How to Write Product Descriptions With AI

Crafting brief, detailed, and on-brand product descriptions that convert a website visitor into a customer is one of the most important tasks for running a successful ecommerce business. But running a small business means spinning a lot of plates at once. Writing descriptions can take time away from other pressing tasks, like inventory management.  

With some preparation and the support of a generative AI tool, you can save time and create compelling product descriptions optimized to help you sell.

How do AI product description generators work?

Generative AI refers to a type of technology that generates content based on a text prompt. These content generation tools span from image generators to copywriting tools like Squarespace AI. 

AI product description generators work the same way other copy generators work. The tool uses Large Language Models (LLMs), which are trained to recognize language patterns by parsing a large amount of text. LLMs help the AI tool predict the next piece of text based on the preceding words to eventually generate complete sentences, paragraphs, and more.

For example, an AI product description generator might process the phrase, “This bowl is perfectly sized for salads, cereals, and ___” and predict that the next word is “soup.” 

To start from scratch, you might enter a prompt like, “Write a 150-word ecommerce description of a lightweight, hand-made ceramic bowl, 6”W x 3”H, and list some of its ideal uses in someone’s home. Write the description in a conversational, approachable tone and include the word dinnerware in the description.”

Learn how AI tools work at Squarespace

How to use Squarespace AI to write product descriptions

With a little prep work, it’s simple to draft and polish product descriptions quickly. To use Squarespace’s AI drafting tool:

1. Add or edit a product in your store.

2. Click into the Description text box and click the lightning bolt icon in the text editor bar.

3. Choose to ask Squarespace AI to draft a paragraph, sales pitch, or blurb about your product. For example, “Write a blurb about a handmade ceramic bowl set in blue spruce. Dishwasher and microwave safe.”

4. Click “Write” and read the generated result.

5. If you want to make further edits, highlight the text and click the lightning icon again and choose to simplify, shorten, or lengthen.

6. Edit the draft to suit your description style and brand voice.

7. Click “Save” to preserve your description.

Get more tips for using Squarespace AI

Best practices for AI-generated product descriptions

AI writing tools are relatively new, and a human touch can often make the difference in turning someone into a customer. Even if you use an AI product description generator, plan to do some prep work and editing to turn your AI-generated drafts into high-quality ecommerce copy.

• Know your target audience and brand voice. Put together a summary of your ideal customer and a description of your brand voice so that your outputs are customized to your business.

• Include your selling points. The tool is a blank slate, so on top of the product name and specifications, make sure to feed any key benefits and selling points to the tool too.

• Do your own keyword research. Because AI tools are trained on existing content, their SEO knowledge can lag behind fast-moving search engine updates. Do your own research to ensure you’re targeting the most relevant search terms for your products.

• Have a final product in mind. Go in with an idea of how your content will fit into your online store. Consider everything from word count to how the copy will pair with your product photos.

• Expect to edit. Because AI is new, errors and false statements can find their way into copy that looks fine on its face. Always check generated content for errors and make sure it fits your needs.

• Be specific. Specificity is the key to getting quality results from an AI tool. The more information you can include in your prompt, the more the tool has to work with.  

• Develop a repeatable process. Practice and refine your prompts and make note of what tends to get you a better result. With a few tries, you can create a template prompt that gets you a result you’re happy with every time.

Benefits of using AI to create product descriptions

Writing high-quality product descriptions takes both time and trial and error. With thoughtful prompting and some practice, you can use an AI content generation tool to simplify your work. 

There are some key benefits behind using an AI product description generator.

• Breaking through writer’s block: Sometimes getting started is the hardest part of writing. An AI tool can give you a clear starting point to work from.

• Consistency: Once you figure out the prompt language to get the kind of results you need, you can repeat the process to easily draft copy that’s consistent in tone, style, and length, building trust with your customers.

• Efficiency: Speed is the number one benefit of AI generators. With a tool to create a draft for you, you’ll get to a finished product faster. That’ll make you more efficient across the board and allow you to spend more time on product ideas, marketing, and more.

• Faster testing: Drafting and publishing faster also means you can test ideas more quickly. If you want to test different tones of voice or description styles to see which converts more customers, an AI tool can help you write test copy sooner.

• SEO optimization: Getting your products to show up in search engine results is a great way to reach new customers. You can ask an AI tool to include search keywords in product descriptions to help boost their visibility.

Ready to try an AI copy generator?

This post was updated on September 13, 2023.