Google Hates AI-Generated Content for SEO... But Does It Even Matter?
On this page
Back to top
Google has not answered the first question definitively. There is no direct verification from any of the company's representatives as to whether the search engine can classify a content written by a human or a software. However, what the company does mind and pinpoints clearly is that it has the process of identifying automatically generated content. These are contents that are published online to manipulate and populate the online space with the specific keyword/s. Some call it spamming, for Google, it’s a flop.
The thing is, churning out content from other sources and spinning articles are not really new practices, writing-wise. Thinking about it, AI does exactly the same thing, as it produces content from the data it gathers. In a way, this makes AI-generated content categorically an automatically generated content.
The real deal breaker is the main output. AI-produced articles, without human intervention, will more often than not have errors, with the coherency a bit off. The structure would be, in a way, monotonous, if not cold. The nuance is really a human writer’s touch, the uniqueness in the writer’s voice, experiential input, and the play with words. These are things that AI, as of yet, cannot deliver.
And as Google positions itself very strongly against content that doesn’t hold value, it has a microscopic approach to content that seems canned and automated for the purpose of optimization or ranking. In fact, Google’s Search Liason, Danny Sullivan has been quoted saying this, "...content created primarily for search engine rankings, however it is done, is against our guidance. If content is helpful & created for people first, that's not an issue."
What this implies is that it’s not a matter of “how” but of “why.” Not so much on how the articles are written. An article can be written by a human writer alone, a human writer with the assistance of an AI, or an AI then tweaked by a writer, Google could care less, it seems. What the search engine focuses on is the why - the purpose of the articles. Are these contents beneficial to help, inform, educate people who are searching for answers online? Or are they meant for an ulterior motive?