AI Prompts to Check Website Safety: Your Smart Guide to Safer Browsing

Every single day, you’re hit with a dozen or so unfamiliar websites. A tempting deal lands in your inbox, a colleague shares a link, or some enticing freebie has a registration form that’s just too good to be true.

Before you click, hand over your email, or make a payment, there’s a smarter way to figure out what’s legitimate and what’s just plain dodgy.

AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can act as your own personal security geek, guiding you through the checks and balances that most people just miss. This guide is going to show you exactly how to use AI prompts to get a closer look at a website before handing over your most personal info.

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Why “Just Google It” Doesn’t Cut It Anymore

Searching “Is [website] legit?” usually turns up mixed bag results or fake reviews planted by scam artists. Meanwhile, those slick phishing sites are mimicking the real thing with convincing designs and testimonials that are too convincing.

The solution is to combine some automated checks with a good dose of critical thinking.

There are platforms like Trustracer that can give you an instant verdict on a website’s trustworthiness, but you’ll also need an AI assistant to walk you through the verification process and explain what all the different indicators actually mean.

The AI-Powered Website Safety Workflow

Get an AI assistant to help you investigate systematically. Here’s how you can turn any old AI assistant into a trusted verification partner.

Prompt 1: Checking the Domain & Certificate - A Quick First Look

First things first, let’s get some basic technical lowdown on whether this site is even worth looking at.

Copy-paste prompt:
I found this website: [paste full URL]. Help me verify its safety by analyzing:

Explain what each of these checks means for trustworthiness.

What this reveals: Legit businesses tend to stick around and have the proper security ticked off. A new site with no HTTPS asking for your payment details is usually a bit of a red flag.

Your AI assistant will point out that padlock icon in the browser and explain why “amaz0n-deals.site” isn’t actually Amazon.

Prompt 2: Scanning for Reputation & Blacklist Flags

Next up, let’s see if any security experts have flagged this site.

Copy-paste prompt:

For the website [URL], guide me through checking:

1. How to use Google Safe Browsing to check if it's flagged
2. What VirusTotal's URL scanner might reveal
3. Whether the domain appears on spam or phishing blacklists
4. How to interpret the results from these tools to check website safety free.

Give me the specific steps and tell me what “clean” results should look like.

AI assistants can direct you to Google Safe Browsing site status and explain how to use all the different tools to check a site’s safety. If it gets flagged by just one security expert, it’s probably worth being a bit cautious.

Prompt 3: Privacy Policy and Data Collection Review

A whole lot of dodgy sites tend to give away their true intentions through poor or non-existent privacy policies.

So copy-paste the prompt to check:

I'm looking at [website URL]. Help me evaluate their privacy and data practices:

1. Do they have a privacy policy? Where is it located?
2. What personal info are they asking for (email, phone, payment, ID)?
3. Is the requested data proportional to the service they’re offering?
4. What are the red flags that suggest data harvesting or oversharing risks?
5. Do they mention selling data to third parties?

Explain to me what makes a website’s data practices trustworthy versus super sketchy.

Why does this matter?: You know how some apps are asking for your contacts, location, and camera access just to light up a flashlight? Yes, that’s basically a red flag for suspicious intentions. And a “free quiz” asking for your full name, birthdate, and address is just plain harvesting unnecessary data.

AI can help you identify when a website’s data demands are way out of line with what they need to run their business.

Prompt 4: Visual and Content Red Flag Analysis

Scammers often leave telltale signs in their rushed website creation.

So, copy and paste this prompt:

I’m examining [website or screenshot description]. Help me spot warning signs in:

‍

1. Grammar, spelling, and writing quality
2. Contact information completeness (physical address, phone, email)
3. “About Us” section credibility
4. Unrealistic promises or urgency tactics (“Act now!” “Limited time!”)
5. Stock photos versus authentic company images
6. Social media presence and follower engagement

What are the patterns that suggest they might actually be a real company, or if it’s just a hastily cobbled together scam site?

The AI will show you what to look for and how legitimate businesses present themselves – they invest in good quality content and have easy-to-verify contact methods.

Prompt 5: Payment and Transaction Security Audit

Before you even think about handing over your cash, check out the checkout process – does it even meet security standards?

Copy-paste prompt:

I'm about to purchase on [website]. Help me do a domain reputation check and payment security verification:

1. Does the payment page use HTTPS (especially during checkout)?
2. What payment options do they have? (Red flags: only wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards)
3. Got a clear policy on refunds and returns? 
4. Do they use a recognized payment processor (PayPal, Stripe, major credit cards)?
5. Are there some trust badges? How can I verify if they’re legit?

What payment red flags should make you walk away right then and there?

Critical insight: scammers prefer irreversible payment methods. A site that only accepts Bitcoin for a $40 product? Yeah, that’s a big red flag.

Combining AI Verification with some Automated Tools

While AI is great for guidance and education, combining it with some dedicated tools for website safety just takes things to the next level.

Trustracer offers instant automated assessments that work hand in hand with your AI-guided investigation. Think of it like having a mentor (AI) teaching you what to look for, and then a specialist scanner (Trustracer) giving you some instant tech verification. The AI helps you understand what to look out for and why it matters, while Trustracer gives you the rapid, technical verification you need. It’s like having both a guide and a map to help you find your way around online safety.

Prompt 6: Don't Click Before You've Verified The Email

Many dangerous sites get in through phishing emails. Take a minute to check link safety before you click.

Copy and paste prompt:

I just got an email with this link: [paste link]. Before I click on it, help me analyze:

1. Does the sender’s email address match the claimed company domain?
2. Are there any spelling mistakes or weird characters in the URL?
3. Does hovering over the link reveal a different destination?
4. What’s the context? (Unsolicited, urgent language, unexpected attachment)
5. How can I check where this link really goes without getting infected?

Guide me through how to check the safety of a website link without risking infection.

The AI will show you how to inspect a URL, explain how to check where a link goes, and help you spot the kinds of tricks scammers use to make you trust them more than you should.

Learning to Recognize Patterns

After you’ve run these prompts over a few different websites, you start to see some patterns emerge. Real businesses have a few things in common: they’re transparent about who owns them, they look professional, they only ask for data that’s actually needed, have good security, and they’ve been around for a while.

Scam sites are the opposite: they’re newly registered, want you to click fast, they’re asking for loads of data, and they don’t want to give you any information about themselves.

Create Your Own Pre-Click Verification Routine

Now you’ve got these prompts down, create your own routine to check out links before you click on them:

Quick check (30 seconds): Is it HTTPS? Is the URL spelled right? Any security warnings? Is the data request reasonable?

Standard check (2 minutes): Is the domain old or new? Is there a privacy policy? Can I see the company’s contact info? Do they want me to pay by a secure method?

Deep check (5 minutes): Examine the reputation tools, see what they say. Check the company’s social media, see if they’re real. Look up reviews on multiple platforms, check their terms and conditions.

You can adjust how deep you want to go based on the risk level. You probably don’t need to look over it much if you’re just looking at a government website, but if you’re handing over your credit card details on a new e-commerce site, you’ll want to do a lot more checking.