- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
If you've built a website in 2026, there's a good chance AI did at least some of the work. But which aspects of website creation are people using AI for, exactly?
That’s the question we set out to answer in our latest Wix State of Websites report, based on data from 310 million users. For the report, we wanted to learn (a) how long it takes to build well-designed websites people are proud of (ones that are live, functional and built on stable, secure infrastructure), (b) which details people prefer to make by hand, even when AI is an easy option, and (c) when they typically tap AI for an assist. Here’s what we found.
How is AI changing website creation?
AI is compressing the time it takes to go from idea to live site, without replacing human creativity.
People are publishing websites faster than ever
In the last year, the average time to publish a website dropped 50%, from 8 days to 4. Importantly, we’re not only talking about landing pages or single-page websites. Some of these sites have eCommerce capabilities, scheduling software and other features that help run full-on businesses, not just websites. In four days.
Every industry is moving faster. Restaurants are publishing websites in 7 days, down from 13 days. eCommerce businesses went from 14 days to 7. Beauty and wellness businesses cut their build time by 55%, from 20 days down to 9.
But people still want control over sensitive brand details
Speed actually makes the human element more important, our data suggests.
Wix recently launched Wix Harmony, an AI website builder that still gives users the ability to fine-tune their sites manually. This means we can see what people do when given both options: What do they build by hand, and how do they use AI? Ninety-one percent of users rewrite their own copy, and nearly 70% swap out images for their own photos. Sites still feel personal.
Most users tap an AI agent for help at some point in the process
Not everyone starts with AI, but most end up using it anyway. 84% of non-AI published premium sites use Aria, the AI agent at the heart of Wix Harmony. That means even users who built their sites manually still send an average of 9 messages to Aria per session. 93% used Aria for design-related tasks, 40% turned to her for technical assistance and 16% tapped her for copywriting help.
They’re using MCP to connect external AI tools directly to their site
Nearly 32,000 people used Wix's MCP integration in 2025 to connect external AI tools, like Claude, directly to their sites to manage content and debug issues through plain conversation. Total sessions hit 102 million.
Coupled with Aria’s 84% adoption rate, that’s a lot of people using AI as a collaborative partner, and that’s the core takeaway: AI speeds up the process by a lot (50%), but people still want the final say on how their brand looks and sounds.
