Search Engine Optimization: How Will AI-Generated Content Rank Differently?

Get to know generative AI’s impact on SEO: Google’s detection, ranking factors, and responsible AI usage tips for boosting content quality and engagement.

How Google detects AI-generated content

How AI-generated content impacts your contents' ranking

The dos and don'ts of generative AI to boost your contents' SEO

Mass market access to generative AI has taken the world by storm, influencing all of the content we see online. On one hand, gen AI can make processes more efficient and accessible, but on the other, it can feel inauthentic and sometimes spread inaccuracy. We aren’t here to talk about the morals behind generative AI, but rather the impact it has on your content’s ability to rank on the world’s most popular search engine, Google. There are 5.9 million Google searches per minute, and the search engine accounts for 91.54% of the market. And, the higher your content is ranked on the Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP), the more likely people are to click. In fact, top-ranking organic search results see a 22.4% click-through-rate, significantly decreasing as you move further down the page. So, if using generative AI content might affect your content’s search engine optimization (SEO), it’s important to know about it.

Let’s dive into the processes Google has in place to detect AI-generated content, how it can impact the way your content ranks, and the dos and don’ts of generative AI when it comes to SEO.

How Google detects AI-generated content

Google claims that it can recognize when AI-generation exists in a piece of content, although it doesn’t specifically disclose how. Google developers share: “When it comes to automatically generated content, our guidance has been consistent for years. Using automation—including AI—to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.” Examples of these violations include using AI to create many website pages without adding any value, combining content from different pages without adding value, and creating content that makes little sense but is stuffed with search keywords. 

That said, Google doesn’t discourage the use of AI in your content creation. Developers say, “Automation has long been used to generate helpful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.” The use of generative AI will not automatically make your content unable to rank. 

How AI-generated content impacts your contents’ ranking

Google uses an “E-E-A-T” framework— experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness— to crawl content and determine its ranking. The better the quality, the level of user engagement, and the relevance of the piece of content, the more likely it is to rank higher on the search engine results page. If your AI-generated content achieves all of these standards, it may not be penalized. However, if your AI-generated content is low quality, not engaging, and irrelevant, your content’s SEO will be impacted.

The dos and don’ts of generative AI to boost your contents’ SEO

Generative AI can be a powerful tool for boosting your SEO, but it can also have a negative impact. Follow these dos and don’ts to give your content the best possible chance to rank highly on the SERP.

Do use generative AI to:

• Determine valuable keywords for your content. 
• Better tailor your content to your specific audience.
• Refine your content’s strength and readability.
• Inspire meta descriptions and engaging titles that use your keywords.
• Recommend ways to structure your content so it is SEO optimized.

Don’t use generative AI to:

• Directly copy and paste from generative AI platforms. Generative AI can create content that’s plagiarized, inaccurate, biased, or simply not applicable to your brand’s voice or audience. Instead, use generative AI to inspire new ideas or refine a piece of content you already created. Read more about using AI as a flint for your content creation efforts.
• Expect generative AI to magically boost your SEO. Backlinks from external sources have the highest ranking power when it comes to Google, validating the relevance and knowledge you’re sharing on your site. These backlinks cannot be created with generative AI. 

While generative AI can be a useful tool for SEO, it must be used thoughtfully to avoid negatively impacting content quality and rankings. The key is leveraging AI to enhance your content creation process, not to directly generate publishable material. By using AI to inform keyword research, audience targeting, readability improvements, and more, you can create high-quality, engaging content that aligns with Google's ranking criteria. Use it as a complimentary tool, not a replacement for authentic, authoritative content.

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