Close Menu
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Crypto
  • Security
  • Startups
  • TechCrunch
  • Venture

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

What's Hot

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Big Score with Tickets

June 1, 2025

4 days left: TC session: AI is almost in session

June 1, 2025

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

May 31, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI

    OpenAI seeks to extend human lifespans with the help of longevity startups

    January 17, 2025

    Farewell to the $200 million woolly mammoth and TikTok

    January 17, 2025

    Nord Security founder launches Nexos.ai to help enterprises move AI projects from pilot to production

    January 17, 2025

    Data proves it remains difficult for startups to raise capital, even though VCs invested $75 billion in the fourth quarter

    January 16, 2025

    Apple suspends AI notification summaries for news after generating false alerts

    January 16, 2025
  • Apps

    Google quietly released an app that allows you to download and run AI models locally

    May 31, 2025

    A guide to using editing, Meta's new Capcut Rival for Short-Form video editing

    May 31, 2025

    Automattic says it will start contributing to WordPress again after pause

    May 30, 2025

    The last day to vote to destroy the 2025 agenda lineup

    May 30, 2025

    6 days left: Ready for the truth about unfiltered AI in TC sessions: AI?

    May 30, 2025
  • Crypto

    GameStop bought $500 million in Bitcoin

    May 28, 2025

    Vote for the session you want to watch in 2025

    May 26, 2025

    Save $900 + 90% from 2 tickets to destroy 2025 in the last 24 hours

    May 25, 2025

    Only 3 days left to save up to $900 to destroy the 2025 pass

    May 23, 2025

    Starting from up to $900 from Ticep, 90% off +1 in 2025

    May 22, 2025
  • Security

    8 things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group Spyware Litigation

    May 30, 2025

    White House investigates how Trump's chief staff's phone was hacked

    May 30, 2025

    US government sanctions technology company involved in cyber fraud

    May 29, 2025

    Ten years later, the bootstrap Thinkst Canary will reach $20 million ARR without VC funding

    May 29, 2025

    Security Startup Horizon3.AI raises $100 million in new rounds

    May 28, 2025
  • Startups

    7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

    March 24, 2025

    AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

    March 24, 2025

    20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

    March 22, 2025

    Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

    March 21, 2025

    Startup Weekly: Wiz bets paid off at M&A Rich Week

    March 21, 2025
  • TechCrunch

    OpenSea takes a long-term view with a focus on UX despite NFT sales remaining low

    February 8, 2024

    AI will save software companies' growth dreams

    February 8, 2024

    B2B and B2C are not about who buys, but how you sell

    February 5, 2024

    It's time for venture capital to break away from fast fashion

    February 3, 2024

    a16z's Chris Dixon believes it's time to focus on blockchain use cases rather than speculation

    February 2, 2024
  • Venture

    TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Big Score with Tickets

    June 1, 2025

    4 days left: TC session: AI is almost in session

    June 1, 2025

    TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

    May 31, 2025

    The counted conversation begins in 5 days in a TC session: ai

    May 31, 2025

    TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Test your AI Knowledge

    May 30, 2025
TechBrunchTechBrunch

CPO Paul Gubbay says Squarespace trains its AI tools on curation and flair

TechBrunchBy TechBrunchOctober 6, 20247 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email


Will generative AI tools help people build better websites, or will they just fill the web with spam? With the recent release of Design Intelligence, a new website builder packed with generative AI tools, Squarespace is betting on the former.

We spoke with Chief Product Officer Paul Gubbay about Design Intelligence and Squarespace's broader AI strategy. Our conversation echoes what other (unspecified) AI-powered website builders offer when asked to create a typical spa website: a confusing and ugly website. It started with a glimpse of.

Of course, this was a demo setup for Design Intelligence, which started with a few prompts that allowed Gubbay to specify things like the type of website he wanted to build and the brand personality that would be featured. The resulting website featured AI-generated design, text, and images, but looked, for lack of a better word, like a “real” site, with options for further customization. It was plentiful.

Gubbay said that while other website builders are working “very quickly” to introduce AI features, these competitors are “looking at how they can take advantage of this technology and make it stand out to their customers. “Is it true?”, he claimed to have doubts. Squarespace, on the other hand, thinks a little differently. “How can we take all of these latest technologies and really leverage them to help our customers stand out?”

Read the transcript of the conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

When I imagine an AI website generation product, I imagine something like a prompt, similar to the one at the beginning of the demo. However, you can customize every step here. In some ways, it's similar to Squarespace today. So the question is, how did you decide where to let AI step in to generate website elements, and where humans could still customize them?

We've spent some time and thought hard about how these things fit together. So when building things like websites or anything visual, there's a principle of “I know it when I see it.” I think this applies to everyone, not just professionals.

Trying to build a website using a chatbot is extremely difficult. It's like getting in a car and typing “turn left” or “turn right.” You want your system to be able to show you something, and when you see something you like, you want to think, “Okay, this is it.” But you don't have to be limited by that. We want to be able to continue playing. We want it to feel like a playground.

And for us, it was really taking this “I know it when I see it” concept. And every time the team came, I said, “Why don't we add chat?” What if we did what everyone else is doing? ''We were like, “I don't think that's what people really want to do.'' Once that became a model for us and everyone adopted it, it became very natural for all of us to think through that ideology.

It was also very important to us that we treat the information you provide to us with the utmost respect. You are telling us something about who you are and entrusting us to take it and use it effectively for you. Therefore, we wanted to make sure that the concept shown in the blueprint was reflected in the system, so that customers would feel that the choices they made in advance were not in vain.

Image credit: Squarespace

We also talked about the concepts of curation and technology. These are often at odds with each other, but it seems like they're really trying to incorporate curation into technology. You also mentioned that there is a curation engine. Can you tell us a little more about what that looks like?

Our CEO sometimes says: I think that's true. The fact that you have a text generator within your website tools is great. But you can also go to Open AI and ChatGPT and type something and get the text and copy and paste it. [into Squarespace]that's fine too. The challenge many people have is knowing how to run the engine in the right way to actually get the right power out of it.

We have a very specific and unique perspective on how we prompt the engine and how we curate the content that comes out of it. This allows us to give you the look and feel and view that you truly value. Our experience based on their stories and our preferences.

AI imagery is a great example. We've built an entire library that shows how to provide prompts [AI models] Specifically, to get the type of images that we want to put out and that are exactly Squarespace and that we feel are very appropriate for our customers. We tag and curate those things and feed them back into the system.

We do that when we look at the color palette. Do that when thinking about switching layouts. That's the curation element. Our design and creative teams spend a lot of time thinking about: “How do these elements fit together?” How do we prompt the engine? How do we choose what comes out of here and what we don't want to come out of here? Will I throw it away? We're getting better and better so you don't have to. The biggest point that comes to us is that you don't have to do it.

It sounds like part of your approach is not necessarily trying to build all these models yourself. The focus is on how to present it, make it accessible, and organize it.

As you know, we are not experts at LLM creating all these different types of content. we take advantage of them. We're powered by Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. We have a great partnership. But the secret sauce for us is how we encourage and control the content that gets published, and make sure it's consistent with what we know about our customers.

Obviously, Squarespace already makes it easy to create and customize websites. How do you think that ecosystem will change as we bring more generative AI into the process? Will Squarespace websites look different than they do now?

I think it will look even better. It's very important to us and always incredibly important that design is always at the forefront. People come to Squarespace because we believe design makes a difference. And a big part of the difference is not just capturing their brand and who they are, but whether something pre-built ends up feeling like it's bespoke.

Asking a question like this may imply that they all look the same in some way. And that's not what we want, right? So we're going to give people the tools to get better results faster, but we're always going to make sure that it adheres to the vision that people want.

Squarespace works very closely with designers. We just finished an entire event with our design partners. How do you think designers, especially Squarespace partners, should view tools like AI? To what extent should they see this as a threat rather than an opportunity?

I think it's important to see it as an opportunity. AI technology is clearly a big part of our future, and like any new technology, leveraging it and learning how to use it correctly will enhance what we can do. I don't a million percent believe it will replace design. This is to strengthen it. We will continue to do our part to ensure the best interests of our customers and creators.

I just spent Circle Day with a lot of people. [design] expert. And when you think about things like design intelligence, to me, it just helps them realize their vision faster and share it with their customers. But of course, [customers are coming to us] Then implement whatever they want. It would be great if we could give them some options and inspire them to change and go deeper. We intend to make their jobs faster and perhaps easier, but we will never replace them.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

OpenAI seeks to extend human lifespans with the help of longevity startups

January 17, 2025

Farewell to the $200 million woolly mammoth and TikTok

January 17, 2025

Nord Security founder launches Nexos.ai to help enterprises move AI projects from pilot to production

January 17, 2025

Data proves it remains difficult for startups to raise capital, even though VCs invested $75 billion in the fourth quarter

January 16, 2025

Apple suspends AI notification summaries for news after generating false alerts

January 16, 2025

Nvidia releases more tools and guardrails to help enterprises adopt AI agents

January 16, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Reviews
Editors Picks

7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

March 24, 2025

AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

March 24, 2025

20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

March 22, 2025

Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

March 21, 2025
About Us
About Us

Welcome to Tech Brunch, your go-to destination for cutting-edge insights, news, and analysis in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptocurrency, Technology, and Startups. At Tech Brunch, we are passionate about exploring the latest trends, innovations, and developments shaping the future of these dynamic industries.

Our Picks

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Big Score with Tickets

June 1, 2025

4 days left: TC session: AI is almost in session

June 1, 2025

TC Session: AI Trivi Account Down – Next Shot in Big

May 31, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

© 2025 TechBrunch. Designed by TechBrunch.
  • Home
  • About Tech Brunch
  • Advertise with Tech Brunch
  • Contact us
  • DMCA Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.