diff --git a/packages/edit-site/src/components/add-new-template/new-template.js b/packages/edit-site/src/components/add-new-template/new-template.js
index 100c6bc08a90d8..4c8b80467d0bc3 100644
--- a/packages/edit-site/src/components/add-new-template/new-template.js
+++ b/packages/edit-site/src/components/add-new-template/new-template.js
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ export default function NewTemplate( { postType } ) {
 				'postType',
 				'wp_template',
 				{
-					excerpt: description,
+					description,
 					// Slugs need to be strings, so this is for template `404`
 					slug: slug.toString(),
 					status: 'publish',