AI Content Leads to a Google Penalty
This article was published on March 9, 2023
Categorized in: Content, AI Marketing
Much has been said about artificial intelligence and its ability to compose content that looks, on the surface, as if it had been written by a human being. However, beneath the surface, these AI services church out content that feels a bit stiff and formulaic. Over time, this could hurt your business and your brand.
However, it is too early in the process to know exactly what the repercussions will be, but one has to wonder, how will Google eventually see AI-generated content? Will it eventually be able to tell, and eventually start to penalize for it? We think yes – here’s why.
Increased Risk of Duplicate Content
Proponents of AI insist that no, there is no risk of duplicate content because the technology, they say, is sophisticated enough to prevent it. How do we feel about that? The fact that its use is in the early stages makes us nervous – we believe that over time, the AI tools will begin to church out the same or similar-sounding content – especially as subjects and topics overlap, creating some crossover.
Although this is just speculation, we suspect that the content the AI tools produce will not only sound similar, but there may also be some duplicates floating around online. This could lead to Google issuing a duplicate content penalty.
AI Content Seems Stiff and Emotionless
In our preliminary tests, we admit that the tools do church out content that might seem impressive on the surface. You give the tool the content parameters, and then it spits out, within seconds, an article that is grammatically sound, well composed and even has subheadings. As you give the tool multiple parameters for different pieces of content, you really that it all feels pretty similar.
The end result is that, although they seem to have some substance on the surface, the content is rather dry. Not only that, but the pieces all start to sound the same. It is easy to be fooled initially, and the simple topics seem to be where the tools we’ve tried shine. What happens if you try to get it to right something that has any depth? Chances are pretty good that the tool won’t know how to navigate it.
Google Puts their Audience First
The simple truth is that Google puts the needs of its audience first. To please the search engine as a whole, you need to first deliver your own audience with content that will please them. The question is, does AI-generated content serve this purpose? Chances are pretty good that even though you think it might, your audience might not agree with you. Content does more than just simply convey information. It showcases your band and gives your company a unique voice. You can’t accomplish this with AI content.
Google has a long history of tolerating the “next new strategy” only up to a certain point. The moment there is evidence that it hurts its customers, the search engine users, that is when they start to crack down. We believe that over time, Google will build into its algorithm the capability to detect content that has been generated by AI and then distribute penalties once they do.
However, it is important to note that you may already get dinged – either for a duplicate content penalty, or for an auto-content generation penalty, which already exists as a penalty that Google gives out.
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About the Author: Brick Marketing President, Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is a digital marketing expert and President of Brick Marketing. With 25+ years experience, he specializes in solving complex digital marketing challenges through SEO, content marketing, social media, PPC, email marketing, SEO for AI (GEO) and conversion optimization.
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