Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a highly discussed subject among marketers, bloggers, and SEO experts.
The continuous emergence of new AI tools daily intrigues many and sparks curiosity about the future landscape of its current applications.
This article explores what Google has to say about AI generated content and provides actionable insights on what you should do to leverage these tools effectively for SEO purposes.
Let’s delve into the fascinating realm of AI-generated content and its implications for SEO strategy.
Table of Contents
- What is AI-Generated Content?
- Google’s Take On The Topic
- Using AI for Content Writing: Is It A Good Idea?
- Can Google Detect AI-Generated Content?
- So, Is AI Content Helpful or Spam?
- Advice For Creators Considering AI-Generation
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Our Take
What is AI-Generated Content?
AI-generated content refers to any form of content, such as text, images, videos, or music, that is created or generated by artificial intelligence systems.
These systems, often powered by machine learning algorithms and large language models like GPT-3, can understand and generate human-like content based on the patterns and information they have learned from vast amounts of training data.
Numerous content creation tools powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) rely on computer programs and algorithms to generate written or spoken text, as opposed to human intervention like you and me.
AI Generated Content can be Created in Various Ways.
For example, in the case of text generation, AI models can generate coherent and contextually relevant paragraphs, essays, or even entire articles based on a given prompt or topic.
Similarly, AI models can generate images by learning from extensive datasets and generating new visual content that resembles human-created images.
In the case of videos and music, AI algorithms can analyze patterns and generate new content that mimics the style or characteristics of human-created videos or music.
Content creation for marketing, journalism, creative writing, art, and entertainment industries includes AI-generated that content has been used in a wide range of applications.
It can automate repetitive tasks, generate personalized recommendations, assist in creative endeavours, and enhance productivity in various fields.
Google’s Take on The Topic
In 2022, the use of AI generators by businesses to assist in content creation caused a significant upheaval when Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, declared that AI generated content was classified as spam and violated their guidelines.
Consequently, relying on AI-generated content for SEO no longer benefitted businesses’ endeavours but instead posed a threat to their marketing efforts. However, according to Search Engine Journal, numerous businesses had been utilizing SEO for AI generated content purposes without encountering any problems.
One year later, Google reconsidered its position regarding using SEO for AI content by businesses. They clarified that their concern was primarily directed towards businesses solely relying on AI to improve their search engine rankings, without paying attention to the quality of the content produced.
However, if businesses employed AI to generate valuable and relevant content, Google no longer had any objections to the involvement of AI generators and would not penalize companies for utilizing such tools.
Consequently, employing AI or ChatGPT to generate SEO-optimized low-quality content will continue to be classified as spam and result in penalties.
Nonetheless, content creators have the opportunity to harness the same automation/AI tools to produce exceptional content that caters to the needs and interests of readers.
Using AI for Content Writing: Is it a Good Idea?
According to Google’s official stance, using AI to write content is acceptable as long as the content is not intended to manipulate search results.
If the AI generated content is valuable, informative, and of high quality, Google does not discriminate between machine-written and human-written content.
However, John Mueller, a spokesperson for Google, has expressed reservations about the current capabilities of producing AI content for SEO
Based on recent statements from John Mueller, it appears that he has expressed caution when it comes to AI-generated content for SEO.
Some of his remarks may be in response to SEO practitioners seeking to exploit AI to take shortcuts or potentially manipulate Google’s search results.
Consequently, John’s responses need to be interpreted with a certain degree of prudence, as he must prioritise caution in his replies.
When another user inquired about the feasibility of using ChatGPT to generate content for their legal blog, Mueller gave a sarcastic response.
He drew a parallel by asking the Twitter user if they would be content if a lawyer resorted to the same approach before representing them in court.
The answer would be negative, highlighting that ChatGPT or Google Bard and similar chatbots are not yet advanced to the point of complete reliance.
NEW Update January 2023
John Mueller, formerly cautious about AI-generated content, has shifted his stance. In a recent Mastodon thread, he affirmed that AI can be effectively used for titles and descriptions. This aligns with Google’s potential challenges in filtering out AI-generated content from its search results.
Can Google Identify AI Generated Content?
The question arises regarding Google’s capability to distinguish between content produced by machine learning tools and content written by humans.
Is Google capable of discerning the disparity between content authored by humans and content generated by machines?
Mueller does not assert that Google has an automatic mechanism to detect AI-written content. Therefore the question arises, “How to detect AI Content”?
However, if Google’s webspam team happens to come across such content, they have the authority to take appropriate action.
Mueller states that he cannot claim the ability to detect automatically generated content. However, from their perspective, if the content appears to be automatically generated, the webspam team has the authority to take action.
Regarding the future, he envisions a scenario similar to other technological advancements, where there may be a continuous game of cat and mouse between individuals employing certain techniques and the webspam team catching up to address such issues on a larger scale.
Based on their current recommendations, he still perceives automatically generated content as such.
There is speculation that over time, it may evolve into a tool for users, comparable to utilizing machine translation as a foundation for creating translated versions of websites, while still involving manual intervention.
Furthermore, Mueller suggests that AI tools may progress towards greater efficiency in writing or ensuring proper grammar and spelling, similar to machine learning-based grammar and spell-checking tools.
However, there is uncertainty regarding future developments in this area.
John Mueller’s full response regarding AI Generated Content:
So, is AI Content Helpful or Spam?
The nature of AI generated content can vary depending on how it is utilized. If you use AI to generate low-quality, spam-like content merely for the purpose of manipulating search engine rankings, you risk being penalized for spamming.
On the other hand, AI tools can be valuable in assisting content creators to produce high-quality and relevant content for readers. When used responsibly and with a focus on providing value, AI-generated content can help enhance the content creation process.
According to Google’s recent post, the search engine company suggests including disclosures about the use of automation or AI in written content, although it is not obligatory.
However, Google also advises using these disclosures only when it would be reasonably expected by the audience. Additionally, Google advises against attributing authorship to AI content by giving it an author byline.
“Wednesday, February 8, 2023
At Google, we’ve long believed in the power of AI to transform the ability to deliver helpful information. In this post, we’ll share more about how AI generated content fits into our long-standing approach to show helpful content to people on Search” – Google Search Central
Advice for Creators Considering AI-Generation
Google’s policies permit the use of AI content-generation tools. However, it is advisable to avoid publishing SEO-optimized content that is automatically generated by automation tools or AI.
Instead, use these tools to create essential aspects of the content. The ensuing results should then undergo scrutiny and serve as a basis for producing high-quality and insightful posts that cater to your audience’s needs.
“Creators can learn more about the concept of E-E-A-T on our Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help page. In addition, we’ve updated that page with some guidance about thinking in terms of Who, How, and Why how content is produced.Evaluating your content in this way, whether you’re using AI generated content or not, will help you stay on course with what our systems seek to reward.”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can AI be used for Generating Content?
If you view AI as a valuable tool to assist in creating helpful and original content, it may be worth considering. However, if you intend to exploit AI as a cheap and effortless method to manipulate search engine rankings, then it is not recommended.
2. Is AI Content Considered a Violation of Google Search’s Guidelines?
The proper utilization of AI or automation does not violate Google guidelines. It is important to ensure that AI is not primarily used for generating content to manipulate search rankings, as this practice goes against spam policies.
3. How does Google Search Plan to Safeguard Search Results from Being Overrun by Low-Quality AI Content?
Ensuring that poor-quality AI content does not dominate search results is not a new issue for Google Search. Google has been addressing low-quality content, whether produced by humans or automation, for a considerable time.
Existing systems are in place to assess the usefulness of the content, while additional systems focus on promoting original news reporting. These systems are consistently enhanced and updated to maintain their effectiveness.
4. Can AI Generated Content Achieve High Rankings on Google Search?
The utilization of AI does not provide any inherent advantages to content in terms of rankings. Ultimately, it is the quality, usefulness, originality, and adherence to E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria that determine the success of content on Google Search.
If AI-generated content meets these criteria, it has the potential to perform well in search results. Conversely, if it falls short in these aspects, its visibility may be negatively affected.
5. Is it Permissible to Attribute AI as the Author of Content?
Including an AI as the author of content might not align with our recommendation to provide transparency to readers regarding the involvement of AI in the content creation process.
Our Take
Drawing a parallel, it can be argued that claiming AI might replace writers is akin to suggesting that typewriters or computers would replace them.
Can a tool truly supplant the individual utilizing it? Perhaps for mundane tasks, but is writing itself a mundane task?
Interestingly, the utilization of AI is already integrated into the writing process. The very act of composing this article involves the use of AI.
Google Docs, for instance, offers suggestions to enhance grammar, although not to the extent of Grammarly, which some may find intrusive, yet surpassing the assistance provided by previous versions of Microsoft Word.
