AI product descriptions in WooCommerce without the spam risk: three ways of working compared
AI product descriptions in WooCommerce aren't spam just because artificial intelligence wrote them. Google looks at whether the text helps the customer, and penalises mass-produced pages with no value made to take over the results. Working safely with AI means facts from the product page, one approved style and a person who reads every batch before it's saved.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for WordPress site and WooCommerce store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 7 min read
What Google says about text written by AI
Google has repeated the same principle since 2023: what counts is the quality and purpose of the content, not how it was made. In its post on AI-generated content, it says that not every use of automation is spam. Spam is automation whose main purpose is to manipulate rankings in the results.
In 2024 Google spelled it out. The scaled content abuse policy, described in its spam policies, covers pages produced in bulk with no value for people, whether a language model, a team of copywriters or a spreadsheet template wrote them. Google explained the background to this change in its post on the March 2024 update.
For a store, the conclusion is simple. The question isn't “am I allowed to use AI”, but “does this description tell the customer something true about this product”. Google also stresses accuracy: a language model can write a sentence that sounds confident and is false. That's why someone should read AI text before it's published.
How to tell that AI descriptions are starting to look like spam
You can see these signals in your store with the naked eye before Google sees them. If three of them match your descriptions, it's time to change how you work.
| Signal in the descriptions | Why it's a problem | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The same sentences across many products (“the perfect choice for the discerning buyer”) | the description doesn't set the product apart | add banned words to your store rules, give the AI facts about each product |
| Specifications that aren't on the product page | the customer gets a false promise, returns go up | AI writes only from the data and marks gaps to fill in |
| Hundreds of descriptions published in one day without reading | nobody checked the facts or the tone | batches with a preview, samples before the full run |
| The search phrase repeated in every paragraph | text written for a robot, not for the customer | the phrase once, naturally, the rest about the product |
| A description longer than needed, with no specifics | a customer on a phone can't find the answer | short, with a list of specifications and one paragraph on use |
Note that none of these signals is about the tool. A copywriter writing two hundred descriptions from one template creates exactly the same problem.
Three ways of writing descriptions with AI: a comparison
WooCommerce store owners usually use AI in one of three ways. Each has its place, but they differ in how much product data the model gets and who checks the result.
| AI chat and copying into the admin | A plugin that generates descriptions in the admin | A chat connected to the store through the TellMyShop plugin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the AI gets its facts | from whatever you paste in | usually from the name and a few fields | from the full product page: attributes, variations, category, current description |
| Working with many products | product by product, copy and paste | a button on each product or bulk generation | batches of up to 50 products from one request |
| Who checks before saving | you, if you read it before pasting | depends on the plugin, often saved straight away | a “before → after” preview, saved only after your ‘yes’ |
| Undo | by hand, from revisions or a backup | depends on the plugin | change history, you can undo most changes |
| Who it suits | a few products, first attempts | a store that wants a description in one click | a catalogue where descriptions need fixing in batches |
A chat with copy and paste is good to start with, because you see every sentence. With fifty products it turns into many evenings of opening product pages and pasting text. One-click bulk generation is fast, but that's exactly where you most easily end up with hundreds of similar descriptions nobody has read.
How to write AI descriptions that actually help
Whatever the tool, these steps reduce the risk of descriptions that are empty or untrue.
- Gather the facts before you ask for text: attributes, dimensions, material, what's in the set, the questions customers ask on the phone.
- Settle the style on two or three products and write it down: how you address the customer, length, words you don't use.
- Forbid guessing. Anything missing from the data should be marked, not made up.
- Start with products that sell or get traffic from Google. That's where a good description does the most.
- Read the batch as a customer would. Check one specification in each description against the manufacturer's sheet.
- After publishing, watch customer questions and returns. If they ask about something the description doesn't say, add it.
The WooCommerce documentation on products shows where the description and short description are on the product page. In its help page on the short product description, Yoast advises giving every product its own text, because search engines notice repeated descriptions. We show how to structure the description and short description with three examples in our guide to WooCommerce product descriptions. The short description next to the price has its own post: the WooCommerce short description.
Batch by batch: AI writes, you decide
The TellMyShop plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce connects your store to your chat. Works with Claude or ChatGPT, including free accounts. For descriptions there's a ready task called “Product descriptions and SEO in batches”. The chat starts with the best-selling products of the last 90 days and those without a description, reads their full product pages, then shows two or three samples so you can approve the style.
It doesn't invent missing data, such as material or dimensions. It marks it as [TO FILL IN] and gathers it into one question. The store rules from the plugin panel, such as tone and banned words, take priority over its own habits. An example conversation; the names and numbers are illustrative:
You: Write descriptions for the Flasks category. No “perfect choice” and no exclamation marks. Don't guess anything.
Your chat: The category has 26 products: 11 have a description copied from the manufacturer, 6 have none. Sample, Steel flask 0.75 l:
4 products are missing how long they keep drinks hot. I've marked it [TO FILL IN]. Do you know these values?
You: I'll give them to you tomorrow. The style's good, prepare the first batch without those four.
Your chat: Batch preview: 13 products, description and short description. For two of them the new description is noticeably shorter than the old one, so check nothing important is lost. I'll save it after your ‘yes’.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: A high-quality flask, the perfect choice for every occasion.
new version: A 0.75 l steel flask that fits in the side pocket of a rucksack. The double wall keeps your drink at temperature, and the lid doubles as a cup.
Each batch goes into the change history and you can undo most changes by saying “undo the last change”. In this task the chat doesn't change prices, names or product URLs. It doesn't promise Google rankings either. A good description helps the customer decide; what the search engine does with it is up to Google.
What you can do in the free version and what in Pro
The free TellMyShop Free version reads the store's ready reports: it shows products without a description, with an empty short description and without a Google description, reads the current texts and prepares a plan with suggestions for selected products. It saves nothing. You can try it on the free version page.
TellMyShop Pro saves descriptions after your approval, straight after the licence is activated, with no switches to turn on in the panel. It also includes the Consultant, a body of knowledge about sales copy that the chat draws on when writing. The details are on the TellMyShop for WordPress and WooCommerce page, and prices are in the pricing. Once the descriptions are ready, move on to titles and descriptions in search results in our post on WooCommerce product SEO.
Questions and answers
Does Google penalise stores for descriptions written by AI?
Google judges whether content is helpful, not what was used to write it. The problem is mass-producing pages with no value for people, mainly to take up places in the results. A description that someone has checked and that gives true facts about the product doesn't break the rules just because AI helped write it.
Do I have to label product descriptions written with AI?
Google encourages you to explain how content was made where a reader might ask about it. This is rarely done for product descriptions, but if you send products to Google Merchant Center, check its separate rules for AI-generated data. It's worth checking the rules on labelling content with a lawyer.
How do I stop AI descriptions from sounding the same?
Give the AI facts about the specific product: attributes, dimensions, material, customer questions. Without them the model writes generalities that fit any product. One approved style sample and a ban on empty adjectives in your store rules also help.
Will the chat publish descriptions in my store on its own?
Not without your approval. The TellMyShop plugin shows each batch in a “before → after” preview, and it's saved only after your ‘yes’. Every change goes into the change history, and you can undo most of them with one request.
Can AI make up product specifications?
It can, if it isn't given them. That's why in TellMyShop the chat doesn't guess materials, dimensions or standards. It marks missing data as [TO FILL IN] and gathers it into one question for you.
WordPress is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation. WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.