Every tell counts.
We render a single public page on desktop and mobile, collect observable design signals, and score weighted checks. Credits reward distinctive choices (up to 12 points). The score uses a curved scale with cluster guardrails. Optional Gemini vision adds visual checks when available. Results are cached for seven days.
Fetch
We fetch one public URL and its assets within network limits.
Render desktop and mobile
Two viewports reveal actual typography, layout, imagery and controls.
39 checks + credits
Each tell has a weight and confidence. Distinctive choices earn up to 12 points in credits.
Score with guardrails
We apply a 0–100 curve. Fewer than three strong groups caps the score at 49; specific combinations set a floor of 40.
The scale
Fingerprint, not authorship.
We look for familiar visual defaults, not who built your site. A higher score means more template-like signals. AI-readability is a separate inspection: access and structure cannot prove that ChatGPT recommends you.
Every check
Definitions: 2026.11-v1.3
| ID | Check | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | ||
| L1 | Template heroYour first screen follows the most common landing-page template, so visitors' eyes skip it. | 4 |
| L2 | Eyebrow pillThat little badge above the headline is a stock AI move. It adds noise, not news. | 5 |
| L3 | Three icon cardsThree identical boxes with icons is the default feature section. It makes your features feel interchangeable. | 5 |
| L4 | Bento wallThe 'bento box' grid has become an AI signature. | 4 |
| L5 | Stock section orderYour page runs the exact section sequence of a starter template, so it reads like a fill-in-the-blanks site. | 6 |
| L6 | Same rhythm everywhereEvery section is the same height and width, so the page feels like a scroll of equal boxes. | 3 |
| L7 | Big-number stat bannerThe 'big numbers' strip is a template default, and unsourced numbers reduce trust. | 3 |
| Typography | ||
| T1 | Default font onlyYour fonts are the ones AI picks when nobody chooses. Type is your voice, and right now it's the default voice. | 7 |
| T2 | Flat hierarchyHeadings and text are too similar in size and weight, so nothing guides the eye. | 3 |
| T3 | Gradient headline textGradient-filled headline text is one of the loudest AI giveaways. | 6 |
| T4 | Single accented wordHighlighting one word in the headline is a template trick that now reads as automatic. | 4 |
| T5 | ALL-CAPS eyebrows everywhereLittle uppercase labels above every heading are filler that templates add by default. | 3 |
| T6 | Crushed display trackingThe headline is a long sentence squeezed tight. It looks 'modern' but reads as generated. | 3 |
| T7 | "Claude editorial" lookCream background with a fancy serif and random italics is the newest AI house style. It looked fresh in 2025; now it's a tell. | 5 |
| Color | ||
| C1 | VibeCode purpleYour main color is the exact purple that AI tools default to. Visitors subconsciously file you with every other AI-built site. | 7 |
| C2 | Gradient-heavyGradients are doing the job your brand should do. | 5 |
| C3 | Glow blobs / auroraThe glowing blurry blobs behind the content are decoration with no meaning, a common AI filler. | 4 |
| C4 | Near-black + one acid accentDark page with one neon color is another default AI theme. | 3 |
| C5 | Cream + terracottaThis cream-and-clay palette is so closely tied to one AI assistant that it reads as its signature. | 5 |
| Imagery | ||
| I1 | Stock icon set onlyThe only visuals are generic line icons that every AI site uses, so nothing is uniquely yours. | 4 |
| I2 | Emoji as iconsEmoji as icons make a business look like a hackathon demo. | 4 |
| I3 | No real imageryThere's nothing real to look at: no product, no people, no place. Visitors trust what they can see. | 4 |
| I4 | Fake social proof facesThe testimonials look made up (letter bubbles or generated faces). This actively hurts trust. | 5 |
| I5 | Default leftoversSome default files from the builder are still there (like the browser-tab icon). It signals 'unfinished'. | 5 |
| Words & proof | ||
| W1 | Weightless headlineYour headline could belong to any company. It says nothing only you could say. | 5 |
| W2 | Buzzword densityThe text is full of buzzwords that AI loves and readers ignore. | 5 |
| W3 | AI sentence ticsSome sentences follow patterns that chatbots overuse, which makes the whole page sound generated. | 4 |
| W4 | Vague proofBig claims without names behind them read as invented. | 4 |
| W5 | Placeholder textThere's leftover placeholder text or dead buttons. Visitors notice, and it costs trust instantly. | 6 |
| Components | ||
| K1 | Untouched UI-kit themeYou're using a popular component kit without changing its look. Hundreds of sites look exactly like this. | 5 |
| K2 | One radius on everythingEvery box has the exact same rounded corners, a sign the design wasn't tuned. | 3 |
| K3 | GlassmorphismFrosted-glass panels are a trendy AI default and often hurt readability. | 4 |
| K4 | Builder fingerprintWe detected [builder] on the page. That's fine, but its default badge and styling tell visitors right away. | 8 |
| Motion | ||
| M1 | Fade-up on everythingEvery section slides in the same way. It feels automatic and slows people down. | 3 |
| M2 | Hover-lift on every cardEvery card jumps on hover even when it isn't clickable, a template reflex. | 2 |
| Brand | ||
| B1 | Logo-swap testIf we replaced your logo with a competitor's, nobody would notice. The design isn't doing brand work. | 6 |
| B2 | No ownable elementThere's nothing memorable to hold on to after the visitor leaves. | 5 |
| B3 | Subject mismatchThe look doesn't match what you sell, so it feels generic instead of made for your customers. | 4 |
| B4 | Hero hides the subjectThe first screen doesn't show what you actually offer. | 3 |
AI-readability
Technical access, not a recommendation or a visibility ranking.
We check robots.txt access for GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended and CCBot. We also inspect llms.txt, JSON-LD types, metadata, noindex and text available without JavaScript.