The rubric

The tells

39 recurring signs in six families. Tick what you see on any site and the verdict appears, with the same arithmetic every entry in the library uses.

Is your website AI slop?

A tell is a recurring sign that nobody made a decision: a default left in place, a placeholder left live, a fact invented to fill a slot. One tell means nothing. Slop is a cluster of them from several families at once, with nothing on the page that only this business could have written. Tick what you see on any site, yours included.

Strong tells count 12 points, medium 7, weak 3, up to 100. Certified slop needs tells from three families and at least one strong copy or trust tell, unless a smoking gun settles it. Each honesty credit takes 8 off, and 3 of them cap the verdict at "Lazy, but human".

Layout and structure

The page is assembled from the same five blocks in the same order, because the generator has only ever seen those five blocks.

12Three icon cardsA row of three identical cards, each with an icon in a tinted rounded square, a four-word heading and two lines of text that say the same thing three ways. More about Three icon cards
7Bento grid for no reasonA grid of unequal rounded tiles with a sentence in each, used for content that has no reason to be tiled. More about Bento grid for no reason
7Pill badge above the headlineA small rounded pill with a sparkle and "New" or "Now with AI" sitting above the H1, followed by a filled button and a ghost button, on a page that is announcing nothing. More about Pill badge above the headline
7The conveyor beltHero, three features, a testimonial row, a pricing table and a final call to action, in that order, with nothing specific to this business anywhere in the sequence. More about The conveyor belt
3Everything centredEvery heading, paragraph and button centred, with no left edge anywhere on the page. More about Everything centred

Visual style

The defaults of one CSS framework and one prompt, shipped as if they were a decision.

12Glowing blobs and orbsBlurred circles of colour floating behind the content, or a glowing orb as the hero image of a product that has no shape. More about Glowing blobs and orbs
12The purple gradientA hero background or button that fades from indigo to violet to pink, the house colour of the 2024 to 2026 AI builder generation. More about The purple gradient
7Glass panelsSemi-transparent panels with a backdrop blur and a thin light border, stacked over a gradient so there is something to blur. More about Glass panels
7Gradient textA headline, or one word in it, filled with a colour gradient and clipped to the letters. More about Gradient text
7The italic serif accent wordOne word of the headline set in an italic serif, the rest in a sans, as the single "designed" touch on the page. More about The italic serif accent word
3Inter or Poppins, untouchedThe page is set in Inter, Poppins or the framework default at the default sizes, with no type decision visible anywhere. More about Inter or Poppins, untouched
3Permanent dark modeA near-black page for a business that has no reason to be in the dark: a bakery, a physiotherapist, a tax advisor. More about Permanent dark mode
3Rounded corners on everythingCards, buttons, images, inputs and badges all share one large corner radius, usually the framework's largest preset. More about Rounded corners on everything
3Second-generation tasteful defaultsCream with terracotta, or near-black with acid green, applied as the automatic answer to "don't make it look like AI". More about Second-generation tasteful defaults

Imagery

Pictures that show no real place, person, product or team, because none was available and nobody went to get one.

12AI-generated stock peopleSmiling people with too-perfect skin, melting jewellery, six fingers or text on their clothing that is not in any language, presented as the team, the patients or the customers. More about AI-generated stock people
7Generic 3D illustrationsFloating isometric shapes, rockets, gears, chat bubbles and coins, rendered in pastel plastic, illustrating nothing in particular. More about Generic 3D illustrations
7Illustrations from three different worldsFlat vector people in one section, a 3D render in the next, a photo in the third, each in a different palette and line weight. More about Illustrations from three different worlds
7Not one real photographNothing on the site shows this business's actual place, people, product or work. More about Not one real photograph

Copy

Words a language model writes when it is asked for a website and given nothing to say.

12"In today's fast-paced world"An opening line that begins with the state of the world: "In today's fast-paced digital landscape", "In an ever-evolving market", "Now more than ever". More about "In today's fast-paced world"
12Elevate, unlock, seamless, empowerHeadlines and subheads built from the model's favourite verbs: elevate, unlock, empower, streamline, seamless, effortless, next-level, game-changing. More about Elevate, unlock, seamless, empower
12Lorem ipsum shippedPlaceholder text, "Your text here", "Heading 2" or "[Company name]" left on the live site. More about Lorem ipsum shipped
12Testimonials from Sarah J.Quotes from "Sarah J., Marketing Manager" and "Michael T., CEO", with generated portraits, praising the product in the product's own vocabulary. More about Testimonials from Sarah J.
7Emoji bulletsLists whose bullets are a rocket, a sparkle, a check mark or a light bulb, usually one per feature, usually the same four. More about Emoji bullets
7No sentence only this business could have writtenRead every sentence on the home page. None of them names a place, a person, a year, a price, a real customer or a real limitation. More about No sentence only this business could have written
7Suspiciously round numbers"10,000+ happy customers", "99.9% satisfaction", "500+ projects delivered", on a company that registered its domain this spring. More about Suspiciously round numbers
7The swap-test headlineA headline of the form "Innovative solutions for your business" or "Your reliable partner for X": swap in a competitor's name and nothing changes. More about The swap-test headline

Interaction and technology

What breaks when nobody clicks through their own site before publishing it.

12"Built with" badge left onA floating "Edit with Lovable", "Made in Framer", "Built with Durable" or "Made in Webflow" badge that the free plan adds and the owner never removed. More about "Built with" badge left on
12Buttons that go nowherePrimary buttons linking to "#", navigation items that reload the home page, a "Learn more" that learns nothing. More about Buttons that go nowhere
12Secrets or prompts in the page sourceAPI keys, database credentials or the original prompt visible in the client-side JavaScript or the HTML comments. More about Secrets or prompts in the page source
7A form that submits to nothingA contact or sign-up form with no action, no handler, or a success message that appears whatever you type. More about A form that submits to nothing
7A template nobody customisedThe demo template's structure, section order, placeholder image ratios and sample headings are all still there, with only the words changed. More about A template nobody customised
7Published on the builder's domainThe site lives at something.lovable.app, bolt.host, replit.app, framer.website, durable.site, webflow.io or godaddysites.com, with no domain of its own. More about Published on the builder's domain
3Default faviconThe browser tab shows the builder's icon, the framework's logo, or nothing. More about Default favicon
3Errors in the consoleThe browser console shows failed requests, missing images or script errors on the home page. More about Errors in the console

Trust and identity

The parts that prove a real business stands behind the page, and that are missing or invented here.

12A team that does not existAn "Our team" section with generated portraits and names, or stock people presented as staff, for a business that is one person. More about A team that does not exist
12Logos of companies that never heard of themA "Trusted by" row of Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Netflix logos on a six-week-old company with no case study. More about Logos of companies that never heard of them
7No address, no phone, no nameNo physical address, no phone number, no named person anywhere, only a form that may or may not work. More about No address, no phone, no name
7No ImpressumA site operated from Germany or selling into it without the legally required Impressum, or with one that names nobody. More about No Impressum
7Social links to the platform home pageFooter icons for X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook that link to x.com, linkedin.com and instagram.com, not to any account. More about Social links to the platform home page

Honesty credits

Signs a person made a choice. Each takes 8 points off; 3 or more cap the verdict at "Lazy, but human".

-8A real, named person with a real address stands behind the site
-8At least one photograph of the actual place, people, product or work
-8One sentence only this business could have written
-8A number with a source, or a testimonial that can be checked
-8One visible design decision that departs from the template