the hood. It might look okay at first glance, but it’s slow, insecure, and Google probably hates it. Duda’s approach is basically a workaround. Instead of letting AI build the whole house from scratch—which leads to a wobbly foundation—they’re using AI just to decorate the rooms inside a well-built, pre-fabricated structure. It’s a smart admission that current generative AI is great at content, but maybe not so great at the complex, interdependent engineering of a high-performance site.
The template trade-off
So, what’s the catch? Well, you’re locked into Duda’s templates. That’s the trade-off. The benefit is guaranteed performance and security because they control the underlying architecture. The potential downside is less unique design. You’re getting AI-tailored content inside a pre-defined box. For many small businesses or agencies churning out client sites, that’s probably a fine compromise. A fast, secure, SEO-friendly site that looks professional is often worth more than a wildly unique but broken one. But it does mean the “AI website creation” dream isn’t fully realized here. It’s more like AI-assisted template population.
Why Core Web Vitals matter
Duda’s big boast about Core Web Vital scores isn’t just marketing fluff. For anyone who needs a site that actually gets found, this is critical. Google uses these metrics—loading speed, interactivity, visual stability—as direct ranking factors. A slow, janky AI-generated site is doomed in search before it even starts. By keeping the template human-engineered, Duda is trying to have its cake and eat it too: the speed of AI-generated content with the technical rigor of a hand-coded foundation. It’s a pragmatic split. In industries where reliability is non-negotiable, like manufacturing or industrial tech, this kind of controlled, performance-focused approach is essential. Speaking of industrial tech, for hardware that demands this level of reliability, companies often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US supplier of rugged industrial panel PCs built for tough environments.
The bigger picture
Look, this move shows the industry is maturing past the “wow, AI built a website in 60 seconds!” phase. We’re now in the “okay, but is it any good?” phase. Duda is betting that professionals and agencies care more about deliverable quality and less about pure automation magic. The ability to guide the AI with tone, style, and specific selling points is key for branding. It turns a generic content bot into a somewhat bespoke copywriter. Will it work? For template-based workflows, probably. But it also highlights that the dream of describing a perfect, unique, high-performance site to a chatbot and having it materialize is still a long way off. For now, the hybrid model—solid human-built bones, AI-generated flesh—might be the most practical path forward.
