How Google Treats AI Content
Copywriting using artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular in recent times, with some companies using AI to generate content to reduce costs on copywriters. But what is Google’s stance on such content? Can Google differentiate between AI and human-written content? Moreover, what penalties can be imposed on websites with AI-generated content?
Before answering these questions, it is worth noting that although Google and other search engines use numerous algorithms and methods to rank websites, not all algorithms are known. Google constantly improves and updates its algorithms to optimise search queries. Hence, using quality and unique content on websites is important.
Google cannot determine if content was written by AI or humans
Some self-proclaimed experts claim that Google can easily distinguish content written by AI or humans; however, this is not the case. Google cannot definitively distinguish between content written by chatbots, humans, or even by an unskilled writer, regardless of how meaningless the string of words is.
In reality, Google cannot easily determine if content was written by AI or humans. What Google can do is determine the quality and uniqueness of the content. This means that AI-generated content will be treated the same as human-generated content if it is deemed to be useless, uninformative, and incomprehensible.
Of course, Google can impose penalties on websites that are filled with useless text created solely for bots with no informational value. It has been doing this for quite some time, and with the advent of the Google helpful update in 2022, it is even more meticulous. Google can take such action irrespective of the content creator being AI or human-generated, and has been doing so before the mass proliferation of GPT.
In addition, Google may also penalise websites containing copy-pasted text from other sites. If the content already exists on other sites, Google will probably ignore the page that contains the copied content.
Translated content is well ranked by Google
However, if content has been translated from one language and presented in another, Google ranks it well since it is new and original content in another language. When using AI for content translation, it is necessary to ensure the quality of the translation.
It is worth noting that AI can expedite the content creation process, but its outcome depends on the quality of the data on which the algorithm is based. In this case, appropriate training algorithms should be used.
AI and Creating Unique Content
Content written by AI can be used for various copywriting materials. However, it does not guarantee that the content will rank successfully on Google.
But if unique and quality content is generated that readers find informative, and is optimised according to Google’s requirements, then there is no reason why such content cannot be successful as a SEO tool.
Conclusion and References:
Google cannot definitively distinguish between content written by humans or AI. What Google can do is calculate the quality of the content, which is the primary factor used to impose any punitive sanctions on the website. (Sources: Moz, Forbes)
What Was the Point of Writing All This?
We researched different opinions from various sources. It is apparent that former “virologists” have become “experts in AI,” and hence, we will not discuss their opinions. But on quite reputable resources, opinions are sometimes diametrically opposed as well. Here, we express our own
Google needs to step up and create better algorithms to distinguish between AI-generated content and human-written content. It’s not fair for websites that put in effort to be ranked lower because others are taking shortcuts with AI.
I disagree with the idea that AI content won’t rank successfully on Google. With the right optimization, AI-generated content can be just as informative and valuable as human-written content. Google should recognize that.