AI tools can now draft page layouts, write and explain code, suggest fixes and generate text and images for a website. They save time on first drafts and routine tasks, but they can produce insecure code, wrong facts, inaccessible pages and content with unclear ownership. A person who understands the site has to review anything AI produces before it goes live.
Where AI helps
- First drafts of pages and layouts. Describe the business and get a starting structure to edit.
- Writing and explaining code. Coding assistants suggest HTML, CSS, PHP or JavaScript and explain code you inherited, such as an old theme's functions file.
- Troubleshooting. Paste an error message (with passwords and personal data removed) and ask what it means.
- Routine content work. Alt text, meta descriptions and translation first drafts.
- Chatbots for visitors. Answering common questions after hours, with a handoff to a person.
The risks, and what to check
Security
The OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications (2025) lists risks such as prompt injection, sensitive information disclosure and improper output handling, which is when AI output is trusted and passed into a page or system without validation. GitHub's own Copilot documentation tells users to review suggestions before accepting them and to check they are "free of errors or security concerns."
Check: never paste AI-written code straight into a live site. Look for unescaped user input, SQL built from strings, hard-coded passwords or API keys, and file uploads without type checks. Test on a staging copy first; staging is included with every ParsonsHosting website.
Accuracy
Google's guidance notes that generative models "don't retrieve facts, but predict a likely sequence of words," so output can contain errors, and it calls manual fact-checking "critical." OWASP lists misinformation as its own risk.
Check: every price, phone number, address, opening hour, license number and legal statement against your own records. AI tools sometimes produce plugin names, settings or features that don't exist; confirm them in the official docs.
Accessibility
AI-generated layouts can look fine while failing WCAG 2.2, the W3C standard for accessible web content: missing form labels, low color contrast, headings out of order, or alt text that describes the wrong thing.
Check: tab through the page with a keyboard only, run an accessibility checker, and read the alt text yourself. Only you know what a photo of your job site actually shows.
Licensing and ownership
The U.S. Copyright Office's January 2025 report on copyrightability says material generated wholly by AI is not protected by copyright, while human creative contributions (such as selection, arrangement and modification) can be. Code assistants can also suggest code that matches public code with its own license terms.
Check: keep your human edits meaningful, save notes on what you changed, and check the license of any code or image you didn't write. This is general information, not legal advice.
Chatbots and disclosure
The EU AI Act (Article 50(1)) requires AI systems that interact directly with people to be designed so people know they are talking to an AI, unless that is obvious. Telling visitors up front is a sensible habit wherever you are.
Check: label the chatbot, give it a way to reach a human, and don't let it quote prices or policies you haven't approved.
Myth vs fact
| Myth | Fact |
|---|---|
| "AI-written code is ready for production." | GitHub's own docs say to review Copilot suggestions and check they are free of errors or security concerns. OWASP lists trusting unvalidated AI output as a top risk. |
| "AI will replace web developers." | The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of web developers and digital designers to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035. It also says AI tools "may soften" that growth and let non-developers do basic tasks. The work is shifting toward review and judgment, not disappearing. |
| "If AI made it, it's accessible." | Nothing in WCAG 2.2 is met automatically; it has to be tested. |
| "I own whatever the AI generates." | The U.S. Copyright Office says purely AI-generated material is not copyrightable; your human contributions can be. |
Where people must stay in charge
| Task | AI can draft | A person must |
|---|---|---|
| Code and plugins | Suggestions, explanations | Review, test on staging, approve |
| Business facts | Wording | Supply and verify every fact |
| Images and alt text | Drafts | Confirm accuracy and rights |
| Security settings | Explanations | Decide and apply |
| Customer replies | Templates | Answer anything about money, health, safety or legal matters |
A simple workflow for small sites
- Make a backup or staging copy before any AI-assisted change.
- Give the tool context: platform, version, what you want, and what must not change.
- Ask it to explain what its code does, line by line.
- Review and test on staging, including on a phone and with a keyboard.
- Fact-check all text against your own records.
- Push live, then check the page again.
- Keep a short change log, so you or our team can undo it.
AI doesn't know your server
An AI tool doesn't know your PHP version, which caching is in front of your site or how your email is set up unless you tell it. Check Tools > Site Health in WordPress (or your cPanel) for your real versions and include them in your prompt.
Get help
If an AI-suggested change caused a problem, open a ticket at parsonshosting.com/submitticket.php with what you changed and when. Support is ticket-first, 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific, 7 days a week. See WordPress hosting and the FAQ.
Sources
- OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications 2025: https://genai.owasp.org/llm-top-10/
- GitHub Docs, Responsible use of Copilot code completion: https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/responsible-use/copilot-code-completion
- Google Search Central, guidance on using generative AI content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/using-gen-ai-content
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Web Developers and Digital Designers (modified Aug 27, 2026): https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/web-developers.htm
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (W3C Recommendation, 12 December 2024): https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
- U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability (January 29, 2025): https://www.copyright.gov/ai/
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), Article 50(1): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
- European Commission, Article 50 FAQ: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/faqs/transparency-obligations-under-article-50-ai-act
Related guides: What are AI text watermarks, and do they affect my website or SEO? and How do I start a WordPress site on ParsonsHosting?.
Written by Chris Parsons, ParsonsHosting. Last updated: November 2026.
