The Future of SEO: Can AI Content Rank on Google?

Artificial intelligence is everywhere. Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to scroll through a LinkedIn feed without spotting a post that claims AI is either taking over the world of content or destroying it. We disagree with both. For some, deciphering whether integrating AI into your content creation strategy comes with an immense fear of penalisation from Google and other search engines. In today’s blog, ROAR will decipher ‘Can AI content rank on Google?’.

What is AI Content?

AI content is written and created using artificial intelligence tools to generate all types of content, including social media posts, website copy, blog posts, paid search copy, and even visual content such as images and videos.

Artificial intelligence creates content based on a user’s prompt. A prompt should provide the AI bot with enough information to provide a cohesive and fitting response to the type of content you are requesting.

We decided to put one of the most well-known AI tools (ChatGPT) to the test to describe what AI content is accurately.

Our prompt: “Please explain ‘what is AI content’ in less than 100 words, using an informative but casual tone for the readers of a search engine marketing blog.”

ChatGPT response: “AI content refers to digital material created or enhanced with artificial intelligence technology. It can involve various AI tools like natural language processing or machine learning to generate, curate, or optimize content.

“This includes automated content creation, personalized recommendations, and content analysis for better audience engagement. AI content helps marketers streamline processes, improve content quality, and tailor it to specific audiences, ultimately boosting search engine visibility and user experience. 

So, if you want to level up your search engine marketing game, AI content is definitely something to explore!”

Their response was concise and clear and only took 20 seconds to generate. It accurately describes AI content and even includes some benefits, including streamlining the marketing process, improving content quality and tailoring it to different audiences.

Although this response is well structured and explains the topic well, it’s quite robotic and general. It also uses American English, which we, and other AI users, consider when prompting artificial intelligence tools to give them the best possible chance of creating helpful content.

Is AI content good for SEO?

Artificial intelligence has completely revolutionised the way marketers create content and complete tasks. The ease and efficiency of AI have opened up a wide debate within the search engine marketing industry about whether AI content is good or bad for SEO.

Let’s break it down into how AI-generated content can help and harm your online performance, including SEO and search rankings.

How AI Content Can Hurt Your SEO

Unfortunately, AI still has some kinks that need to be worked out, the main one being quality. AI generators are using a wealth of information from different sources on the web and throwing it together to respond well to your queries hopefully. However, without a human touch, it can struggle to coherently create sentences with a strong structure, leaving its responses poorly written, unoriginal and, in some cases, completely inaccurate. Inaccurate, poorly written, and unoriginal content does not provide a positive experience for users on your website, which is a red flag for search engines.

Duplicate content is an absolute no-go for search engines like Google and Bing because search engines do not want to show users multiple pages with the same content, so they must decide which page best fits a search query. Unfortunately, AI content generators use the information they have found online to craft their responses to prompts; duplicate content is a considerable risk with AI-generated content. Duplicate content = a red flag for search engines!

How AI Content Can Help Your SEO

AI content can create a wealth of positive benefits for marketers by shortening the generation of ideas and the creative process. This means that AI content generators can help create bulk content faster and more regularly, which is a green flag for search engines.

Additionally, AI can help create highly personalised content for your audience, allowing you to create a better, more targeted user experience on your site, which can increase engagement rate and is another green flag for search.

Can AI Content Rank on Google?

You will be thrilled to discover that AI-generated content can rank on Google and, in fact, can rank well. However, the content needs to be of a particular standard regarding its overall quality and relevance for search terms. Google is committed to providing a seamless and satisfying experience for its users, which means providing users with the correct search results regarding their queries is a priority for the search engine.

Regarding AI written content, we recommend proofreading, proofreading and more proofreading. You must clarify the facts within your content and ensure it reads well. Most of all, you should consider your target audience and determine whether the AI-written content is in the right tone and written in a way your audience can understand. 

In February of 2023, Google released its official guidance regarding AI-generated content. They stated that they have: “long believed in the power of AI to transform the ability to deliver helpful information.”

In recent years, Google has also provided a lot of guidance regarding what types of content it deems helpful, of good quality, and relevant for its users. This was in the form of the Google Helpful Content Update in August of 2022.

For more information, see our blog post, ‘Does AI Content Rank in Google Search: Google’s Verdict‘.

Does Google Down Rank AI content?

Google has expressed its strong belief in the power of AI to completely transform the ability that we humans have to create informative and helpful content. 

Google aims to reward high-quality content, no matter how it is produced, using their ranking system E-E-A-T: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

The search engine giant is particularly committed to providing quality content to its audience and acknowledges how AI can create this content. 

Google states: “Using automation—including AI—to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.“

However, not all automation is considered spam, including AI generation. Automation is used across various industries to automate tasks, including things like automating sports scores, weather forecasts and transcripts. 

Google advises creators considering AI generation to ensure that the content you are producing and publishing is original, high-quality, and speaks directly to your audience. You can do this by providing AI-generation tools with in-depth prompts, proofing the content, adding your own research, and building on the output from AI-generated content. 

The Google Core Algorithm Update 2024

What a curveball eh? In March of 2024, Google announced its latest Core Algorithm Update, a significantly more complex core update than Google’s normal standards. 

Google uses multiple systems to determine the reliability of the information on the web; they have enhanced their core systems to provide users with more relevant and helpful search results by incorporating various innovative approaches and signals. 

The rollout of this update could take up to a month, and we have already seen websites completely assassinated on search engines. Google has stated that there will likely be a ‘fluctuation’ in rankings, which is more than the usual core update would cause.

This is due to different systems updating and reinforcing each other; you can stay updated with the rollout by visiting the Google Search Status Dashboard.

Our Final Thoughts

The integration of AI into content creation on websites has sparked lengthy debates and concerns among those within the search engine marketing community and beyond. However, after some research, it is evident that AI AI-generated content can significantly impact SEO if executed correctly while adhering to Google’s guidelines and FAQs.

AI content is still evolving and will see various changes throughout the years, presenting many new opportunities for marketers. On the one hand, many people within the industry have expressed concerns that AI-generated content lacks integrity, coherence, originality and, above all, accuracy without the assistance of human writers.

Conversely, AI can streamline content generation processes, enabling marketers to efficiently produce large volumes of personalised content. AI content can enhance user engagement and improve search rankings when executed carefully.

Google’s stance on AI-generated content emphasises the search engine’s commitment to quality and relevance. The search engine giant values helpful and original content, regardless of its production method. While Google discourages using AI solely for manipulating rankings, it recognises and praises its potential to streamline content creation.

In navigating the future of SEO amidst AI advancements, marketers must prioritise quality, relevance, and user experience to maintain visibility and credibility in the ever-evolving digital landscape. 

Visit our content writing and optimisation webpage and discover how content creation can increase your website’s visibility and attract more targeted traffic!