Does Google Penalize AI Content?

What Are AI-Powered Writing Tools?

AI writing tools leverage AI and natural language processing techniques to generate different types of texts on a wide range of topics. They’ve made it possible for businesses to publish a high volume of marketing content quickly and efficiently, such as blog posts, emails, and website copy. 

But how do they work? Many AI tools, like ChatGPT, are built on large language models that have been trained on vast amounts of text data from the internet. These models learn patterns, grammar, and semantics from the text, which they use to generate conversational responses. 

When a user provides a prompt, the AI tool uses it as a starting point to generate responses. A number of content creation tools are currently available to help businesses organize, plan, and create a wide variety of marketing materials. 

Keep in mind, however, that since the content generated by these tools is based on information found online, it can sometimes contain misleading information or factual inaccuracies.

What Is the Google Helpful Content Update?

What does all this mean for your business? Can you use this content and still rank well on SERPs? To answer that, we need to take a closer look at how Google prioritizes content.

In 2022, Google released its Helpful Content Update as an effort to make sure users receive more original, helpful, high-quality responses to their search queries. The search engine update aimed to “better reward content where visitors feel they’ve had a satisfying experience” by prioritizing people-first rather than search engine-first content. 

Content written by people with first-hand knowledge or experience that effectively answers users’ queries ranks higher on SERPs. In contrast, weak, poorly written, inaccurate content ranks lower.

Does Google Penalize AI Content?

The result of the Helpful Content Update was penalizations to content that didn’t offer value or relied on keyword stuffing at the expense of helpful information. So, how does this impact businesses that use AI-generated content? 

AI content allows businesses to produce high volumes of content quickly – but faster doesn’t always mean better. And while Google does not specifically or intentionally penalize AI content, it emphasizes quality above all else. High-quality content needs to demonstrate expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) to perform well.

How Can You Effectively Utilize AI-Generated Content for Your Business?

It’s hard to overlook the benefits that AI offers. It allows you to dramatically scale content creation while saving your team valuable time and resources. But it’s not enough to just increase content production. Thankfully, there is a way to reap the benefits of AI without sacrificing SEO. 

If you choose to use AI for content marketing, such as for blog posts, product descriptions, website copy, and marketing emails, it should be thoroughly edited to improve its overall quality and meet the standards of Google’s Helpful Content Update. This means that all content your business publishes needs to provide helpful and/or original information to your target audience. 

Proofreading and editing the AI-generated content your business uses will increase its quality and reach a wider audience. The content AI produces is a good starting point, but it typically needs a human touch to appeal to more people and convince potential customers to stay on your website. For the best results, check that the content:

• Reads naturally and flows well
• Presents accurate and current information
• Is grammatically correct
• Matches the dialect of your audience
• Meets your company’s style guidelines
• Reflects your business’s brand voice

AI content can also contain some instances of redundant or repetitive language, which you should eliminate, as it distracts from your main message. Most website visitors decide almost instantaneously to leave or stay on a website they’ve landed on – so your content needs to make a clear impact.

What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing Editing Services?

Proofreading and editing are effective ways to make the most out of the AI content you generate for your business. But it takes time and resources to do this well, especially if you produce a high volume of content. Outsourcing the proofreading and editing of your AI-generated content lets your team prioritize other important tasks, such as sales and lead generation, and allows you to scale content production.

Most importantly, outsourcing proofreading and editing ensures that the AI content you use will consistently maintain your brand voice and meet the style guidelines set for your business. Freelance editors can get you results by implementing SEO tactics and improving the overall readability and helpfulness of the content. They can also flag inconsistencies and fact-check information, creating more trustworthy content and increasing your chances of successfully answering user queries and ranking higher on SERPs.

Summary

To summarize, using AI-generated content for your business can help you scale content production and expand your reach. However, while Google doesn’t penalize AI content itself, it does penalize poorly written, unhelpful content and prioritize authoritative, reliable content.

If you want your website to stand out among the competition so your business ranks higher on Google, contact our business service team. We can edit all your business’s content, including AI-generated content, to your exact style specifications. Schedule a call today to get started.